SWIM MEETS

The College Park Splash Swim Team participates in one (1) practice meet, five (5) regular season ISL meets, and one (1) ISL Championship meet. Meets are usually held Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meets may involve two or three ISL teams.

TIME TRIALS

In order to prepare everyone for our swim meets, we hold a "practice" swim meet and only swimmers from College Park Splash will participate. This is usually scheduled the first Saturday before the regular season. The purpose is to introduce new swimmers and families to the way a meet works. All families must volunteer for this meet including large job holders and board members.  This does not count towards your regular season volunteer jobs.  We also use this "practice" meet to get starting times for swimmers, and are then able to track improvement throughout the season. It is a fun time with no pressure to learn how the meets run.  

WHAT TO BRING

Swimmers must wear an official Splash swimsuit, Splash swim cap, and goggles. Small toys and games are great for keeping young kids busy between races. Chairs, sunblock, hats, snacks/drinks, and beach towels are also a good idea. Most teams raise money with a concessions/snack stand — cash only.

GETTING THERE

The address of the pool we will be at for various meets is listed under the “Swim Meet” tab for each meet.

ARRIVAL & SIGN-IN

Swimmers are expected to check in between 7 AM and 8 AM (as specified by meet information). Parent volunteers are expected to arrive by 8:00AM; volunteers on the set-up, sign-in, and concessions crews will be assigned an earlier arrival time.

Swimmers must check-in at the Swimmer Check-In table where a Coach will write the swimmer's events on his/her forearm with a Sharpie marker (it comes off easily with alcohol).Please have children apply sunblock AFTER having their events written on their arm. Starting at approximately 8:00 a.m., the coaches will have the swimmers warm-up with a few laps in the pool.

Parents must check in at the Volunteer Check-In table to confirm their job assignments. Parents are requested to check in upon arrival even if working an afternoon shift.

READY BENCH

Once the meet starts, swimmers will be called by event numbers to the Ready Bench area. There, ready bench volunteers will put the swimmers in their correct event, heat, and lane order. It is the parents' responsibility to make sure their swimmer arrives at the ready bench area prior to their event. Arriving late could result in a missed event!  Coaches will not be looking for swimmers!

Near the head table, prominently displayed, are rotating numbers. The number displayed refers to the event that is being called to the ready bench. If the placard number is 28, all swimmers participating in events 28 and less (e.g. 27, 26, 25) should proceed immediately to the ready bench.

The ready bench can be a very busy and crowded place. Parents of young children may want to walk their kids to the ready bench to make sure they get there on time. However, once there, we ask that you leave your child in the care of the ready bench volunteers. It is the volunteers' responsibility to supervise the swimmers and walk them to the starting blocks for their event. Only swimmers and ready bench volunteers are permitted in the ready bench area.

ORDER OF EVENTS

A swim meet consists of 68 events performed in a consistent order. Events are grouped by stroke and are repeated through all age groups, starting with 5-6 Girls and ending with 15-18 Boys. (A 5-6 girl who swims freestyle will swim event 51 throughout the season.)

DISQUALIFICATION

ISL rules govern the conduct of all swim meets. Swimmers may be disqualified if they are swimming a stroke incorrectly and if the stroke error results in a material advantage. Disqualification is not intended to punish swimmers but is meant to underscore the importance of swimming a stroke correctly. For ages 5-8 only, disqualified techniques will be noted but ribbons will still be awarded during the "soft DQ" period. For ages 5-6, this is the first 4 meets of the season. For ages 7-8, this is the first 2 meets of the season. For the ISL's comprehensive Disqualification Guidelines, visit the league's website at www.IrvineSwimLeague.org.

LAST MINUTE EMERGENCIES

It is extremely important that swimmers and parent volunteers check-in prior to the start of the meet. If there is a last minute emergency or illness (ie: Friday night or Saturday morning) and a swimmer or a volunteer is unable to attend, we need to know!

Please notify the Team President before 7:00 AM Saturday morning.