New to Summer Swim? Start here!
Swim Meet Intro Info
Yay! You joined the summer swim team! We are glad you are here! We’ve put together a bit of info about how the season rolls along to give our new families a heads-up (and returning families a fun read or refresher if you need it).
Suits: Suits can be purchased online at Suit Up (picked up or shipped) or go to the store to try one on if you aren't sure of the size. Suit Up is in University Mall.
Practices: Practices will be after school after the pool opens until school gets out (check the schedule on swimtopia for times). After school is out, they will be in the morning every day (see schedule) and there will be one afternoon practice that is mainly for kids who are in camps and can’t make the morning practice. You do not have to let anyone know if you skip practice (but you do if you plan to skip a meet, see below).
Meets: Meets are the BEST part of summer swim. They are fun for the kids and (hopefully) parents! We have several types of meets….
Time trials: This is a “practice” meet at the beginning of the season where we get times to help the coach seed the first A meet. A swimmer can swim all events or any that he/she wants to swim. It is very important and helpful to the coach for swimmers to attend the time trials and it’s a great practice for new swimmers. This meet will be on a Saturday morning the week before the first A meet. Historically, we do this meet with our friends at Rutherford pool, so it is at one of the two pools alternating each year.
A meets(Saturday morning): Each division has 6 teams that swim against the other teams once a week for 5 weeks–there are two teams competing in each meet, thus the name “dual meet”. These are the NVSL meets that count for division team champion. The coach seeds the meet with swimmers based on times and availability. It is IMPERATIVE that you log into swimtopia well before the meet date to declare availability so that we can use that data to put swimmers in events. You can do it all ahead of time if you know what weekend you will be unavailable and save yourself the trouble later.In A meets there are several events split up by age (8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18) and gender. The events are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. At the end of the meet there are relays. 8 and under has a freestyle relay, and the other age groups have a medley relay. There are also mixed age freestyle relays to finish off the meet. Each swimmer can only swim 2 events, plus relays. The meet is scored by adding points for each event. First place gets 5 points, 2nd gets 3 points and 3rd gets 1 point. Each relay win gets 5 points. The points are tallied up at the end and a winner (or tie) is announced. Little Clips do not swim in these meets for points but even swimmers not entered are welcome and encouraged to come cheer on the team and check out the meet! Occasionally, there will be a lollipop portion of the A meet for Little Clips (we will let you know).
B meets (Monday night meets): These are the developmental meets that anyone can swim. These meets are not part of NVSL, but we do have a Woodson B meet league with area teams.. All the strokes are swum, but there is also a chance to swim IM (medley) and there are no relays at B meets. There are no points calculated for B meets. Swimmers can pick two events to swim, plus IM if they would like to do that. If swimmers placed 1-3 in the event in the previous A meet, they cannot pick that stroke. Usually, there is a portion of the B meet reserved for our littlest swimmers and they can use a kickboard if needed. You do not have to declare availability before the meet as we can do deck entries, but logging into swimtopia and declaring you will be there is very helpful, as is telling the coach which 2 strokes (plus IM) your swimmer will be swimming.
Relay carnival: This meet is all relays and is held in the evening on a Wednesday mid-season. All 6 teams in our division meet at one pool for this meet. The relay teams are seeded by age/gender by the coach based on times and availability (mark available in swimtopia). There are both freestyle only and medley relays (back, breast, fly, free). The team earns points for these events and it is tallied at the end for the winner.
IM carnival: This is an evening meet that is all medley (fly, back, breast, free) events. Anyone who can swim the IM is free to swim this meet. This meet is part of our Woodson B meet league and includes swimmers from Ilda, Long Branch, Rutherford, Fairfax, Canterbury Woods, and Truro so it it is fun to see school friends from other pools!
Divisionals: This is the culminating NVSL event! Divisionals is the last meet of the season. Events are seeded based on swim choice and times (swimmers with fastest times can get first choice). Swimmers can only swim 2 events. This is not a meet that earns points for the team, but is more for individuals to finish out the season with their best times. All events plus IM are swum (no relays). Each year the order of events changes, but this meet begins on Saturday morning and wraps up in the early afternoon (long meet). The results of this meet determine who goes to NVSL All Stars the following weekend (top 18 in NVSL).
What to bring for meets:
Towel and maybe an extra towel or blanket to sit on, foldable chair, extra tent if you have one to share shade with your teammates (team will put out a few tents), snacks/water, games such as uno or chess to play with teammates while you are in the team area.
Volunteering:
Did you know it takes over 40 adults to run a summer swim meet? We depend on volunteers and expect one parent from each family to volunteer in the meets if your child is swimming. Here are some jobs you might choose:
Timer: We need lots of timers per meet and this job is exactly what you think. Push the button when you see the light on the starter and press it again when you see the swimmer touch. Write it on a card. Each lane has 3 timers.
Clerk of Course: Organize the swimmers into their lanes before they come out to swim…for younger swimmers, this includes walking them out and showing them where to stand.
Table worker: Help our data official organize the times as they come in from each event.
Concessions(home meet only): Sell snacks when we have a home meet!
Marshal:Stand on deck and ensure that only officials, volunteers, and swimmers are on deck and where they are supposed to be. Ensure everyone is safe during warmups and the meet.
Official: (Stroke and turn, starter, referee) These volunteers ensure that the meet is run fairly and help swimmers improve by ensuring they are swimming properly. These positions require certification by either NVSL or PVS (USA Swimming). If you are interested in becoming an official (or if you are already certified as a starter or stroke and turn judge in PVS), please let a team rep know.
We hope your swimmer has an excellent season!
The biggest action items for you are:
- Read the emails
- Declare availability for meets in swimtopia
- VOLUNTEER TO WORK THE MEETS
