FAQ’s and Information
How are swimmers grouped??
Swimming Age Groups:
8 and Under: Swimmers 8 years of age and younger
10 and Under: 9 years and 10 years of age
12 and Under: 11 years and 12 years of age
14 and Under: 13 years and 14 years of age
Open: 15 years through summer after graduation
Diving Age Groups:
Junior: Divers 12 years of age and younger
Senior: 13 years and older
Age Cut-Off: age as of June 15th each year
What are the swimming events?
Swim Strokes and Their Common Names:
Freestyle (free) = front crawl swam on stomach with arms making a windmill
Backstroke (back) = the front crawl stroke swam on the back, cannot turn over on to stomach
Butterfly*(fly) = both arm and leg movements occur at the same time, swam on
Breaststroke* (breast) = “frog stroke” where arms and legs move like a frog on top of the water
*Require 2-hand touches at finish, no freestyle kicking or scissor kicking allowed
Lap – point from one side of the pool to another (25 yards or 25 meters)
25 = 1 length of the pool (yards or meters)
50 = 2 lengths of the pool (yards or meters)
100 = 4 lengths of the pool (yards or meters)
Relay: 4 person event where each swimmer swims one leg of the race
Medley Relay: 4 swimmers compete with the 1st swimming backstroke, 2nd swimming breaststroke, 3rd swimming butterfly and 4th swimming freestyle
Free Relay: Each of the 4 swimmers swims freestyle
Event – part of the competition meet specified by age, gender and stroke.
Each age group swims the four strokes as well as one relay at one meet. 8 and under swimmers compete in the free relay. All other swimmers compete in the
Heat – portion of the event
Official Heat – first heat of an event where points are used towards final score Only 6 lanes of the official heat are actually official lanes and can sore points.
Exhibition Heat – any additional heat completed after the official heat. These heats do not earn points, however, they give the swimmers an opportunity to improve their times and participate with the team. These times can be used to qualify for championships.
False Start – leaving the blocks before the heat is started by an official (2 false starts results in disqualification)
Disqualification (DQ) – time and place of finish does not count due to incorrect swimming technique
Warm-up – opportunity for swimmers to get their muscles loose and ready
Cool Down/Warm-down – slow swimming needed to recover from race or
What are Time Trials??
It’s like a swim meet for just our swimmers. Time Trials are usually held on a Saturday morning before the first swim meet of the season.
Time Trials are held to record a time for your child in each of the 4 strokes. These times enable the coaches to do their line-ups for the 1st meet. This is also an opportunity for new swimmers to experience a meet and parents to shadow new positions that they have an interest in learning.
What are Time Improvements?
Nor Gwyn gives out ribbons after a meet when swimmers improve their time in a specific event. Look for these ribbons in your family folder following a meet.
What is the difference in the lengths of the pools?
Time Conversion – The swimming pools throughout the league are different lengths with some being 25 yards and some 25 meters:
Fanny Chapman.....25 yards
Souderton..... 25 yards
Nor-Gwyn..... 25 meters
Pennridge..... 25 yards
Hatfield..... 25 meters
Harleysville..... 25 meters
Towamencin..... 25 yards
Lansdale..... 25 meters
- To change a yard time to a meters time: Multiply 1.11 x the yard time
- To change a meter time to a yards time: Multiply .901 x the meter time
What is the order of events?
Event # Event Event #
Girls Name Boys
1 8 & Under 100 y/m Freestyle Relay 2
3 10 & Under 25 y/m Butterfly 4
5 8 & Under 25 y/m Butterfly 6
7 12 & Under 50 y/m Butterfly 8
9 14 & Under 50 y/m Butterfly 10
11 Senior 50 y/m Butterfly
13 8 & Under 25 y/m Breaststroke 14
15 10 & Under 25 y/m Breaststroke 16
17 12 & Under 50 y/m Breaststroke 18
19 14 & Under 50 y/m Breaststroke 20
21 Senior 50 y/m Breaststroke
23 8 & Under 25 y/m Backstroke 24
25 10 & Under 25 y/m Backstroke 26
27 12 & Under 50 y/m Backstroke 28
29 14 & Under 50 y/m Backstroke 30
31 Senior 50 y/m Backstroke
33 8 & Under 25 y/m Freestyle 34
35 10 & Under 25 y/m Freestyle 36
37 12 & Under 50 y/m Freestyle 38
39 14 & Under 50 y/m Freestyle 40
41 Senior 100 y/m Freestyle
43 10 & Under 100 y/m medley relay 44
45 12 & Under 200 y/m medley relay 46
47 14 & Under 200 y/m medley relay 48
49 Senior 200 y/m medley relay 50
51 Junior Diving – 1 meter 52 (Actually occurs before swimming events)
53 Senior Diving – 1 meter 54 (Actually occurs before swimming events)
How does each team get points??
How a Meet is Scored: There is a total of 466 points to be won in a swim meet.
They are broken down as follows:
Diving (36 points - 9 points for total each Jr. Girls, Jr. Boys, Sr. Girls, Sr. Boys):
- 5 points for 1st, 3 points for 2nd, 1 point for 3rd
Senior 100 y/m Butterfly 12
Senior 100 y/m Breaststroke 22
Senior 100 y/m Backstroke 32
Senior 100 y/m Freestyle 42
- Relays (70 points): Winning relay gets 7 points. No other points are awarded
- Individual Races (360 points): 5 points for 1st, 3 points for 2nd, 1 point for 3rd
A team cannot sweep an event as long as there is a swimmer from the
opposite team competing. In such case, the fourth place swimmer from the
opposing team earns 1 point leaving the first and second place finishers
earning 5 and 3 points respectively.
What are Invitationals?
Each season swimmers/divers can choose to participate in invitational meets. These are optional
meets, usually on a Saturday or Sunday. Swimmers select the events in which they would like to
compete. Information about these meets will be on the bulletin board and the newsletter.
Someone from the coaching staff attends each of the meets. This gives the swimmers another
opportunity to improve their times which can be used to qualify for champs.
What are Champs?
Because swimming is not only a team sport but also an individual sport, based on swimmers’
times, the League runs three championship meets at the end of the season. These meets give
swimmers the opportunity to compete against other swimmers in the league with similar times.
The coaches will work with the swimmers in selecting events and championships. There is only
one diving champs that all divers will participate in.
Championship Meet Qualifying Times: The championship meets are divided into three categories
according to ability (A, B and C) qualifying times may be found on the Bux-Mont swim league
website (www.northpennswimming.com/BuxMont). Viewing a swimmer’s time at the end of the
season will determine which championships they will attend. It is possible to attend all
championships but a maximum of four events total may be swum/dove.
What should a swimmer bring to a meet?
- Team suit, Swim cap, 2 pair of goggles (in case one pair breaks), 2-3 towels, Warm clothing
including sweatshirts and sweatpants- it gets chilly in the grass some nights!
- Healthy snacks (pretzels, vegetables, crackers, cheese sticks, grapes...) and water or Gatorade
- Enthusiasm, sportsmanship, spirit, and excitement!
What do parents need to bring to a meet?
-Chair, bug spray, sweatshirt (it gets chilly some nights), snacks, $$ for snacks, enthusiasm and
How long does a Swim meet last?
That depends....Usually meets are finished between 9 and 10 PM. It depends on the size of the 2
competing teams. Also, if we are asked to clear the pool because of lightning in the area, that
will delay the meet.
