Swim Meets and General Information
Basics of a Swim Meet
An “event” at a swim meet consists of a gender, stroke and a distance.
Since there are usually more swimmers entered in each event than there are lanes, there may be several races, or “heats”, in each event.
What is a Relay? A relay is an event in which four swimmers participate in the race. All four swimmers must be present - if one swimmer is a no show, then none of the swimmers may participate in this event. Please communicate with coaches or Lenah Mill Marlins Board members if your swimmer will arrive late or will be unable to participate.
Medley Relay: Four swimmers participate, each of whom swims a different stroke. The first swimmer swims Backstroke (BA), the second Breaststroke (BR), the third Butterfly (FL), and the fourth Freestyle (FR). An easy way to remember this is: BA, BR, FL, FR are in alphabetical order.
- Backstroke (BA)
- Breaststroke (BR)
- Butterfly (FL)
- Freestyle (FR)
Freestyle Relay: Four swimmers each swim freestyle.
Individual Medley (IM) An event in which one swimmer swims the following strokes in this order 1) Butterfly, 2) Backstroke, 3) Breaststroke, & 4) Freestyle. Length depends on age.
When will I know what event my child will be swimming during the meet? 1 day prior to the meet start time, heat sheets will be emailed to all swim families. We suggest you print and bring your heat sheet to the meet with you--we will not have them there.
What is the difference between the IM and the Medley Relay?
- IM stands for Individual Medley. It is always swum in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
- The Medley relay consists of the same strokes, but the order is different. The Medley relay order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. Note that BA, BR, FL, FR is in alphabetical order.
How will my swimmer know when to report for his/her race?
- Each team will have a ‘bullpen,’ and the our volunteer Clerk of Coarse will help line up the swimmers before each race. The kids will need to stay in the team bullpens for the duration of the meet! It is imperative that swimmers stay in the bullpen area so that the Clerk of Coarse can easily and efficiently find your child. It is unfortunate when a swimmer misses his event because he or she was not in the right place to be lined up. The Clerk of Coarse position is a challenging job; let’s make every effort to make it as easy as we can for our parent volunteers.
- At home swim meets, the away team will sit on the side of the pool closest to the diving board. Your child must sit in the bullpen area.
- For safety reasons it is important to keep the kids out of the diving well and shallow end of the pool during the meet.
All competition is age-group competition which means that children swim against others of the same age and gender.
What time should I be at the swim meets with my swimmer?
Wednesday's Swim Meet:
- Please arrive by 4:45 pm - 05:00 pm to get settled and participate in a meet warmup.
- Meet warm-up for home meets is from 5:00 – 5:30 pm.
- Meet warm-up for away meets is from 5:30 – 5:55 pm.
- Meets will start as close to 6 pm as possible (depending on the volunteers, the meet referee, and the weather).
Saturday's Swim Meet:
- Please arrive between 6:45 am - 7:00 am to get settled and participate in a meet warmup.
- Meet warm-up for home meets is from 7:00 – 7:30 am.
- Meet warm-up for away meets is from 7:30 – 7:55 am.
- Meets will start as close to 8 am as possible (depending on the volunteers, the meet referee, and the weather).
What should I bring to the meet, other than my swimmer?
- Swim suit
- Goggles (good idea to bring a back-up pair as well)
- Swim cap
- 2 Towels (one for use during the meet and one for after the meet)
- Water bottle- it’s hot out there. It’s important to stay hydrated!
- Snacks* – although most pools will have concession stands, it is a good idea to bring healthier options (apples, oranges, granola bars, PB&J, etc.) for your kids as well
- Pen/paper- you may want to write down your swimmer’s times
- Sharpie for marking
- Dry clothes to change into after the meet
- On cool nights, a sweatshirt to help them keep warm
- Sunscreen
- Chairs for Mom and/or Dad
- Camera/Video Recorder
- Lots of positive energy
What should my swimmer eat, if anything, before the meet?
1-2 hours before the meet, try to feed your swimmer something with protein and carbohydrates- a popular choice is pasta with chicken or a sandwich. Also make sure that they are drinking water/Gatorade during the morning and hours before the meet!
How long will the meet last?
Three to four hours is the approximate length of a meet.
Warm-ups start at 5:00 pm for Wednesday's meet and 07:00 AM for Saturday's Meet.
When will my child get official results/times from the meet?
Official results are sent out as soon as possible after the meet. Ribbons are distributed during practice, if your child does not receive ribbons check with our board, they are placed in the family’s vertical file folder.
