Swim Meet 101
Competitive swim meets are held for the enjoyment of the children. The meets help to teach the children good sportsmanship and discipline while helping to develop their competitiveness. These characteristics combined together result in TEAM SPIRIT; working together for a common goal. Parental support through active participation in South River Colony Stingrays meets and events helps to reinforce those life skills that the children are learning.
What to Bring
Getting ready for a swim meet can seem like you’ll be camping for a week. Many seasoned summer swimmers bring a tent, or large umbrella so they can get out of the sun. High on the recommended “bring” list is sweats to pull on after warm-ups. Since there is a lot of “down time” between events, cards, games, and toys help kids pass the time. Write your name on absolutely everything you bring. The checklist below might help you pack:
Swim Suit/Caps Drinks, Healthy Snacks (or Money for concessions)
Goggles Tent, tarp, umbrella, etc.
Sharpie (event marking on arm) Sleeping bag or blanket
Towels T-shirt and shorts
Cards, games, toys, etc. Lawn Chairs
Sweatpants & Sweatshirt Baby powder (for swim caps)
Sunblock (very important)
What to Expect
Plan to arrive 15 minutes before warm-ups start. This way you can sign-in, stake your tent, find your goggles, and report to the coaches when the announcer calls for warm-ups. Shortly after teams have warmed up, the meet should begin. When you hear your event called over the loudspeaker, report to the Bullpen Coordinator. This is the person who gets the swimmers in order for their event. Younger swimmers must be supervised at all time by parents. Please help your swimmers report to the Bullpen Coordinator when their events are called.
PARENTS: It’s important to allow your child to remain at the bullpen area alone. Parent volunteers can do their job best if they don’t have to contend with extra moms and dads! If you’ve never attended a swim meet before, here are a few things you can expect.
- Tents, towels and kids everywhere!
- Chilly mornings
- Extremely limited viewing space (except
- For deck volunteers)
- Boredom between your kid’s events if you don’t volunteer for a shift (or two) of timing/recording, working concessions, etc.
- New friends and a great time if you get involved with the team!
What's My Time?
Swimmers learn to ask a timer or recorders for their (unofficial) time as soon as they get out of the pool at the end of a race. Once the times for a heat are collected, the preliminary results will be available in the SwimTopia app. The official event results (which include the swimmers’ names, their times, and event placing) are usually posted about an hour after completion of the event. All event times and results are retained for each swimmer and awards will be distributed for best improvements in times.
Disqualification (DQ)
Our league complies with the United States Swimming (USS) rules – the same rules used at the Olympic Time Trials and the Olympics. To ensure fair competition for all swimmers, these rules are equally applied to all swimmers, regardless of age or experience. During competition, if a swimmer fails to comply with the stroke and turn rules, a Stroke & Turn Judge will raise his/her hand, write up a disqualification (DQ) slip, and present it to the referee for approval. Being disqualified is not the end of the world. Almost all swimmers have been DQ’d at some time. This should be viewed as a learning experience and not a failure. Swimmers should discuss this with their coach after the race, and together they will formulate a plan to correct the mistake.
