WISC Dual Meets
The Washtenaw Interclub Swim Conference (WISC) provides opportunities for DCAC swimmers and divers to compete in dual meets against other local teams throughout the summer. Meets are held on Saturday mornings, often held at outdoor pools. The season culminates in a the WISC Championship Meet, typically held in the 3rd week of July. Race distances vary by age group, but the basic structure of the meets is as follows:
100 or 200 yard Medley Relay
25 or 50 yard Freestyle
50, 100, or 200 yard Specialty Stroke
100 or 200 yard Freestyle Relay
Coaches select appropriate events for each swimmer, and parents are on deck to marshal the kids and make sure they get to their events. Though these meets offer a limited range of events, they provide a relaxed, relatively low-key introduction to competitive swimming, and are a big favorite of our younger swimmers in particular. Times achieved at these meets are not usable for USA Junior Olympic or State meets. There is no charge to enter WISC meets.
USA Swimming Sanctioned Invitationals
Large USA Swimming sanctioned invitationals are weekend meets with age group sessions Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. Swimmers and their parents choose which sessions they wish to attend and which events they wish to enter, so no one is obligated to spend the whole weekend at the meet unless that is what they want to do. These meets offer a much expanded list of events for the swimmers, and allow swimmers to swim a variety of events that might not be available at other meets. Each meet will usually offer the following distances for each age group.
10 & Under Age Group
25, 50, 100 yard Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly
200 Freestyle, 100, 200 Individual Medley
11 & 12 Age Group
50, 100, 200 yard Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly
100, 200, 400 Individual Medley
500, 1650 Freestyle
13 & Up Age Groups
50 yard Freestyle
100 & 200 Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly
200 and 400 Individual Medley
500, 1650 yard Freestyle
Swimmers are sorted into A, B, and C divisions for each event based on their seed times, with each division being scored separately. This allows even new swimmers the chance to win ribbons and medals. Each year DCAC hosts one of these large invitationals, The Red, White, and Blue Classic, in mid-November. This is our one major fundraiser for the club and is a perfect opportunity to try this meet format. Times from these meets do count toward qualifying for the USA Swimming Junior Olympic and the State Meets. There is a charge to swim in these meets.
USA Sanctioned Dual/Tri Meets
DCAC also participates in USA Swimming sanctioned dual and tri meets in throughout the year. These are much smaller affairs than the large weekend invitationals, but times from these meet do count toward qualifying for the J.O. and State meets. We swim most of these meets at our home pool against teams such as South Lyon and Club Wolverine. Dual/Tri meets are usually held on Saturday mornings and typically over in about 3 hours. They offer a narrower range of events than the large invitationals, but an excellent level of competition in a low stress environment. Our head coach will select events for our swimmers at these meets. There is no charge for swimmers to attend these meets.
