Swim meets start promptly at 6:00 pm and generally last until 9:00-10:30 pm. The 6-and-under swimmers can leave after the breaststroke (just after the midpoint of the meet) since they do not swim in the butterfly or relay events. As you leave the meet, please clean your area, whether at our pool or at a visiting pool. Clean-up is everyone’s responsibility. It only takes a few people to get the job done quickly.
If a swim meet is postponed or halted on Tuesday night, TSA rules require the meet to resume following evening, at the same location and time. (However, if the breaststroke event has been completed, the meet will be declared complete on Tuesday night.) Please let the coaches know if you cannot make the rescheduled Wednesday meet. If you were scheduled to volunteer in some capacity during the meet, you also need to notify the Volunteer Coordinator that you will be unable to assist during the rescheduled meet.
Swimmers should always be at the appropriate pool at the assigned time each Tuesday afternoon of a meet. Warm-ups for the home team begin at 5:00 pm and warm-ups for the visiting team begin at 5:30 pm. Although this arrangement is standard practice, it may be reversed for some meets. Our coaches will inform you if there is a change. In any case, swimmers should plan to be at the pool at least 15 minutes before our team’s designated warm-up time: 4:45 for home meets, and 5:15 for away meets.
Each member of the team is assigned a unique swimmer number. These numbers make it easier for the timers to record times accurately. If you can, please write your swimmer’s number on his or her shoulders in black marker before each meet. You can find their numbers on the timing charts on the Swim Team Bulletin Board.
You may want to bring lawn chairs with you to both the home and away meets. Some pools do not have enough pool furniture to accommodate all the attendees at a typical swim meet.
Label all of your child(ren)’s swim items.
Swimmers should sit in the team area to build team unity. This also allows those assisting the Clerk of Course to locate swimmers, thereby making the meet run more efficiently. In particular, younger swimmers need to stay with the other members of their age group so that their group’s Kid Pusher can ensure that they get to the starting blocks on time. Kid Pushers will not be responsible for locating children who do not sit with their group; such swimmers are responsible for getting themselves to the blocks on time.
Please bear in mind that when we visit other pools, we are their guests, and we should behave accordingly. Likewise, when we have home meets, let’s all try to be polite and gracious hosts. Remember that all of us (swimmers, coaches and parents) are representatives of MacGregor Downs Country Club wherever we go.
Please note that TSA rules prohibit smoking and consuming alcohol at any TSA swim meet.
Swim Meet EVENTS and Scoring Procedures
Team members swim the following distances:
- 6 and under: 15 yards (finish line marked by a rope – Kid-Catchers are used)
- 7 to 10: 25 yards (or meters)
- 11 to 18: 50 yards (or meters)
Team members swim the following strokes in the order listed from the youngest to the oldest swimmers. A swimmer’s age group is defined by his or her age as of June 1st of the current season. Boys swim before girls in the same age bracket:
- 6 and under: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke
- 7 and up: medley relay, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle relay
The medley relay begins the meet and the freestyle relay ends the meet.
Swimmers who are 6 and under may swim a maximum of 2 individual main events and will be encouraged to swim in one of the heats of the third stroke. Swimmers 7-18 may swim a maximum of 3 individual main events and will also be encouraged to swim in one of the heats of the fourth stroke. Swimmers may also participate in one or both of their age group’s relay races; relay events do not count against the individual-event limits. Swimmers’ times will be recorded in all heats, with results being used by the coaches to help determine who will swim the main events the following weeks.
All team members swim in every meet. However, if a meet is delayed or interrupted for any reason (thunderstorm, etc.), the teams’ TSA representatives may decide, in the interest of time, to swim only main events.
Only the main event is scored and earns points toward winning a meet. The main event swimmers are the 3 fastest timed swimmers for each stroke in each bracket. Scoring for all individual events is as follows:
- First place: 5 points
- Second place: 3 points
- Third place: 1 point
In relay events, only 5 points are awarded, all of which go to the first place team.
In case of a tie, the place points are added together and the points are evenly split. For example, a tie for first place in an individual event earns 4 points each (5 points for first place plus 3 points for second, divided by the 2 swimmers). A tie in a relay event earns 2.5 points per team.
Although the main event is the only heat that earns points, all heats are important because coaches, swimmers and parents will all want to see how every swimmer improves his or her times from week to week. Coaches will use this timing information to select their event lineups for subsequent meets.
Ribbons are awarded for 1st through 6th places in all main events (including relays). Every heat winner and participant also receives a ribbon.
If a swimmer false-starts twice, he or she will be disqualified from the event. If a swimmer is disqualified for any reason, he/she will receive a participant ribbon, but will not score or receive a place ribbon.
At the end of the meet, any swimmers from either team who have swum a “perfect meet” will be recognized by the meet announcer. To swim a perfect meet, a swimmer must earn the maximum possible number of individual event points. Children in the 6-and-under age group, who can race in only two main events, are publicly lauded as “double winners” if they win both of their events. Swimmers in all other age groups are eligible to compete in up to three main events and must therefore become “triple winners” in order to achieve this special level of recognition.
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