Frequently Asked Questions

How often should my child go to practice?

Swimming is one of those sports where your child needs to practice more often than he/she did with soccer or baseball. Your child’s body will respond better if they attend every practice. Their times will improve at a greater rate, and they will feel like more a part of the team. Coaches will be able to get to know the children better, their abilities, and the strokes they are able to swim.

How long is the average swim meet?

The average swim meet lasts 3½ - 4 hours. This is contingent upon factors such as weather, size of the visiting team, and general flow of the meet. All meets begin at 6:00 PM. It is very important that your child be at the warm-up period prior to the meet – 5:00 PM for a home meet and 5:15 PM for an away meet. You should arrive 15 minutes prior to the warm-up period. 

For each meet, your child MUST check in at the bullpen upon arrival. Swimmers must report at 4:45 PM for home meets & 5:00 PM for away meets to allow time for check-in.

My child is swimming in a relay – what does that mean?

It means that 3 other children are depending on them to complete an event that is either in the beginning, middle, or end of the meet, depending on their age. The order of events is listed in this FAQ section. Always check the RELAY BOARD, located just inside or outside of the bullpen before the meet, during the meet, and again before you leave a swim meet.  If you are trying to determine when your child’s last event is, you can gauge the time-frame accordingly. DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD HOME BEFORE THEY SWIM IN THEIR RELAY. If a child leaves a meet early and causes a relay to be cancelled, he/she will not be entered in a relay the next meet.

What’s the inclement weather policy?

If the weather is threatening late in the afternoon of a scheduled meet, check your email/notifications for instructions. Unless a meet is cancelled via email, plan to go to meet as scheduled. If a meet is interrupted because of inclement weather, please stay in the area until the meet is resumed or “called." DO NOT GO HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE THE OFFICIAL WORD ON THE STATUS OF THE MEET. 

In the event of lightning during a meet, we ask that all swimmers, spectators, and workers exit the pool area and take cover in their cars. Everyone should wait in their cars for further instruction. DO NOT GO HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE THE OFFICIAL WORD ON THE STATUS OF THE MEET. We will delay the meet until the storm passes or a decision is made to reschedule the meet for another night. Our make-up date is usually the Friday following a Thursday meet. Keep in mind that a lot of summer storms can pass by quickly. We will try our best to get the meet in on its scheduled night.

What’s a bullpen?

It’s the team waiting area. It’s where all swimmers should be during the meet. During home meets, the bullpen is the fenced-in wading pool area for our team. The visitor’s bullpen will be the area in the corner of the pool between the diving boards and the playground. Staging volunteers will not look for children outside the bullpen, so please make sure your child remains there during the meet.

What should we do when we get to the meet?

Swimmers should report directly to the bullpen for check-in. They can leave their belongings in the bullpen. We suggest they bring a waterproof bag with 1 or 2 towels, a shirt, swim cap and goggles. LABEL EVERYTHING. Warm-ups begin promptly at 5:00 PM for the home team and 5:15 PM for the visiting team.

Parents should bring a chair and set up a spot for viewing. First-half volunteers need to check in at their appropriate stations by 6:00 PM (unless otherwise noted by your particular assignment). Second-half volunteers will be asked by the announcer to report before half-time.

How will my child know when it’s their turn to swim?

Upon arrival, check the event assignments posted at the bullpen. They will be listed alphabetically by swimmer. You can also find this information in the heat sheets (available for $2 at the concessions tables). We suggest that you write on your child’s inner arm (use a permanent marker) their event #, stroke and lane assignment. Here’s an example:

Event # / 25 free / Lane 5

Event # / 25 MR (medley relay) – fly / position 3

Be sure to check the relay board (in the bullpen) to see what relay(s) they’ll be swimming.

We have volunteers in the bullpen and the staging area to help coordinate swimmers. “Staging” usually begins 10 events in advance. The speed of the meet relies heavily on how efficiently these volunteers can do their job. It is not the responsibility of the volunteers to find swimmers who are outside the bullpen. Keep an eye on your child and on the “now staging” signs and makes sure your child is where he/she should be.

What is the order of events?

Backstroke
Medley Relay(Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle)
Short Freestyle(25 m)
8 & U Freestyle Relay
Individual Medley“IM”(Butterfly, Backstroke,
Breaststroke, Freestyle)
Long Freestyle(Age 10 & under – 2 lengths of the pool;
Age 11 & up – 4 lengths of the pool)
Breaststroke
Butterfly
Freestyle Relay

What’s a DQ?

DQ stands for “disqualification.” Each team provides stroke & turn judges at the meets. These individuals have been certified through the county league to judge starts, turns, strokes, and finishes according to USA swimming rules. These judges are easy to identify – all officials wear navy shorts and white shirts. It is the judge’s discretion to issue a “DQ” to swimmers who make errors in the starts, strokes, turns and/or finishes. If a swimmer is disqualified, the judge will attempt to notify the swimmer and explain the reason for the DQ. Disqualifications are disappointing but are meant to help educate the swimmer in the proper stroke. DQs are common in the beginning of the season and typically drop off as the season continues.

How do I get a message to the coach?

All coaches check their fish files daily. Please contact coaches via a note in their fish file, via email, or by phone. Contact information can be found under the "About Us" tab by clicking "Coaches."  Please do not interrupt the coaches during practice.