1. What to Expect
2. Events and Heats
3. Relays
4. Scoring and Ribbons

Swim Meets are exciting, fun, and a bit chaotic at times. Below are some things to expect for those that are new to the team or need a refresher.

• There are 5 Dual Meets per season, both home and away. They occur weekly on Thursdays starting the third week of the season. In order to qualify to swim at the County Championship, swimmers must compete at two or more of these dual meets.
• Racing usually begins at 6:00p, but swimmers will need to arrive between 4:30p and 5:15p depending on what time our warm-up is.
• If you are scheduled to work a volunteer shift, please check in with the Volunteer Coordinator as soon as you get to the pool. Volunteers work either first or second shift (first half of the meet and second half of the meet), and each shift is generally 1.5-2.5 hours, depending on how many swimmers are racing. First shift volunteers are necessary for racing to begin at 6:00p. 
• Young swimmers may get cold after sunset when the pools are cold early in the season, so we recommend extra towels and clothes for them to stay warm and perform well throughout the evening.
• You must bring your own chairs to set up on our side of the pool to watch the meet.
• All swimmers must stay on the pool deck or in the concessions area so we can find them if they aren't in staging on their own.
• In case of lightning, the meet will be paused, and everyone must clear the pool area and return to their cars. Delay lengths depend on the storm, and we will communicate when we can return to the pool deck. We always prefer to finish a meet even if it is really late rather than rescheduling because it is easier to stay up later than to do it all over again.
• Before leaving the meet, make sure your swimmers are not in a relay. If you must leave and your swimmer is in a relay, tell the coaches. They must be able to find another swimmer, so the relay can still compete.
• Meets can run until 10:00p or later, depending on number of swimmers, weather, and organization. Please plan and schedule accordingly!

Competition is broken up by boys and girls, age group, stroke, and distance. Each of these divisions forms an event. Events alternate between girls and boys, and move from youngest to oldest through all the strokes.

For example,

Event #1 is the 6U Girls 25 Backstroke,

Event #2 is the 6U Boys 25 Backstroke,

Event #3 is the 7-8 Girls 25 Backstroke, and so on.

The stroke order is Backstroke, Medley Relays, Short Free, 8U Free Relays, Individual Medley, Long Free, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and 9 and older Free Relays. See our Strokes and DQs page to learn about the strokes or our Swim Videos page to watch what they look like.

If there are more swimmers than lanes in the pool, the event will be broken into multiple heats, which will swim consecutively. Swimmers are still competing against each other, even though they do not swim at the same time.

Relays have four swimmers in them. There are (1) Freestyle Relays where everyone swims freestyle and (2) Medley Relays where each swimmer swims a different stroke in alphabetical order (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle). Each relay from the same team in the same event is given a letter (starting from A) to distinguish them from the others.

It is important to note that relays are subject to change. At the meet, each relay will get a relay card with the names and order of swimmers on it that they take to the block. This is where the results are recorded. That is why the relay card is so important. If someone doesn't show up, gets sick, or the order is changed, the coach will write the adjustments on the relay card and that is the new relay. It does not matter what the heat sheet says or what your swimmers entries say. All that matters is the relay card. Do not fully rely on the heat sheet. The heat sheet is merely the initial plan and when issues arise, that plan will change.

Athletes receive ribbons with their results on them the Fun Friday after a Dual Meet. Ribbons will be colored based on place and are assembled by parent volunteers the night of the meet or the morning before Fun Friday. Ribbon colors are seen in the chart below, and do not depend on the scoring method.

When we go against teams of over 100 swimmers, events score to 6th place. This is called "Large Team Scoring". We are a large team, so it depends on how big our opponent is.

Relays will only be scored to second place, and a team cannot score in both first and second. They will receive points for first, and shut out the other team.

When we go against teams of less than 100 swimmers, events score to 3rd place

Again, relays only score to second place, and a team cannot score in both first and second. They will receive points for first, and shut out the other team.