|
Common Swim FAQs:
1) Order Of Events
2) Who Swims What Race?
3) Suggested Meet Packing List
4) Information About Our Meets
5) Surviving The Swim Season In
Style
1) Order of Events
Swim meets are organized
around five individual and two relay events. The normal order
of events for dual meets is listed below. However, it should
be noted that the order of events is set at the discretion of the
home pool and therefore may vary for both dual meets and
invitationals.
Swimmers compete at meets
in the following age groups:
6 and under, 7-8, 9-10,
11-12, 13-14 and 15-18.
Medley Relay
(MR) ‑ Four individual swimmers combine as a team,
with each swimmer swimming one of the following strokes:
Back, Breast, Fly and Free (in that order). 6 & under and
7-8 age groups swim 100-yard MR (25 yards per swimmer). All
other age groups swim 200-yard MR (50 yards per swimmer).
Individual Medley
(IM) ‑ Individual swimmers swim 25 yards each of
Fly, Back, Breast, and Free (in that order) in one event. All
IM races are 100 yards. 6 & unders do not swim this
event.
Individual
Strokes - 6 & under and 7-8 age groups swim 25-yard
races. 9-10, 11-12 and 13-14 age groups swim 50-yard races
and 15-18’s swim 100-yard races.
(1) Freestyle (F)
(2) Breaststroke (BR)
(3) Backstroke (BK)
(4) Butterfly (FLY)
Free Relay
(FR) ‑ Four individual swimmers combine as a team,
with each swimmer swimming Freestyle. 6 & under and 7-8
age groups swim 100-yard FR (25 yards per swimmer. All other age
groups swim 200-yard FR (50 yards per swimmer).
Meets generally begin
with the 6 & under age group Medley Relay, with the girls
swimming first, followed by the boys of the same age group.
The meet then proceeds through each older age group for an entire
event (i.e., 7-8 girls follows the 6 and under age group and so
on). Therefore, following the 15‑18 year‑old boys
Individual Medley, the 6 & under girls Freestyle begins. The
meet proceeds through the remainder of events in similar
fashion. All Swimmers
need to pay attention to the order of events at a given meet and be
ready to report to swim prior to their particular event
[Top]
2) Who Swims What Race?
Individual
Events:
Every swim meet has its own guidelines about how many
individual races a swimmer can swim:
At our Time Trials, our
Devil Mountain Pentathlon, and the League Meet, every swimmer is
entered in every individual event. This means, for example,
that even if a swimmer is never scheduled for a butterfly race the
rest of the year, that swimmer will still have 3 chances to record
times in butterfly during the season.
At most dual meets (DHST
vs. one other team), swimmers can expect the coaches to enter them
in 2 or 3 individual events, depending on the format of the
meet. It is expected that the coaches will enter the top
swimmers in as many events as allowed by the format of the meet to
give the team the most likely chance of winning points at the
meet.
At invitational meets
– like the Pleasant Hill Aquatics 9 and Under Meet, the
Battle of the Ages, the Crossings Challenge, Woodlands, and the
Concord Cup City Meet – the coaches will enter swimmers in
the maximum (2, 3, or 4, depending on the meet) number of swims
allowed.
The coaches determine
which races an individual will swim at each meet, and there is no
“rule” that governs which events the coaches assign to
swimmers. It is not uncommon for coaches to assign swimmers
to their best strokes meet after meet. As a result, there may
be swimmers who go the whole summer without swimming their
“off strokes” except at Time Trials, Pentathlon, and
League.
Relays:
The coaches choose which swimmers will be on the
relays. In almost all cases, the coaches will choose the
fastest combination of swimmers for each relay at the time the
relay entries are due (which is often the day of the
meet).
At every meet except
League Meet, there is a limit to the number of relay teams the
coaches can enter. As a result, it is normal for the top
swimmers in a meet to have as many as 5 races – 3 individual
races plus 2 relays – while other swimmers may only have 2
races that day.
At League
Meet, teams can enter as many relay teams as they want, so the
coaches pick the fastest combination of 4 for the “A”
relay, the fastest combination of the remaining swimmers for the
“B” relay, and so on for the “C”,
“D”, “E”, and “F” relays until
we can’t form another full relay!
[Top]
3) Suggested Meet Packing List New parents sometimes come to meets with only their
swimmer and a towel. Here is an expanded packing list more
typical of what “veteran families” bring along.
Dress in layers to stay comfortable, whatever the weather.
Morning and Evening
Meets
The weather can be cold in early morning or in the evening so dress
appropriately.
- Sleeping Bag - Depending on weather,
swimmers nestle inside or sit on top of them between races
- Portable chairs/Beach umbrella/Small tent
- helpful for swimmers and parents alike
- Towels - two per swimmer is nice
- Warm parka
- DHST swim cap
- Goggles
- Visor or sun hat for everyone
- Thongs or Sandals‑Note for parents
working as timers and recorders, you should be prepared to get your
feet wet
- Suntan lotion/sun block - absolutely
required for morning and day-long meets
- Sunglasses
- Parent Handbook, Directions to Away Meets,
Performance Sheets
- Money for concession stand - Food is sold
at nominal cost at ALL meets. Breakfast: coffee, tea, hot
chocolate, donuts, bagels. Lunch & Dinner: baked
potatoes, hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, salads, noodle soup
All Day Meets --> Additional
Items
-
Awning/Umbrella/Dome Tent‑for shade, changing
rooms, etc.
-
Tarp‑just in case the ground is wet.
-
Cooler with extra soft drinks or food‑remember, no
glass containers.
-
Highlighter pens/pencils‑for marking names and
times in meet program.
-
Quiet games for swimmers‑ such as puzzle books,
Gameboy, cards, etc., Reading Material - newspapers, books,
magazines
[Top]
4) Information About Our Meets
The
information contained in this section gives you an overview of what
to expect at each type of meet this season.
General
Information
-
Events that
each swimmer will compete in will be posted on the pool deck during
practice time 1-2 days prior to the meet. Relays may be
posted or may be determined at the meet.
-
Warm ups are
mandatory, and take place in the hour preceding the meet start
time. Exact time will be posted on the pool deck during
practice time 1-2 days prior to the meet.
-
There is
typically a team area at all invitational swim meets. Look
for the Dana Hills team banner and your fellow Otters.
-
Be sure to
check in with the coaching staff if you need to leave a swim meet
unexpectedly. This is critical to the coach when determining
relay swimmers.
-
Star
achievement awards can be earned at each meet throughout the year,
including Time Trials.
Dana
Hills Time Trials (Full Team)
Each swimmer will
swim every event that they know how to swim to establish initial
race times for the start of the season. Times are also used
to calculate the most improved swimmer at season’s
end.
Format:
Swim all 5 individual events (4 for 6-unders).
No Relays
Duration: 5 hours (approx meet time 9:00
-2:00)
Awards: No
awards are given at Time Trials.
Dual Meets (A and
B)
Dual meets (meets
against one team) can be split (A and B) and held on different
days. This allows all swimmers to get the maximum amount of
race time and allows meets to be completed in a reasonable
timeframe. Swimmers are selected to attend A team
meets. This is based on times posted during the season.
If you are not selected to attend the A meet, you will probably be
entered into the B meet against that same
team.
Format:
Swim 2-3 individual events.
Medley and Free Relays (participants selected by the coaching
staff)
Duration: 3
hours (approx meet time 6:00 -9:00)
Awards: Ribbons are awarded at most dual
meets.
Dual
Meets (A and B)
Dual meets (meets against one
team) are held with the full team (not split) when the opposing
team is smaller in size. These meets are typically scheduled
for Saturday mornings, but can also work on weeknights. All
swimmers attend and are seeded into heats according to their
times.
Format:
Swim 2-3 individual events.
Medley and Free Relays (participants selected by the coaching
staff)
Duration:
3-4 hours
(approx meet time on weekends is 9:00 – 1:00, on weeknights
is 5:30 – 9:00)
Awards:
Ribbons are awarded at most dual meets.
PHAQ
9 & Under Invitational (All swimmers 9 years old and
under)
This meet involves
6-8 swim teams from the area. It is designed to focus on our
youngest swimmers and give them an opportunity to show their stuff
in a smaller environment.
Format:
Swim 3-4 individual events
Free Relays (participants selected by the coaching staff)
Duration: 5
hours (approx meet time 9:00 – 2:00pm)
Awards: Individual medals awarded to first, second
and third place in all events including freestyle relays.
Rosettes awarded to 4th through 8th
place. Medal ceremonies for the top three finalists in each
event will be conducted throughout the meet. This is very
exciting for the swimmers. Don’t miss it!
Battle of the Ages (Full Team)
This is a two day
invitational meet in which swimmers compete ONLY against swimmers
of their own age (for example, 7 year olds swim against only the
other 7 year olds). This is the only meet of its kind all
year. You may attend this event Saturday, Sunday or both.
Typically 15-20 local teams participate in this invitational meet.
Unlike other meets, swimming begins with the 18 year old group and
goes in reverse order with each event ending with the 5 year old
age group.
Format: Swim
Up to 4 individual events (usually selected by swimmer)
Saturday
Events: Free, Breast, Fly
Sunday
Events: IM, Back, Double Distance Free
No
Relays
* Note:
Double distance Freestyle is when the swimmer goes twice the
distance of their normal freestyle race.
Duration: 7 hours (approx meet time 9:00 –
4:00 each day)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered .
Awards: Individual medals awarded to first, second
and third place in all events. Ribbons awarded to
4th through 8th place. Heat winner
ribbons awarded. Rosettes are award for new records set
during the meet. This meet also awards high point swimmer
awards. Awards go to the boy and the girl in each age group
that have the highest total points in the individual events.
A ceremony is held at the end of the meet on Sunday.
Devil Mountain Pentathlon (Full Team)
This meet is held
over two days. This is our team’s biggest fundraiser,
and all parents are required to work at this meet. Each
swimmer will swim all 5 events. On Saturday,
6 and unders (girls and boys), 7-8s (girls and boys), and 9-10
girls swim their five events. On Sunday,
9-10 boys, 11-12 (girls and boys), 13-14 (girls and boys), and
15-18 (women and men) swim their five events.
Format: Swim all 5 individual events (Fly, Back,
Breast, Free, IM/50Free). No Relays
Duration: 7
hours (approx meet time 9:00 – 4:00 each weekend day)
Awards: Both A and B level swimmers have a chance to
earn awards during the Pentathlon meet. After completion of each
event, the swimmers times will be divided into two groups. Swimmers
with times within the top half for the event are A swimmers;
swimmers with times within the second half for the event are B
swimmers. Individual ribbons in each event
(1st-8th) will be awarded in each group. In
addition, at the end of each day, there is a ceremony to hand out
overall awards based on the swimmer’s total time for all five
events combined (Pentathlon time). Overall winners in each
age group in the A and B divisions will receive medals for first
through third places and rosette ribbons for fourth through eight
place.
Woodlands Invitational (Selected A Swimmers
Only)
This is a two day invitational meet. Swimmers are invited by
the coaching staff to participate based on times posted during the
swim season. This meet offers some of the best competition
all season for our swimmers. At this meet, preliminary heats
are held in the morning. For qualifying swimmers, finals are
held in the afternoon, following a one-hour lunch break.
Finalists consist of the 12 fastest swimmers from the
prelims. The 6 fastest compete in the final heat and swimmers
7-12 compete in the consolation finals. Each day ends with
that day’s relay races.
Format: Swim 2 individual events (plus possible
relays)
Saturday
Events: Free, Breast, 13-up IM, Medley Relay
Sunday
Events: Fly, Back, 12-under IM, Free
Relay
Duration: 7 hours (approx meet time 9:00 –
4:00 each day)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered.
Awards:
Medals are awarded to individual finalist placing 1st
-6th. Rosettes are given to consolation finalists.
In the relay events, Medals 1st -3rd and
rosettes for 4th – 6th. This meet also
awards high point swimmer awards. Awards go to the
boy and the girl in each age group that have the highest total
points in the individual events. A ceremony is held at the
end of the meet on Sunday.
Crossings
Challenge invitational (Full Team except Woodlands Swimmers)
This is a one day invitational
meet designed to provide B swimmers a fun and competitive
meet. It is held on the same weekend as the Woodlands
Invitational. If you are selected to compete at the
Woodlands, you will not be eligible to swim at this meet.
Format: Swim 3 individual events (plus possible
mixed-gender relays)
Duration: 6
hours (approx meet time 8:30 – 4:00)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered.
Awards: Each participating swimmer will receive an
“Outstanding Swimmer” Medal. All swimmers will
receive medals (1st – 3rd) or rosettes
(4th-8th) for placement in individual events
and relays. Trophies will be awarded to High Point male and
female swimmer in each age group. High point will be
calculated based on the two highest individual event scores.
In case of ties, swimmers’ total relay score will be
used. There is an awards ceremony immediately following the
meet.
Contra Costa Swim League
Championships, a.k.a. "League Meet" (Full Team)
This meet is held over two days.
This meet is held against the 4 other teams in our league.
Swimmers are able to swim all 5 events and are seeded according to
their fastest times to date. There are no A and B division at
this meet, and almost every swimmer gets to swim in a relay, as the
number of relay entries is not limited at this meet!
Format: Swim all 5 individual events
Free and
Medley Relay (posted at the meet)
Duration: 7 hours (approx meet time 9:00 –
4:00 each weekend day)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered.
Awards: Lots of swimmers get awards at this
meet. First, there are awards for 1st and
2nd place heat winners in every heat. Then, there
are assorted medals and ribbons for the first ten places in each
event as well as relays. Finally, high point trophies are
awarded to the highest scoring individual in each age group and
runner up high point trophies are awarded to the second highest
scoring individual in the age group.
Traditions: There is a food table in the DHST camp
area with healthy snacks for all swimmers. It’s a pot
luck, so bring something to share. Also at the end of the
meet there is a parent relay. The kids love watching the
parent show off their swimming skills. You don’t want
to miss it. You can sign up with our team organizer if you
are interested in swimming on a parent relay.
Concord City Cup Swim Championships, a.k.a. "City Meet"
(Full Team)
This meet is held over three
days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). This meet is for all
swim teams in Concord and Clayton. For all individual events except
the IM, there are preliminary heats and then finals. There are A
and B divisions for each individual event at the meet.
Swimmers are placed based on their best times in the event at the
time entries are due. The heats are divided in half with the
fastest half being assigned to the A division. In addition,
the three fastest heats are “circle-seeded”. This means
that the 18 fastest swimmers in each event are evenly distributed
between the last three heats. There are finals in both the A
and B divisions.
Format: Swim 3 individual events. Free and Medley
Relay (posted at the meet)
Duration: Friday 3 hours (approx 5:00
– 8:00pm IM only)
Weekend 7
hours (approx 9:00 – 4:00)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered .
Awards: After this three day event, there is a lot
to celebrate. A parent relay is held following the
meet. Again, if you are interested you can sign up with the
team organizer. At the conclusion of the meet, the
Mayor’s Award trophies will be given to the boy and girl in
each A division age group who scores the most points in the three
individual events they compete in. Terrapins Award trophies
will be given to the B division high point swimmers in each age
group. Finally, the team awards for points and sportsmanship
are awarded. After the awards ceremony at the pool, we
have our own team celebration, usually at a local pizza
restaurant. All of the DHST event medals, rosettes, and
ribbons are distributed to the swimmers at the party.
Individual
Awards for A and B Division:
First
– Third: Medals (A) - Rosettes (B)
Fourth – Tenth: Rosettes (A and B)
Meet records: Rosettes (A)
Heat winners: Ribbon (A and B)
Traditions: Each team at the meet has a theme.
We dress up accordingly and show our team spirit. On Saturday
morning there is a caravan that heads to Cowell pool form DHST at
about 6:30 am. Cars have been decorated and the coffee is on.
This gets everyone up and going. We have a food table set up
at our team area and breakfast items and healthy snacks are
welcome. Again, following the meet, everyone heads to pizza for a
great night of food, fun and, of course, awards.
Contra Costa County Championships (County Qualifiers and
Relay Invitees)
This is the closing
meet of the recreational swim season, and is held over two
days. Swimmers who make a County qualifying time during the
season in individual events are eligible to compete in 2 of those
events. Relay teams can include swimmers who have not
otherwise qualified for the County meet. Over 60 teams from
Contra Costa County participate in this ultimate meet. For
all events except the IM, (and including the relays!) there are
preliminary heats and finals. Championship final heats
include the top 8 times from the preliminary heats; consolation
final heats include the next 8 top qualifiers from the
prelims. There are no consolation finals for relay
events.
Format: Swim
up to 2 individual events and up to 2 relays.
Saturday
Events: 11-up IM, Free, Breast, Medley Relay
Sunday
Events: 10-under IM, Back, Fly, Free Relay
Duration: 7
hours (approx meet time 9:00 – 4:00 each day)
**
Duration of your stay will depend on which events your swimmer has
entered.
Awards: All swimmers who qualify for an
individual event receive a participation award. Individual
medals are awarded for 1st through 8th place
in the championship finals. Rosette ribbons are awarded for
9th through 16th place in individual
events. Record holder awards go to individuals and relay
teams that set a new standing meet record. High point awards
go to the boy and girl in each age group earning the most points
from individual events. Outstanding relay awards are given to
one boys’ and one girls’ relay teams. Team
trophies are awarded to the top 3 teams in each division. An
awards ceremony is held at the end of the meet on Sunday.
[Top]
5) Surviving the Swim Season in Style
Here are a few key
reminders to help you make your summer as a member of the Dana
Hills Swim Team a success:
Vacation &
Sign-out Book
It is extremely important that you sign out of meets you
won’t be attending. If your child’s name is not on the
sign-out list, they will be entered in the meet. The sign-out book
is kept underneath the family file outside of the coaches’
office. You need to sign out of dual meets at least one week
prior to the meet. You need to sign out of Invitational meets
at least three weeks in advance of the meet.
Family File
Each family is given its own file folder where all
important information is inserted. Check your file daily if
possible. Notices, ribbons, awards, bills, etc. are always put in
the family file for your convenience. If your children are
responsible for bringing this information to you, check with them
often.
The Website
– www.danahillsotters.com
Our website is updated regularly with meet information,
photos, important announcements, result of all races during the
season, and more. Check it often for information and
entertainment.
Buddy Family
System
We will try to match up a veteran family with a new family
(age group appropriate) so that new families will feel more
comfortable asking questions and getting acclimated to DHST.
Bulletin
Board
Important meet information, driving directions, work
assignments and other important information is always posted on the
bulletin board, which is located across from the coaches’
office.
Heat Sheets
Heat sheets will be posted by the awards case two days
before a meet. This will tell you if your children are
swimming and, if so, what strokes. Please check this board
before every meet, last minute changes do occur.
Private
Lessons
While it is not
required, your children may choose to take private lessons with one
of our coaches after practice. Fees and sign-up information
are located underneath the family file. If you have any questions,
check with the individual coaches.
[Top]
|
