Meet Day Information
Arrival Time
Swimmers should arrive at the pool no later than 4:45 for home meets and 5:15 for away meets. For the Red and White meet, arrival time will be earlier, the team picture is generally taken before warm-ups at that meet.
10 and under swimmers warm-up first, followed by 11 and older swimmers.
Swimmer do not need to check in upon arrival, just come to the pool when your group is called for warm ups.
Parking For Home Meets
Everyone from UClub swim should park in the field for home meets (excluding the Red and White meet). Parking closest to the pool is reserved for the away team and the lot closest to the club is for people utilizing the club. As the host for the away team, this is a courtesy to help welcome them to our club.
How to Mark Your Swimmer
Before the meet, use a Sharpie to mark your swimmer’s events on their arm, wrist, or thigh. Use sunscreen AFTER marking! The following information can be found on the heat sheet. Heat sheets will be posted the afternoon of the meet to the website.
Each meet is divided into:
- Event (E): The specific race (e.g., Girls 9-10, 25 Backstroke = Event 15).
- Heat (H): Grouping within the event.
- Lane (L): The lane where the swimmer will compete.
- Stroke (S): The stroke they will be swimming
Example for how to mark your swimmer:
For a 9 year old girl swimming Freestyle in EVENT (E) 6, HEAT (H) 4, in LANE (L) 4 and Backstroke in EVENT (E) 12, HEAT (H) 3, in LANE (L) 5 - it should look like this:
Write the first three letters of your child’s last name on their upper right arm.
Warm Ups Schedule and Job Check In
Parents signed up to be timers, starter, or order of finish will have a meeting at approximately 5:45PM.
Checking in for jobs begins at: 5:15 PM.
Between 5:45PM and 5:50PM, 7-8 and 9-10 medley relay swimmers will be called to the clerk of course. The location of the clerk of course will be announced prior to this time. The meet will start at 6:00PM with the 7-8 Boys’ Medley Relay.
As events are going on in the pool, the announcer makes announcements for other groups to report to the clerk of course to prepare for their events. There are Kid Pushers for 10 and under swimmers. They are walking around the pool with red lollipop signs calling out for swimmers for the group they are pushing. If your swimmer is in the event being called to the clerk of course, he/she needs to drink some water, grab their cap and goggles, and go with the Kid Pusher to the Clerk of Course. This cycle will repeat itself throughout the evening until the meet is complete.
The score will be announced periodically at the meet and is available in SwimTopia.
Age Groups
Swimmers are divided up into groups based on age and gender. Age is based on the swimmer’s age on June 1 of the current season. Swimmers stay in the same age group for the entirety of the season. Below are the different age groups, events they swim in order, and the distance of the events. Boys in the age group go first.
6 & under Free, Back, Breast 15 yards
7-8 Medley Relay, Free, Back Breast, Fly, Free Relay 1 length of the pool
9-10 Medley Relay, Free, Back Breast, Fly, Free Relay 1 length of the pool
11-12 Medley Relay, Free, Back Breast, Fly, Free Relay 2 lengths of the pool
13-14 Medley Relay, Free, Back Breast, Fly, Free Relay 2 lengths of the pool
15-18 Medley Relay, Free, Back Breast, Fly, Free Relay 2 lengths of the pool
Heat & Lane Assignments
Our pool has 6 lanes, away team pools have 6-10 lanes. All main heats are limited to 6 swimmers. After the main heats, the pools we visit may want to use all lanes for the remaining heats. If so, we will be notified in advance and make the line-up accordingly. Extra timers will be needed to fill the additional lanes. This will make meets go faster.
Home team swimmers swim in the odd lanes and the visiting swimmers are in the even lanes. Heats will continue filling in all lanes until every swimmer has swam. That may lead to some shifting of lanes and heats if one team’s group is much larger than the other.
Concessions
At home meets, the snack bar is open during the first part of a meet, serving its regular menu. The Club typically also offers a buffet, usually located indoors offering burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, chips, sides and cookies.
For away meets, our TSA Rep usually receives an email from the host team, detailing what they have available to purchase. This information is posted on the website and sent out via email.
Meet Tips
- ALCOHOL & TOBACCO PRODUCTS /VAPING ARE NOT ALLOWED ON OR NEAR THE POOL DECK DURING SWIM MEETS. THIS IS A TSA RULE. Don’t try to be sneaky with a plastic cup or water bottle. Any member determined to be drinking alcohol at a home or away meet will be referred to the Board of Directors for disciplinary action.
- During home swim meets, only the competition pool is open—and exclusively for participating athletes; all other pools are closed, and no lifeguards are on duty for recreational swimming.
- Bring chairs for both home and away meets and pack a cooler with water and non-alcoholic beverages.
- Label your swimmer’s clothes, cap, etc.
- Bring sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and an extra towel or two for your swimmer(s). It can get chilly at night, especially in a wet suit.
- Have an extra pair of goggles.
- Bring a water bottle and stay hydrated.
- Bring something to do – book, cards, games, electronics, etc. Swim meets are unique in that you are at the meet for three or more hours and your swimmer will be in the pool competing for approximately one to two minutes total. This leave lots of downtime.
- Bring cash for the Candy Shack at home meets and to purchase food at away meets.
Rain Delays and Postponements
The pool manager or head lifeguard has the sole authority to stop a meet due to thunder and/or lightning, and he/she is the one who gives the okay for the meet to resume.
At home meets, if a lifeguard hears thunder, the meet is halted and all swimmers must get out of the pool. Swimmers and spectators can remain on the pool deck. If a lifeguard sees lightning, the pool deck must be cleared. If rooms are available inside the club, each team will be able to go inside when the deck has to be cleared. Make sure all swimmers are wearing a shirt and footwear prior to entering the formal area of the club, as there are often other events taking place inside. At away meets, we must follow the rules of the hosting pool.
Swimmers will not be allowed in the water for a minimum of 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning or clap of thunder. Updates are sent out during weather delays via SwimTopia.
The TSA Reps, from both teams, and only the Reps determine together how long to wait before calling the meet for the day. If a meet is delayed, please do not leave until the meet is officially called, especially if you have a swimmer participating in the Freestyle Relay. One relay swimmer leaving can cause a ripple effect throughout the rest of the team. If a swimmer has to leave a meet during a weather delay, please notify Coach Brei ONLY, and remind her if the swimmer is in a relay.
If the TSA Reps agree to stop the meet for the evening, the meet is declared official if all breaststroke events have been completed. The final score will be based on the accumulated point totals at the end of the last completed stroke. If all breaststroke events have not been completed, then the meet will resume the next night at 6:00PM.
If the meet has to be stopped due to weather the second night, it will be declared an official meet if all backstroke events have been completed. If all backstroke events have not been completed, the meet will be declared a tie.
