What to Expect at a USA Swim Meet

Oct 14

Swim meets are a great family experience and an important process in the swimmers development. For swimmers, coaches and parents it is exciting to see all the hard work and effort pay off during a meet. Attending meets regularly can be a rewarding way to keep your swimmer excited and have a sense of accomplishment in regards to their swimming. Listed below are some guidelines geared to help you through your first few swim meets.

Types of Meets and Seasons

There are two seasons involved with USA Swimming. Short-course (25 yes) and Long-course (50M). The meets for Short-course run October - March and Long-course - late April - August. Meets follow a few different formats to ensure an optimal meet experience in regards to size, competition and experience for swimmers, coaches and parents.

Types of Meets

Open Meets - No Age Limits/ No Time Standards
Senior Meets - Meets for 15 and Overs, 14 and Unders if achieved time standard
Championship Meets - Mid/End of Season Meets where swimmers for which swimmers are tuning their season. These can be limited by time standards/age groups.
Pentathlons/IMX Meets - Meets that have swimmers swim set distances/strokes. Open Water Meets - Meets that are in a open body of water (lake/ocean/bay). Races are typically 800 m/1k/2k and plus.

Meet Event Page

Find the event here
Commit Your Athlete for the meetFind the PDF Invitation for the meet.
Map and Directions to Facility.
Special instructions in regards to facility and seating.
Find Warm Ups and Timelines in regards to the meet (Wednesday Week of the Meet)

Meet Entries

All meet entries are handled by the HTX Swims coaching staff. You can find a list of our scheduled meets on our website under meets and events. Please pick what session(s) your swimmer is able to attend. Include any details in the comment box.
All entries are due at least 3 weeks to of the meet date. Each meet will have a specific entry deadline attached to the event page. Once this deadline passes swimmer can not be entered prior to the meet date.
Swim meet fees will be billed at the end of each month. Meet fees are determined by type of meet and location. They can range from 5.00- 9.00 per event.
There will be a $10.00 additional HTX Swims Splash fee applied to each individual swimmer attending a USA meet.

What to Take to a Swim Meet

Swimmers

Most Important: HTX Swims Suit, HTX Cap and Goggles
Towels: Realize your swimmer will be there for awhile so pack at least two.
Something to Sit On: Find out from the coaching staff what the heck space is like. Chair s are not always allowed. Tents for Outside, Blankets for bleachers, Bleacher chairs and etc can help for a long meet.
Sharpie/Pen: Heat sheet and lane assignment marking

Parents

Cash/Check: For On Decking, Concessions
Dress in Layers: Rain Sun and AC. Be prepared for all in one day.
Drink/Snack: Sometimes sessions can overlap Breakfast/lunch and Lunch/Dinner.
Clothes: An extra set is good once the first set gets wet. Jackets or Hoodies for indoor pools. Most pools will be blowing cold air inside so swimmers will get chilly even indoors.
Food: Depending on venue food may or may not be allowed on deck. Regardless a cooler with snacks, granola bars, fruit snacks, cereal and pasta. Drinks: Fruit Juice, Gatorade, water and Hi-C type drinks.
Activities: Card, Game, Books
Sharpie/Pen: Heat sheet and lane assignments, and circle in.
Activities: iPad, Kindle, Portable Battery Charger

Once you have attended one or two meets this will become very routine. If you have any questions try to ask an experience meet going parent.

Swim Meet App Essentials

Swimmers: USA Swimming App, Meet Mobile
Parents: Go Motion App/Team Unify, Meet Mobile, Twitter

Know Your Swimmers Event Number and Name Prior to Arriving at the Meet.

It is a good idea to bring the list of events that you used to sign your children up for the meet. It will help you find their events in the program. Swimmers will need to know the following: Event Number and Event Name. When you buy a program, it will help you better identify:

the Where which Heat and Lane they will be swimming in
the When - often the program will give an approximate start time for every heat

Your children will ALSO need to know the sequence they are swimming in (the Event number, Heat, Lane, Event Name)You can find the list of events your swimmers are in on the team website. Go to the meet schedule, click on “Attend This Event” much like you did when you signed up. From there it will give you the list of events and their event numbers.

Before the Meet Starts

Arrive at the pool at least 20 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. This time will be listed in the meet information listed on the event page for the selected meet. It is also listed on www.gulfswimming.org.

Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer’s blanket, swim bags and/or towels. The team usually sits together so look for some familiar faces or HTX gear. Depending on venue/meet swimmers may sit on-deck with coaching staff.
Your swimmer now gets cap and goggles and reports to the pool/coach for warm ups. It is very important for all swimmers to warm up with the team. Swimmer’s bodies are just like cars on a cold day. They need to get the engine going and warmed up before they are able to go all out!
The meet will begin 15-20 minutes after the last warm up session.
According to USA Swimming rules (because of insurance purposes) parents are not allowed on deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. Similarly, all questions concerning meet results, officiating calls, or other conduct of the meet, should be referred to the coaching staff. They, in turn, will pursue the matter through the proper channels.

Psych Sheets. A psych sheet is usually available for sale in the lobby area of the pool. It will list all of the swimmers seeded in an event in order of “seed time”. When the meet entries are sent in the swimmers previous best time will be used for the seed time. These times must come from a USA Swimming meet. If a swimmer does not have a time in an event they will be listed with an NT or no time.

Heat Sheet. Heat Sheets are similar to Psych Sheets but will list swimmers by heats and lanes for each events. All OPEN meets for short course will be utilizing Heat Sheets.

Once the Meet Starts

The event and heat number being swam will be called during the meet. It is important that you and your swimmer follow the events as they are being swam. Girls events are typically odd numbers while boy events are evens. The events will be swam in their entirety before moving on to the next event number, unless otherwise noted. Distance events over a 400 are usually alternated between girls and boys.

Like events will now be swam combined. For example at a 9-14 year old meet the 100 Freestyle will be swam as Event 1 Women 9-14 100 Fr then followed by Event 2 Boys 9-14 100 Fr. Like event means when all age groups can swim the same event. 100’s off all strokes, 200 IM, 200 Fr and 500 Fr for example.

Swimmers should report to their coach with enough time to hop in for a quick warm up, talk about the race, and make it down behind the lane with enough time to get their caps and goggles on. This varies depending on the event type, number of heats, and age of the swimmers. A good rule of thumb is to send them at least 2 events before their event.

Swimmers will get their heat and lane assignments from a designated location. Coaches do not have these during the meet. These will be posted well before the event is swam/meet starts.

Swimmers will need to line up behind their assigned lane and be prepared for their race.

After each swim:

Your swimmer should go immediately to their coach. The coach will discuss the swim with each swimmer.
Generally the coach follows the guidelines when discussing swims: • Positive comments or praise.
Suggestions for improvement Positive comments

Things you, as a parent, can do after each swim:

Tell your swimmer how great they did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with them.
Let them sit down and relax.Make sure they are staying hydrated and are eating to keep their energy up.
You and your swimmer wait for their next event and start the process over again.

When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events they get to go home. Make sure, however you, as a parent, have your swimmer check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not on a relay. It is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim a relay if you swimmer leaves early.

Coach | Parent Role

Coaches provide constructive criticism and professional knowledge Parents provide unconditional support and love through out the meet.

HTX Swims | External Links to Help

HTX Swims FAQ
Swimming - The Basics
Swim Terminology

HTX Swims Mission

We strive to foster a love of swimming and passion for the sport for a lifetime.

HTX Swims Vision

HTX Swims strives to offer a first-class swim program inside Houston's inner loop. Our goal is to provide swim programming at a larger scale to the ethnically and financially diverse demographic that makes up Houston.

As Owner and Founder, we actively invest in the club’s success and your swimmers as athletes, team members, and people. We will be taking active and visible roles in the administrative and swim sides of HTX Swims.

See you at the pool,

Jason Wedlick
Coach | Owner | Learn 2 Swim and USA Bridge Program Director

Michael Nordmann
Coach | Founder | Competitive Program Director

HTX Swims | Where Houston Swims
www.htxswims.com

HTX Swims