A: Swim meets are fun for children and parents! They are the rewards for the hours of practice a swimmer puts in. At meets, our entire team swims as a unit against another team. Meets are held on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. The Stingrays participate in several Saturday-Sunday invitational meets such as ECI. Those swimmers earning “County” times will also participate in the County Meet in August.
The events of the meet are planned and announced in advance in the form of meet sheets, which the coaches will post on the Events & Jobs page by 6 pm the evening before a meet. Meets between just two teams may include the following events, in this order: Medley Relay, Individual Medley (IM), Freestyle, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Backstroke, Free Relay. Each event begins with the youngest age group, and alternates girls' heats first, then boys'. The coaches have selected the event for each swimmer in advance. Swimmers are assigned to heats and lanes based on best times within that event. Each swimmer will typically participate in 2 individual events (e.g. 25 yd freestyle) and may participate in a team relay event. Read How to Read a Meet Sheet for helpful hints.
A: The weather can very from very cold to very warm at meets, so wear lots of layers and come prepared.
Directions to the pool (read about the event on the Events & Jobs page)
Team swim suit
Team swim cap
Goggles
Sharpie pen (for writing event #s on your child’s hand)
Shoes
At least two towels per swimmer (robes are also handy)
Sunscreen
Baseball cap/sun visor
Sweatshirt and sweatpants
Jacket
Blanket or towel to lay on ground
Lawn chair
Umbrella or pop-up tent for shade
Sleeping bag and/or small tent to stay warm between events
Cards, books, games to pass time between events
Camera
Pen and paper to record swimmer events and times
Healthy snacks and drinks (and/or money for concession stand)
A: Do NOT sign in to a meet on the Events & Jobs page.
A: Email head coach as soon as possible: coach@bsrswim.org
A: This meets is a fun two-day event open to all swimmers. Your family picks the events your child will swim on one or both days. Additional volunteer duties are required for participating families.
A: All swimmers are expected to stay until the end of the meet unless they have permission from the head coach. If swimmers have completed all of their individual events and are not scheduled for a relay, they should check with the head coach before leaving. Often a swimmer will be needed on a relay at the last minute to replace someone who becomes ill, has to leave suddenly, or is a no-show. Also, the coaches will sometimes have the opportunity to swim an extra relay to allow more swimmers to participate.
A: Time Trials are like a practice swim meet with only our team, usually in May. Each swimmer can try every stroke in a low pressure, supportive environment. The times you swim becomes your benchmark for further improvement throughout the season. The team photograph is taken the morning of Time Trials.
