New to Swim Team? Start here!
What are A and B Meets?
“A” meets occur on Saturday mornings and are against other teams our Division. The meet includes the 6 fastest freestylers in each age group, 3 fastest backstrokers, 3 fastest breaststrokers, 3 fastest butterflyers, and 3 fastest IM’ers (1 lap butterfly, 1 lap backstroke, 1 lap breaststroke, 1 lap freestyle). Each swimmer is allowed to swim 3 strokes plus an IM in a Saturday meet. There are also 2 relays in the “A” meet. One relay is an Open Age Medley which is usually for the older swimmers and the other consists of the fastest freestyler in each age group. The participants change each Saturday depending on who is available for that meet and their times.
How are line-ups created?
Our coaching staff uses a few criteria to determine who will swim in a Saturday meet.
- First, they use available swimmers’ fastest times in specific strokes as their primary criteria. Parents need to mark their swimmer as available or not available for each meet and the line-ups are created for A meets based on what swimmers are available.
- They may choose to “swim up” someone who they feel can help out another age group in terms of filing a lane(s) and/or have a chance to score points for the team.
- Our coaches may consider whether swimmers are legal (swim the stroke or strokes correctly), who’s injured/sick, and who have previous conflicts.
- They might look at what our opponent’s swimmers might be swimming in order to determine what strokes/events our swimmers will swim on a Saturday morning and what events will earn our team the most points.
In general, expect the coaches to be working on a draft of the Saturday lineup on Thursdays. However, it’s important to remember that the lineup is not finalized until the head coach or A Rep communicates, via email, that the lineup is ready and finished. At some point during the early afternoon hours on Fridays, you can expect this to happen.
What is a B Meet?
“B” meets take place on Wednesday evenings and includes teams outside our Division. Everyone is welcome to swim on Wednesday night, but if the swimmer is ranked first or second in their age group and they swam the maximum 3 strokes and an IM on a Saturday meet, they can only swim the alternate (fourth) stroke on the following Wednesday. For example, if a swimmer swam freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and IM on a Saturday, the following Wednesday, they could only swim breaststroke. The times the swimmers make at the “B” meet can help bump them into the “A” meet based on times.
If a swimmer competed in freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke, he/she is only eligible to swim in his/her “off” stroke. In this case, butterfly—if the coaches deem that this swimmer is legal in that “off” stroke. In addition, if a swimmer did not swim I.M. (Individual Medley) on the previous Saturday, he/she is eligible to swim it in a “B” meet provided that the swimmer is legal in all four competitive strokes and he/she is interested in swimming that event. The head coach reserves the right to remove any swimmers from B meet events if they are not legal or swam too many events in the A Meet.
What are Time Trials?
Former MCSL President Sally MacKenzie once described Time Trials perfectly:
"Why hold time trials?
First, it lets the coach determine the first "A" meet's lineup. Lots of things change over the summer--kids grow, start (or stop) winter swimming, age up into longer events, etc.--so last year's times don't always tell you how fast a kid will be this year. And, of course, if a child is new to swim team or is swimming a 50 instead of a 25, you don't have times for him or her at all.
Second, it gives the swimmer a starting time that he or she can work to better over the season.
Third, it gives children new to swimming--and those who may have forgotten over the winter--the experience of swimming in a meet. New swimmers learn how to report to the clerk of course, how to line up for their events, and what a starting machine sounds like. They get an introduction to the sights and sounds of competitive swimming--and they also get to check out the snack bar.
Time trials is also great for parents, giving them a chance to learn or remember what they need to do at meets. It lets them brush off their rusty timing skills or figure out where the team's coffee pot went over the winter. New meet managers and team reps get a practice run, hopefully making the first dual meet go more smoothly."
Other than swimming, what else does the team do?
Summer swim is a LOT of fun. The coaches and parents work really hard to ensure all the kids have the best time possible. This includes dressing up in themes for every swim meet, social events during the summer doing fun things in practices to liven them up, movies, weekly socials and just a lot of general encouragement and camaraderie among the whole team. It's a great way for your swimmer to get to know other people of all ages! Summer swim is one of the only sports where there are 5 through 18 year olds on the same team!
When does the season run?
Swim Team practice starts on Memorial Day. We know that a lot of kids have spring sports and activities to finish up, but hope they come when they can the first few weeks. The season starts with Time Trials (where the coaches get first crack at seeing how fast each child is in the events) in mid-June and culminates with Divisionals (large meet featuring all 6 teams in our division) in late-July.
How much does my child have to come?
There's a range of participation for sure! And it's all fine. Some kids come to practice every day and some come a few days per week. Remember, the more they practice, the better they will swim!
What is required from parents?
We need parent volunteers to help at both A and B meets and to help with the general running of the team. Each family is required to fulfill a certain amount of volunteer points. To learn more those, click here. Please feel free to ask our volunteer coordinator for more information!
I’m glad you asked. We need parent volunteers to help out with both the meets AND with the general running of the team. We have some parents who have been helping out for years and are ready to move on, so we need help especially from those parents with younger kids who are ready to contribute. Please ask any of the swim team reps for details.
Does my child need to buy a suit and a cap?
Nope! Many of our swimmers do wear the team suit but it is not mandated! However, swimmers may not wear a suit with another team's logo in a meet. Caps are also not required but highly ecouraged, especially for those swimmers with long hair. Again, no other team's logos can be worn on a cap, per MCSL rules.
What do all the acronyms and lingo mean?
Not to worry! We have a list of terms that relate to swimming and our team!
What did I get myself into?
Ha! Welcome to summer swim! It's a lot of fun for both the swimmers AND the parents! Both swimmers and parents get to know a lot of the members of the pool through practices, meets and team socials. Please familiarize yourself with the website, sign up to volunteer and reach out to the Swim Team committe with questions!
