Swim meets are a great family experience! They’re a place where the whole family can spend time together. Listed below are guidelines to help you through your first couple of swim meets. It may seem a little overwhelming, but we tried to be as specific and as detailed as possible. If you have any questions, please ask a coach or experienced parent.

What To Take To The Meet (for the swimmer)

• 2 Suits—team and backup
• 2 Caps—team and backup
• 2 pairs of goggles
• 2 or more towels
• 2 or more T-shirts
• Something to sit on and possibly wrap up in (sleeping bag, fleece blanket, etc.)
• Sweats—top and bottom, maybe 2 for cold meets-fleece and other quick-drying textiles are best
• Deck shoes (flip-flops, etc)
• Sunscreen (summer meets)
• Food: Each swimmer is usually allowed to bring a small cooler. It is better to bring snacks. They usually have snack bars at the meet, but the lines can be long and food options are often not beneficial for athletic performance. Suggestions for items to bring:
• Drinks—Water, Fruit juice
• Snacks—Granola bars, fruit, yogurt, cereal, trail mix, cheese sticks (according to articles from USA Swimming - sweets, chocolate, carbonated drinks, etc are among the worst things to eat at a swim meet. The body’s response to the sugar ups and downs have been proven to decrease a swimmer’s performance, sometimes substantially.)
• Games—travel games, coloring books, books, cards, anything to pass the time.
• Weather dependent—umbrella, extra warm clothes.(Outdoor pools in June can be very cold.)

Once you have attended one or two meets this will all become very routine. Please do not hesitate to ask experienced parents for help or information!

Before the Meet Starts

1. For away meets, arrive at the facility at least 30 minutes before the scheduled warmup time begins. Locker rooms can be jammed with kids all trying to get ready for that first warmup session. The warmup time will be listed in the meet information, on our meet calendar.
2. Upon arrival, look for some familiar faces. We will have pop-up tents set up. A BST coach will always be there to greet new swimmers. Your swimmer will find a place to put their blankets and swim bags.

1. VERY IMPORTANT—If you're concerned about your swimmer making it to the proper location on the pool deck, send one of the coaches a text message so they know your swimmer has arrived.
2. After the coaches have completed the 'team check-in' with the meet hosts, they receive a list of everyone’s event number, lane number and heat number (i.e. when each swimmer will race). Swimmers should know what events they're swimming before the meet. Some meets hand out slips of paper with individual events for each swimmer. Once your swimmer learns what their heats and lanes are, they will write them down on their hand or arm or leg. (Example – 4/2/5 would mean event 4, heat 2, lane 5)  This helps them remember what events they're swimming and what event number to listen for during the swim session.
3. Your swimmer now gets their cap and goggles and reports to the pool and/or coach for warmup instructions. It is essential for all swimmers to warmup with the team. Swimmer’s bodies are just like cars on a cold day-they need to get the engine running and warmed-up before they can put maximum effort into their races.
4. After warmup, your swimmer will go back to the area where their towels are and wait until the next event is called. This is a good time to make sure they go to the bathroom, get a drink, or simply get settled in and rest. They will need to make sure they are staying warm.
5. The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-ups are over. Sometimes there are more than one warm-up session.
6. Parents are not allowed on the pool deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. All questions concerning meet results, an officiating call, or the conduct of a meet, are handled by the coaching staff. They pursue matters through the proper channels. At smaller, dual and tri meets, parents are often allowed on the pool deck if there is not a spectating area.
7. Heat Sheets. Check your SwimTopia app for Heat Sheets. When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a “no-time” or “NT”. A “no- time” swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event. Sometimes coaches enter a custom time based on a swimmer's current fitness level.
8. MeetMobile—Many larger meets will post live results electronically to a smartphone app called MeetMobile or SwimTopia.

Once The Meet Starts

1. It is important for any swimmer to know what event numbers they are swimming (again, this is why they should have the numbers on their hand). They may swim in an event immediately after warmups or they may have to wait awhile. Swimmers must stay with the team at all times unless given permission by the coaches.
2. A swimmer’s event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker. At most meets there is also a board listing which event/heat is underway, and which is 'on deck.' Swimmers should report with their cap and goggles to their lane.
3. After each swim the swimmer can ask the timers (people behind the blocks at each lane) their time. When you see your swimmer, tell them how great they did! Tell them how proud you are. The coaching staff will often discuss their performance with them.
4. The swimmer now waits until their next event is called.
5. When your swimmer has completed all of their events, their coach may give them permission to depart. Occasionally, a swimmer is asked to fill in on a relay unexpectedly. At dual and tri meets the team leaves the pool as a team. Individuals may not leave early without permission from a coach.

Very Basic Swimming Rules

The technical rules of swimming are designed to provide fair and equitable conditions of competition and to promote uniformity in the sport. Each swimming stroke has specific rules designed to ensure that no swimmer gets an unfair competitive advantage over another swimmer. Trained officials observe the swimmers during each event to ensure compliance with these technical rules. If a swimmer commits an infraction of the rules that is observed by an official, a disqualification (DQ) will result. This means that the swimmer will not receive an official time and will not be eligible for an award in that event. A DQ may result from actions such as not getting to the starting blocks on time, false starting, performing strokes in an illegal manner, or unsportsmanship-like conduct.

Disqualifications—DQs are also a result of technical rules violations. They include but are not limited to:

FREESTYLE: Walking on the bottom, pulling on the lane rope, not touching the wall on a turn, or not completing the distance.

BACKSTROKE: Pulling or kicking into the wall once a swimmer has turned passed the vertical onto the breast (rolling onto the stomach). Turning onto the breast before touching the wall with the hand at the finish of the race (rolling over before touching the wall).

BREASTSTROKE: An illegal kick such as flutter (freestyle), dolphin (butterfly), or scissors (sidestroke), not face down, alternating movements of the arms, taking two arm strokes or two leg kicks while the head is under water, touching with only one hand at the turns or finish.

BUTTERFLY: Alternating movements of the arms or legs, pushing the arms forward under instead of over the water surface (underwater recovery), a breaststroke style kick, touching with only one hand at the turns and finish.

Very Basic Swimming Rules

1. Freestyle—Swimmers must touch the wall in order to turn and change direction. Swimmers may not touch the bottom.
2. Backstroke—Turns are complicated. Backstrokers may roll on to their front and execute a freestyle flipturn. After they touch they must push off on their back. At the finish a swimmer must finish on their back.
3. Breaststroke and Butterfly—Swimmers have to touch with both hands at the same time. A swimmer may not freestyle kick off the wall in either breaststroke or butterfly. When swimming butterfly, both arms must move at the same time.

USA Swimming Rules