Swim Meet Information
There are seven dual meets each summer and season-ending Invitational and Conference meets with multiple teams competing. The dual meets are designated as home (held at the CP pool) or away (at the opponent's pool). Each summer we will have either three or four home meets. Meets usually run from about 8:00 am - 12:00 pm depending on the team size. Warmups are held before the meets.
How do I sign up for swim meet? On the homepage under the "swim meet" tab a place to declare your child’s intention to swim in the meet by choosing YES, my child will swim or NO my child will not be swimming. This must be done before the Saturday before the meet, 7 days in advance. This gives coaches time to decide what events each child will swim and to coordinate relays.
What will I swim at the meet? The coaches will choose your events. Each swimmer can swim up to 4 total events, with a maximum of 3 individual events. An email will be sent prior to the meet notifying everyone of their events. The coaches will notify you if any changes occur after that. All events will be listed on a heat sheet which is sent to families ahead of time at home meets and is available to purchase at both home and away meets.
When should I arrive at the meet? There is usually an "on deck" time, which means the time swimmers should be AT the pool and a designated warm-up time which is when the swimmers will be in the water. The head coach will share warm-up times with the team when she sends out the general meet information.
What should I wear to meets? The team does have a team suit that many swimmers wear but it is not required. Also, there are always Stingray swim caps available and each spring a special order is placed for personalized caps.
What should I bring to meets? Many families bring their pop up tents and lawn chairs as well as blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows. There are always concessions available at the meets, but many families bring their own food and drink as well, especially healthier snacks and drinks. Books and electronic devices are handy to pass the time. Each swimmer should bring two to three towels in addition to their swimsuit, cap and goggles. A sweatshirt is also helpful on those cooler mornings. Be sure to always have lots of water and lots of sunscreen!
Photos: Photos at home meets are taken by team photographers and put on a Shutterfly website for you to look over and order from Walgreens in CP if you desire.
During the meet: After the warm-up, the team has a brief meeting with the head coach and they perform the team cheer. Swimmers then head back to their parents, or if they are swimming in a relay, they head to the Clerk of Course. All swimmers must report to the Clerk of Course before they swim. There will be an announcement letting swimmers know when to line up at the Clerk of Course. All swimmers should check in with their age-group coach immediately after each race.
Most events will have multiple heats. The last heat is when the points for our team are scored. If your child is not in the final heat, they will have an X by their name on the heat sheet which stands for EXHIBITION. Exhibition gives all swimmers a chance to swim every meet and is equally important to the final heat. As each swimmer gains experience, the coaches will be able to determine what events are best. Ribbons are awarded for 1st-3rd Place in the final heat (1st-6th place at home meet) and for 1st Place in relays. The overall fastest exhibition swimmer will also be award a 1st Place Exhibition ribbon.
Events: Each meet is run in this order: Medley Relay, Freestyle, Backstroke, Individual Medley (9 & 10 and older,) Breaststroke, Long Freestyle, Butterfly, and the Freestyle Relay. Each event is broken up by age-group and girls/boys. If you know your child has a conflict and can only swim in the early events, please let the coaches know when you declare YES or NO for the meet.
Home meet volunteering: Hosting a swim meet takes lots of help and every family that has a child swimming at the home meet is required to work one job at every home meet. The positions are available for sign up on the website a week before the meet. Some duties include timing, clerk of course, scoring, concessions, and officiating (training required) and more. It is a good idea for new families to volunteer for different jobs to get a feel for what you like. See the VOLUNTEERING TAB under "For the Parents" on the Website for more information.
Families are also required to bring one food donation to two home meets. The food item choices will be available on the Job Signup page for the meet. Families may also opt to buy-out at the beginning of the season. Food donations DO NOT equal volunteer hours, however because of website constraints they all appear on the same signup page.
Conference: The season-ending meet is the Conference meet with all eight teams in the Tri-County League participating. Because it is such a large meet, each team can only send three swimmers in each event. Our team is very large, so there are several swimmers who may not swim an individual event but may be selected for a relay. Relay-only swimmers swim on Sunday only while individual event swimmers swim prelims on Saturday and may qualify for finals on Sunday. There is always a social gathering for all swimmers and families on Sunday after the Conference meet. Information will be provided as Conference gets closer.
Invitational Meet: If a swimmer does not swim an individual event at Conference, there is also an Invitational meet hosted by either Sun Prairie, Cross Plains or Mt. Horeb on the Tuesday before Conference. This is a great meet with a fun atmosphere. Many swimmers achieve best times at this meet and many awards are given. Parents are encouraged to put their swimmers in this meet. It is a great end to what could be the start of a life long love of swimming.
