Going to a meet
To help your athlete have a good experience at his or her first swim meet, ask the coach to match you with a parent who is experienced with meets and whose swimmer can guide yours.
What to bring:
(Unless the weather is very warm each swimmer will need)
- A towel for each event plus one for warm-up
- Team suit (recommended)
- Team cap (mandatory)
- Sunscreen
- Sharpie (mandatory for your athlete to keep track of his/her events)
- Team parka (recommended, and extremely cozy for outdoor meets)
- Warm clothes to wear between events
- Plenty to eat and drink (although most meets will have a snack bar provided by volunteer families from the hosting team)
- Lots to do while waiting for the next event: books, card games, paper and crayons… no electronics.
- Folding chairs for parents and athletes
When to arrive. At the beginning the warm-ups (usually 7:30am when the meet starts at 9am, 8:30am when the meet starts at 10am). The information is always available on the meet sheet. (Meet sheets are comprehensive information about the meet and are posted on the Pacific Swimming website).
Check in. This is ALWAYS the FIRST thing you do at a meet. Even though your swimmer has a meet entry, he or she will be removed from that event if not signed in at least 30 minutes before the event starts. The swimmer, not the parent, does the check in by circling his events and initialing next to his or her name. Most swimmers (and parents!) write the event numbers on their hands so they do not forget (sharpie!). If circumstances do not allow you to attend all the events you are entered in, the swimmer may scratch at check-in up to 30 minutes before the event is to begin without penalty. Always get permission from the coach before scratching.
Team Tent. Parents and Coaches help set up the Team canopy. This is where athletes, parents, and sometimes coaches stay between races.
This is a very special place, kids can plan games, parents can organize potlucks and socialize. Help pack up and clean up at the end of the day.
Warming up. After checking in, the swimmer should report to his or her coach and be prepared to get in the pool for warm-up. The warm-up process is very important. It allows swimmers to prepare their muscles for swimming and to review things they need to remember for their races.
Heat and Lane Assignments. About 20 minutes before an event starts the heat and lane assignments will be posted. When you arrive at the meet find out where these postings will be. Swimmers will be listed in alphabetical order. Swimmers often write this information on their hands as well. The swimmer then goes to the coach for a pre-race briefing and must give the coach the heat and lane information. Heats are usually ordered from fastest to slowest (including swimmers without a time for that event), the first heat having the top seeded swimmers.
Scratches. Keep track of which event is in progress. If a swimmer misses a race he or she will automatically be scratched from the next event, even if the event is the next day. If for some reason your swimmer wants to skip an event, and it is too late to scratch officially, he or she simply goes to the block when his or her heat is called – but does not swim. There is no penalty for doing this.
The race. The swimmer should be ready, cap and goggles on, behind the appropriate lane with plenty of time. Parents should watch from the observation areas, as it can become very crowded behind the blocks. At most meets, parents will be asked to stay away from this area.
Post race. Check with the coach before racing – does he or she want the swimmer to warm down after racing or go straight to the coach? In any event, swimmers must see the coach after each race for a debriefing. We ask that parents not attempt to criticize the swimmer’s effort. The parent’s job is to support the swimmer and keep a record of his or her official times.
Photos and Videos. It is okay to take pictures and videos of your athlete while he/she is racing but there are few rules to follow. It is forbidden to take pictures behind the swimmers at start time. The officials, might have to remind parents, don’t get offended, just follow the rules. A picture is not as important as a safe place.
Disqualification. It happens to everyone at every level. The coach will review errors with the swimmer after the race. This is all part of the learning process.
Results and Awards. Results will be posted at the event. The coach will collect the awards (ribbons and medals) for the event and distribute them at the next practice session.
Time Standards
Results
- Watch for results following meets at the Pacific Swimming website.
- You can install Meet Mobile (requires subscription $9.99/year or $4.49/month) (Android) (iOS) to get results faster for some meets.
