About Meets

Nothing beats the excitement and energy of a swim meet on a summer Saturday and for the first time in 2023 a Friday night meet! The camaraderie in the team area… the team spirit… the energy at poolside… the thrill of achievement when every child finishes a race… all contribute to the tremendous experience characteristic of our program! 

 

Participation Requirement

All swimmers must “splash” (participate) in a minimum of 3 dual meets during the current season to be eligible to participate in the Championship Meet ("Champs") at the end of the season.  Although not required, all swimmers are encouraged to attend Champs. This is the culmination of the season….. it's what swimmers work toward all summer!

 

Meet Schedule

The meet schedule is located on this website. Click the Events tab to see a list of all team events, including meets.

 

What to Bring

Here is a list of things that are often useful to bring:

  • Money for the snack bar
  • A cooler with snacks and drinks (NO glass items)
  • Towels for your swimmers
  • Goggles and swim cap
  • Extra pair of goggles, in case one pair breaks!
  • Sweatpants and sweatshirt - for cool mornings and after warm-ups
  • Pool flip flops for swimmers
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses and hats
  • Games, books, magazines, newspapers
  • Chairs for each parent
  • Sleeping bags/blanket for cold mornings
  • Tarp or groundcover; the ground is usually wet early in the morning in the team area
  • Tent, umbrella, or pop up for shade
  • Portable misters – very helpful, especially late in the season
  • Lightweight sandals for parents (better than flip flops)  

 

Signing Up for Swim Meets

1. Swimmers must sign up to attend each meet. Click the “Events” tab then click "Attend this Event". Signups for a meet will close Friday afternoon of the week before that meet (6 days in advance). Swimmers will not be allowed to participate in a meet if they have not signed in 6 days in advance. This requirement provides our coaching staff with appropriate time to write the meet.

 

If you plan to leave a meet early, please inform the coaches in writing, in advance, so that they can make the necessary adjustments when writing the meet. Otherwise, do not leave before your swimmer’s final event. This is especially important for relays. Your child’s failure to present for an assigned relay will result in the disqualification of the entire relay team.

 

2. If a swimmer signed up to swim in a meet (per 1, above) but cannot participate due to illness or a family emergency, please email [email protected].

 

Planning for the Meet

On the day of the meet, check in time for all swimmers at our home or away pools is usually 6:30am to 6:50 am. DISCLAIMER… always check the weekly newsletter and whiteboard before a meet as check in times sometimes change. 6&under swimmers are usually finished by noon. All other swimmers are usually done by 2:00 pm.

TIP…The team area fills up VERY quickly… many families arrive before check in time to set up their pop up tents and stake out a spot for their family. Early bird gets the worm!

There are designated areas for each team. The map of the pool area shows the team area and other locations of interest at the EDH pool. Your children should wait in the team area when they are not in the pool for warm-up period or their events.

Remember to notify your child’s coach in advance when your child will miss a meet. This will help your child’s coach plan for the meet.

Sometimes meet mornings can be very cold and damp. Dress appropriately. Your swimmers will need warm clothes following the warm-up period after check-in and before the meet begins. Keep in mind, too, that cold mornings almost always turn into very warm summer afternoons.

Write your children’s names on everything: towels, caps, flip flops, even the inside of the strap on their swim goggles. For example, every swimmer will receive a complimentary TAZ t-shirt and if it gets put in a pile, good luck trying to find which belongs to you!

  

Portable shade is strongly recommended. Parents can set up umbrellas or sunshades the morning of the meet in the team area. Parents are encouraged to use the “Buddy System.” Most portable shade systems are at least 10’ x 10’ and can accommodate multiple families. Team up with that family you met at practice and share your shade!

Parking can be challenging on meet days. Families should expect the possibility of parking a moderate distance from the pool. This means that families will have to carry meet-day necessities to the pool area (and back). Wheels on everything – coolers, sunshades, duffel bags – makes meet days much easier.

Be sure to drink fluids during the meet to avoid dehydration on hot summer days.

Remember to apply sunscreen – to you and your children!

Have fun!

 

Swim Meet Protocol

 

A swim meet is a large undertaking! A meet consists of hundreds of swimmers participating in a total of 95 events. Organization (and parent volunteers) is essential. The protocol refers simply to the process we use to manage swimmers before and during the meet.

 

The first thing you should do when arriving at the meet is check in your swimmer(s). Check-in occurs just inside the main gate to the pool (see map) at home meets. At away meets, ask volunteers at the TAZ information table where check in will be. All swimmers must check in one hour before the start of the meet. Check-in time is usually 6:45 am. Check-in time is also posted on the whiteboard at practice the day before the meet, and listed in the TAZ Times.

 

The Check-In crew consists of parent volunteers. When checking in, please give the crew member your child’s age group followed by your child’s last name.

 

Please note that a swimmer who fails to check in will be scratched from the meet and will only be able to swim exhibition.  An exhibition swimmer is not able to score points for the team.

 

The check-in process lasts about 15 minutes, after which the check-in crew gives the check-in sheets to the coaching staff. The coaches then begin the “scratch” process, which means that they delete absent swimmers from their events and make adjustments to the meet. This is especially important for relay events.

 

Heat Sheet and Meet Program

We've put together quick guides that explain how to read the Meet Program and Heat Sheet (click on the links below). The Meet Program provides swimmers with a snapshot of the events they are seeded to swim. The Heat Sheet is a more detailed view of the actual heat and swimmers competing. 

And here's a bit more information about how the meet is organized:

 

Time: This is the fastest qualifying time recorded by the swimmer in this event, shown in minutes and seconds. At the first dual meet, the time shown will be your child’s time recorded at the Mock Meet. At subsequent dual meets, your child’s best official time in this event will be shown on the slip. “NT” stands for “No Time” and means that your child does not have an officially recorded time in this event. To be considered official, your child must complete the race without being disqualified.

 

Heat: This is the heat assignment. Heat 1 (H1) is always the first heat in every event. There can be 1 to 5+ heats in any event depending upon the number of swimmers entered in that event and the number of available lanes in the pool.

 

During dual meets, faster swimmers are seeded into earlier heats.

During SSL championships, faster swimmers are seeded into later heats.

 

Lane Assignment: This is the lane your child is assigned for the race. This number will be between 1 and 10, depending on the number of lanes in the pool. Some older pools in the SSL only have six lanes. Newer pools, such as the Folsom Sea Otters and EDH Taz, have 10 lanes.  Faster swimmers are normally seeded in the center lanes.

 

Event: This shows the event number and name for your child’s race.

Generally, you will be able to track the meet by listening to the meet announcer. After each race begins, the announcer will identify the event number and heat of the race in progress.

 

TIP! LISTEN TO EVERY ANNOUNCEMENT OVER THE PA SYSTEM AND MEGAPHONE. Your name may be called to pick up a change of event slip, to add another race or move you to a different heat and lane. At home meets, we can call swimmers to the Ready Bench over the PA system, but at away meets we rely on the megaphone. Listen and let someone know if you heard his/her name called. Work together as a team. It’s not the responsibility of the Ready Bench or swimmer coaches to track down swimmers and notify them.

 

TIP! Check the posted final meet program for any changes to races and relays. (See map)

 

 

Ready Bench

 

IMPORTANT…Ready Bench is mandatory for all 6&Under, 7/8, and 9/10 swimmers. Younger swimmers need extra help getting ready for their events. Parents should listen for the meet announcer to call specific events to the Ready Bench area. For example, you may hear the announcer say “All swimmers for event 22, Girls 6 and under freestyle should report to the Ready Bench.”

 

At the Ready Bench, the Ready Bench crew will organize the swimmers by heat and lane assignment. Note that the Ready Bench is for Taz swimmers AND opposing team swimmers. At the appropriate time, the Ready Bench crew will help escort the swimmers from the Ready Bench area to the starting blocks.

 

Swimmers age 11 and older do NOT need to report to the Ready Bench. It is the responsibility of the 11 & older swimmers and their parents to make sure each swimmer is at his or her designated event, heat, and lane.

 

A final note about Ready Bench. The people who staff the Ready Bench are volunteers who are trying to assist up to 60 swimmers. A good way to help out is simply to get out of the way!

 

 

Races

 

The coaching staff will assign your child to participate in events. During the dual meet season, at most, each swimmer will be assigned to three individual events and two relays. Our team is too large to support exhibition events.

 

Parents are not allowed to add swims for their swimmers without following the proper protocol. Do not approach the Ready Bench and ask for additional swims. Please do not take matters into your own hands by entering your swimmer into an open lane. Any changes to the meet program need to be approved by the Head Coach. The Head Coach will discuss the change with the Meet Referee. The Meet Referee must approve the change. The procedure to request changes or add is:

 

1. See the Head Coach. All changes must be approved by the Head Coach before they can be submitted.

2. Upon approval, the Head Coach submits the change to Computer Operations. Computer Operations presents the change to the Meet Referee. If the change is approved by the Referee, Computer Operations will input the change into the meet system.

 

 

Mock Meet

 

The Mock Meet is special for a number of reasons:

 

·         It is the first swim meet of the season

·         There is no opposing team

·         All swimmers should plan to swim each individual event for their age group

·         There are no relays

For the coaches, the Mock Meet is an opportunity to see how the swimmers perform in a simulated meet situation. It provides the coaches with the information they need to write the dual meets. “Writing the meet” refers to the process used by coaches to assign swimmers to events and heats. The coach submits the meet to the Meet Official, who approves it and makes it official. This is similar to how a baseball manager submits a lineup to the head umpire.

 

The Mock Meet is where each swimmer records the initial qualifying times that will be used by coaches when seeding each swimmer into events and heats.

 

For parents, the Mock Meet is a chance to get familiar with the process of setting up, running, and cleaning up a meet. Please use this opportunity to ask questions and get familiar with the process. Relax and have fun! It may seem overwhelming at first, but it really does get easier as the weeks go by.

 

Just like at all dual meets, all swimmers must check in one hour before the start of the Mock Meet. The Ready Bench/Check-In crew will be clad in orange safety vests. Two crew members will be designated to check in boys and two for girls just inside the main gate. Look for identifying tags. Please give the crew person the age group first and then name. (If a swimmer fails to check in on time at a regular meet, he/she will be scratched from the meet and won’t be able to swim.)

 

At the Mock Meet, relays are not conducted, only individual events. In order to obtain seed times, each swimmer will be swimming all individual events, unlike regular league meets in which coaches assign swimmers to some individual events and possibly relays.