Event – Based on gender, age group, distance, and stroke. For example, event 11 in each meet is the girls 8 & under 25 meter freestyle.

Relay – An event that includes four swimmers competing together on a team. Each dual meet has two relay events, a medley relay and freestyle relay. The distance of each relay depends on the age group.

Heat – A single race within an event. An event may have numerous heats, especially at All-City Swim Meet. Typically, heats are seeded with faster times swimming in later heats.

Lane – There are six lanes, separated by lane lines, in Parkcrest’s pool. Each swimmer has their own lane in a dual meet event. Heat Sheet – An information packet organized by events, heats, and lanes. Parents, coaches, and swimmers use heat sheets to determine when a particular event will be swum.

Disqualification – Commonly referred to as a DQ. DQ’s occur when a swimmer violates a stroke rule or leaves early on a relay start/individual start.
Clerk of Course – A group of parent volunteers who help place swimmers in their correct heat and lane. The Clerk of Course usually helps the 8 & unders and sometimes even the 9-10s.

TIME COMMITMENT

Dual meets are held weekly on Saturdays. The start time is typically 8:00 a.m. Warm-up and start times will always be posted on the bulletin board the week before the meet. At home meets, warm-ups usually begin one hour prior to the meet.

For some away meets, swimmers in 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18 age groups will have a warm-up at Parkcrest before going to the host pool. The lengths of meets vary depending on the size of the opposing team, but are typically over between 11:00 and 1:00 p.m.

EVENTS

There are 70 events divided by age groups and gender in each dual meet. For each age group there are five individual events (Freestyle, Backstroke, Individual Medley (I.M.), Breaststroke, and Butterfly) and two relay events (Medley Relay and Free Relay). Swimmers are allowed to compete in a maximum of two individual events and two relays.

We make sure to enter everyone in two individual events. The relay entries are always dependant upon the number of kids swimming in a particular age group. We will attempt to enter each child in at least one relay per meet.

AWARDS

Awards are given to swimmers placing first thru sixth place in each event based on their times. Additionally, heat winners are also awarded to younger swimmers who win their heat.

HELPING YOUR SWIMMER

While the clerk of course helps organize swimmers 10 years old and younger, the older swimmers are responsible for checking the heat sheets and being at the starting blocks before their heat is ready to swim.

In order to help your younger swimmer, we strongly suggest that you write the event number, heat number, and lane number on the back of his/her hand before the start of the meet. You can find this information from one of several heat sheets usually posted around the pool deck. For example, 23-3-6 indicates that the swimmer is swimming in event 23, heat 3, and lane 6. This serves as a good reminder, so when event numbers are being called, the swimmer can simply look on his/her hand.

If you have any other questions about meets, feel free to talk to any of the coaches. Thank you.