Mountain Creek Swim Team

A swim meet is an organized competition between two teams. Each team participates in five regular season meets. Additionally we have a Practice Meet to kick off our season and the end- of-the-season Championship meet that includes all teams in the league.

Swim meets consist of 76 or 86 events. For example, Event 1 is the 6 and under girls (6U) 100 yard freestyle relay. Individual events may have several heats (races) since there are often more kids swimming than there are lanes. At Mountain Creek we only have five (5) lanes, so if 9 kids are swimming in an event there will be two heats. It usually takes about 3-4 hours to complete a swim meet.

Events

Events for children six and under (6U) include one(1) relay and two (2) individual races (freestyle and backstroke). All other age groups have two (2) relays and six (6) individual races (free back, breast, butterfly, and individual medley or IM). Typically, children swim in 2 or 3 of the individual races and up to 2 relays. Your child will swim in races with other children of the same gender, in the same age group. The only exception to this is when a child “swims up,” or participates in a race with older children in order to fill a spot to gain more points for the team. Occasionally we swim two (2) races (usually relays) at the same time (for instance, the girls 13-14 and boys 13-14 relays might swim concurrently) to speed up the meet—but these two events remain separate events for scoring and placing purposes.

Age groups are determined based on the child’s age as of June 1.

Each pool should have a sign with the event number on it somewhere in plain sight. Also, the official (usually the person with a bullhorn that starts each race) will announce the event and heat before each race.

Relays

If there are only three (3) swimmers in your child’s age/gender group then there are not enough to make a relay team. If there are more than four (4) swimmers, but less than eight (8), then there are only enough swimmers to make one relay team. Relays are at the coaches’ discretion—rest assured we make every effort to include as many swimmers in relays as possible.

The medley relay the order is back, breast, fly then free. For the Individual Medley (IM) it is fly, back, breast then free.

Performance

We want to see best times in each and every race! Please encourage your child to swim their personal best each and every race. We celebrate best times on the “Beat the Clock” posters and with Personal Best ribbons.

Sportsmanship

Talk with your children about this issue. Please help make this important to our kids. During the meets, be friendly to the other team’s parents and complimentary whenever possible. It creates a positive environment for everyone. Our most fun meets have been with teams that have this attitude.

Disqualification (DQ)

For some of the strokes there are technical things that they legally can and can’t do. For example, in butterfly, their feet must stay together and they must touch the wall with 2 hands at the same time. If the league starter/referee notices that a child is doing something illegal for that stroke, they can get disqualified or dq’ed. We work with the swimmer to correct their stroke to prevent future disqualifications.

Bullpens

At the meets, swimmers are required to hang out in the bullpen. There will be a few parent volunteers who help the kids make sure they don’t miss their events. A few minutes before their race, the kids move to the ready area (where the benches are located) and wait for the Deck Manager and Coaches to call their name and line them up in the right spot. Please help your child understand that they should stay in the team bullpen area during the meet so that they will not miss an event. If your child needs to leave the bullpen for any reason, they should inform a bullpen volunteer as to where they are going.

Swim Meet No Shows

The coach only knows whether you’re showing to a meet or not based on what you signed in on the website. Often swimmers are involved in outside activities that make them miss practices off and on, but they still make it back to the meets. It is very important to update your meet attendance on the website each week.

If you signed up for the meet, please let the coach know as soon as possible in writing in the case that your child cannot swim (use the coach’s cell phone number on the day of the meet: email may be too slow.)

They may be on a relay that might not swim if they are not at the meet. This is particularly disappointing to the other relay swimmers if they are planning to swim and are told at the last minute that they do not have enough swimmers to make a relay team. Also, if you have signed up for a volunteer position, try to find a substitute or at the very least, contact the coach as soon as possible to let them know that the position needs to be filled.

Weather Cancellations

The meets are rarely cancelled--rescheduling is a nightmare. Please show up at the scheduled time unless you get an email or text from the coach telling you otherwise. We can go swimming in the rain. Thunder will delay a meet, but it will be run eventually, rain or shine. If a meet is interrupted by a thunderstorm, the swim team representatives from each team will meet and agree how to proceed. There will be a 30 minute delay.  If it looks like rain, be sure to bring umbrellas and extra towels for your swimmer as well as yourself.

Volunteer

A swim meet cannot run without enough volunteers to fill the positions. If you have small children, make arrangements for your spouse to watch your kids while you work the meet. If that is not possible, try to make arrangements with another parent to take turns watching the smaller children so that you each can volunteer. Or consider hiring a babysitter during the meet. If you are unsure of your ability to do a volunteer job, talk with the volunteer coordinator. They will help you find something that will work for your situation.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF PERSONNEL NEEDED FOR IN PERSON/ HYBRID SWIM MEETS

Announcer. The host team will arrange for someone to act as announcer. Additionally they shall provide him with equipment to perform his duty. This equipment includes loudspeaker or bullhorn and an order of events. Announcing for each meet must be loud enough to be understood by participants, officials and spectators.

Example of correct commands:

First call, event number and event description (i.e. "Event number 1, 6 & under girls free relay. Please report to the blocks")
After a short interval repeat the above for the second call.
At the end of second call, wait a short interval and give final call for the event. The announcer should follow this procedure for all remaining events.
Try to stay 3 events ahead of the event in the water.

At all times the announcer should know what is going on. This includes the event number, number of heats per event etc. so the calls can be made without haste. This keeps the meet running smoothly. At all times the next event should be on the deck. Working closely and communicating with the deck manager is vitally important in this position. The announcer should avoid talking while the starter is giving commands the swimmers.

Deck Manager. Each team will provide a deck manager. They are in charge of the ready area and shall line up all swimmers on the deck for their event. He/she shall be provided with the revised heat sheet listing names of all swimmers in all events. They shall notify each swimmer to wait behind the block until the starter takes over control of the race. The visiting team shall provide someone to work in the ready area to identify their swimmers, as the home team will not be familiar with those swimmers. These people should be strong natured. Getting the swimmers and making sure that they are in place is difficult yet critical to the smooth running of the meet. Each team is responsible for making sure that their swimmers report to the ready area from the team area in time to be checked off by the deck managers.

Starter Referee. The starter referee is provided by the league to act as an impartial third party. This person is responsible for any conflicts that may arise during the course of the meet. The starter/referee will start all races and act as a stroke and turn judge during the event. If the starter/referee decides to disqualify a swimmer during an event he/she will signal by raising his/her hand and inform the place judges of the disqualification at the end of the event. They will then notify either the swimmer or their coach of the disqualification. At times the referee may be late or may be unable to show up. In this case, a person shall be appointed with the consent of both teams to act as the starter referee. Atlanta is a big city and travel can be difficult. The two teams need to work out any of these potential difficulties between each other when they occur.

Place Judges. Each team shall provide a place judge. The judges must in all events and, at all times command a clear view of the race and finish line. Judges shall not serve as timers in the same race. The judges are to judge the place finishes as they see them. The judges are to write the place finish on their updated copy of the meet program. The judge’s recorder at the end of the race will copy that order of finish on the Place Judge’s Form. The place judges override the times and the starter/referee breaks a tie if the place judges disagree. In an 8 lane pool a third finish judge will be used to cover all non scoring places. The first 2 judges will be responsible for all scoring places plus one place. The third judge will be responsible for the remaining non-scoring places. To avoid confusion it is advised that only 6 lanes be swum in an 8 lane pool during the scoring heat. The home team should provide the third place judge when needed in an 8 or 10 lane pool.

Timers. At all meets times shall be taken on each lane. Each team shall provide two timers for each of their team's lanes. In a 5 lane pool the home team will provide two timers for the fifth lane. One of the timers will operate the watch and the other will record the times on the lane timer worksheet, only one watch per lane is needed. At all times, the timer must have a clear view of the race and finish line. The timer shall look at the starter’s signal and start the watch at the instant of the starting signal. The timer shall stop the watch immediately when any part of the swimmer’s body touches the solid end of the pool. The second timer shall record times on the timer’s worksheet and communicate these times to the master recorderwho shall record them on the score sheet. Teams using automatic timing systems for their meets should have one timer from each team timing in each lane, instead of 2 timers from the same team.

Judges Recorder. The home team will supply a judge’s recorder. This person will place himself/herself behind the place judges with their own copy of the Place Judge’s Form. When the race is finished and the judges and starter/referee have ruled on the place finishes, he/she will record the places in the appropriate block on the Place Judge’s Form. For swimmers who have been disqualified by the starter/referee the judge’s recorder will write “DQ” in the place block for that swimmer. If the listed swimmer does not swim in that race NS should be placed in the spot for a time. The judge’s recorder then passes the completed Place Judge’s Form to the master recorder. The Judges Recorder has no say in the order of finish and should not attempt to influence the place judges on the order of finish.

Master Recorder. Each team will provide at least one Master Recorder. The master recorder collects the Place Judge’s Form from the Judge’s Recorder when the event is complete and all places have been recorded. The master recorder will then go to each lane and record each swimmer's time in the Time Column of the Place Judge’s Form as noted by the recording timer. With all places and times recorded, the master recorder will deliver the completed Place Judge’s Form to the scoring table either directly or via the runner. Each team can alternate this job for each race.

Runners. The home team shall provide a minimum of one runner at all times during the meet. Runners will be responsible for collecting the Place Judge’s Form from the Master Recorder. Taking these promptly to the scorer’s table. This position can be eliminated if the scoring table is in close enough proximity that the master recorders can deliver the scoresheet without slowing the meet.

Computer Operator. One computer operator shall be provided from each team. They shall work together at the table provided. They will input the results from each event as reflected on the completed Place Judge Form into the computer immediately after each event. A running score shall be kept at all times. Upon completion of the meet each team shall receive a copy of the final meet results. It is suggested that teams alternate this job every group of events: i.e. one operator does the short free then the other operator does the long free. The person who is not currently working on the computer should assist the computer operator with checking the input of times and places.

Ribbon Writers. Ribbon writers shall be responsible for placing the completed ribbon labels on the appropriate award and placing them into a box for the appropriate team. Ribbons should be placed in two separate boxes and given to each team at the end of the meet.