Mighty Minto Minnows

Moving through the season smoothly takes a lot of organization for both parents & coaches! Swim parent and or coaches, even “veterans” at times may seem to find themselves overwhelmed. Below is a little information that may help new swim parents & coaches with the swimming lingo and what to expect for the upcoming meets.

THINGS TO BRING (SHORT LIST): 

• Towels (yes- multiple)
• Sunscreen
• Water- Hydration is key! Even though it may appear like you are not sweating when you are swimming, you are! The sweat gets washed off in the water! It’s important to bring water to keep hydrated & to rehydrate!
• Snacks (watermelon, apples, PB, graham crackers, grapes, granola bars etc). Each swim meet normally has a food booth as well that you can purchase snacks from.
• Extra goggles (these can break at the worst moments- like right before a race, goggles are notorious for this)
• Extra bathing cap: can also break at the worst moments
• Swim suit, jammers (seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at how many times this can happen)
• Sweater/parka (Some morning can be really chilly, so make sure you dress warm to keep your muscles warm)
• Games (cards, Uno, Go Fish)
• Sharpie (for arm markings)

EXPECTATIONS: 

Summer swim meets are fast-paced and, at times, chaotic. With this in mind, it is crucial to understand your team’s expectations. Do swimmers have to arrive 30 minutes before warm-up? Must swimmers have their arms marked with events? Are they required to participate in at least one relay? Do swimmers stay together (rather than with their parents)? Make sure you know what your coaches expect ahead of time. Meet days can seem long and sometimes can be hot and or cold. Please check the weather forecasts for the AM as swim warm ups start at 8 am (with the exception of finals @ 3:30pm). We suggest bringing lots of sunscreen, lots of snacks, water, and lots of extra towels and blankets for those chilly mornings. We especially recommend arriving early for warm-up; warm-up is an important part of the swim meet experience (loosening up before racing) but, more importantly, this is when coaches see which swimmers showed up for meet day. If kiddos are missing during warm-up, coaches can adjust heats and relays if necessary. If you know your swimmer is going to be away that day, but have already signed up for the swim meet- it is important that you let the coach know ASAP so the coaches can let the necessary people know so they can be removed from the swim meet. This is very helpful and helps makes the swim meet run smoothly. 

VOLUNTEERING: 

Parent volunteers are critical to the success of swim team. It takes many volunteers for a swim meet to run! Summer swim clubs simply could not exist without the tireless effort of volunteers. Many teams expect their parents to commit to a certain amount of hours/points every season but, even if your team does not require this, you should still consider getting involved! Volunteering is a great way to meet other parents, have something to do during the meets (After all, swimmers only compete for a combined total time of around 2-3 minutes across their events), and gain entry into higher leadership roles down the road. Every team might have different volunteer positions, so we suggest checking with your team for volunteer roles. Typically, you can expect positions like: timers, marshallers, food booth concessions, stroke & turn judges, inspector of turns, starter, referee & runners.

SWIMMING LINGO: 

Back/Breast/Fly/Free: names of all the strokes. Shortform for Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle. Can be further abbreviated to: Bk, Br, Fl, Fr, 

25/50/100/200m: used to describe the length of a race/distance covered. Most summer swim meets are run in 25 yard/ meter pools. This means a 25 free = 1 length of the pool. A 50 free = 2 lengths of the pool. Please note a 25 Yard pool is a little smaller than a 25 meter pool. 25 yards = 22.86 Meters (Records can not be broken in a 25 yard pool, unless the record was set & broken in a yard pool). 

Individual Medley (I.M.): a combo of all four swim strokes into one race. The order of strokes is always the same, regardless of distance and follows this order: Fly, Back, Breast, Free. IM’s can range from a 100 I.M (25 of each stroke and typically the longest race in summer league) to a 400 I.M (seen in competitive/year-round/collegiate/professional racing; 100 of each stroke). Please note for a 100IM: there is no flip turn allowed. 

Medley Relay: consists of s 4-member team, that MUST be swum in a certain order: Back, Breast, Fly, Free. Each relay member swims a different stroke. 100; each swimmer races a 25 in their assigned stroke. NOTE: the order of a medley relay is different than that of the I.M (though both races involve the use of all 4 strokes).

Free Relay: consists of a 4-member team, that each member swims freestyle. Which means they can swim whatever stroke they wish. Typically, each member swims front crawl as it is normally the fastest stroke they can swim. 

Two hand touch: required for turns and finishes on the two-handed strokes: Fly and Breast. Not using a 2-hand touch for these strokes will result in a disqualification. Hands must touch wall at the exact same time, and cannot overlap one another. 

Flip turn: a flip turn is used for freestyle and backstroke. Though there are more stroke specific rules for a backstroke flip turn, flip turns involve a somersault at the wall in order to progress from one length of a race to the next. 

Open turn: open turns do not have a flip and are used in breast and fly. They involve a two- handed touch (hands touching at the same time) while progressing from one length of a race to the next. 

Referee: The Referee shall have full control and authority over all officials, approve their assignments, and instruct them regarding all special features or regulations related to the competitions. He/she shall enforce all rules and decisions of SWO Sharks & World Aquatics and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, and event or the competition, the final settlement of which is not otherwise covered by the rules. The Referee may intervene in the competition at any stage to ensure that the SWO SHARKS & World Aquatics regulations are observed, and shall adjudicate all protests related to the competition in progress.

Starter: 1 parent volunteer who is confident in the swimming rules and regulations. The starter is in control of starting the swimmer’s races. Must have a loud and confident voice. The starter works with has the control and authority over the officials and approves their assignments, and instruct them regarding all special features of rules and regulations related to the competition. The Starter works with the referee- that has FULL control of the meet. If there is a discrepancy, the starter will converse with the referee. The starter ensures that all necessary officials are in their respective posts for the conduct of the competition. The starter must make sure there is enough time between races for the timers to record the time on the cards/sheets provided and that the DQ’s have been given. This then gets handed to the runners to get to the scoring table. The starter does not rush the timers, but is in charge of the swim meet running in a timely manner. The starter must obey the SWO Sharks Rules and Regulations. 

Signal when the next event is ready to start to timers, judges, and swimmers, including distances of each swim. They are in charge of saying whether it’s a 25M, 50M, 100M etc. and making sure timers get to the correct ends of the pool for the finish. 

Raise their arm with their timer, requesting quiet 

Start the race using the following script: 

1. “ Swimmers step up” (Backstroke - Swimmer’s step in) 

2. Swimmers ready 

3. Timers ready (Timers to hold up arm to signal when they are ready) 

4. Swimmers take your mark 

5. Blow whistle iv. Upon their whistle signal, start their stopwatch 

In the event of a False start: 

1. Blow whistle 3 times or multiple to get attention of the swimmers (If swimmers have not stopped and are still swimming: instruct the lifeguards to drop false start rope). 

2. State: Swimmers relax 

3. Restart the race once all swimmers have taken their place at the start. 

If there have been 2 false starts from the same person, they are DQ’d from the race.

Runner: A person (s) who makes sure all the necessary paperwork (sheets from timers/DQ’s) gets to the scoring table in a timely manner. They are required to go to the scoring table after every race with the papers, and be back to collect the next sheets for the race. They also help in making sure there is water given to all the timers/volunteers on deck. 

Stroke Judge: 2 volunteers that have undergone specific training in the strokes/racing mechanics. They watch the races from start-finish to ensure swimmers are “legal,” handing out DQs as required. We require 2 of these to be at opposite sides of the swimming pool walking along the poolside watching the race. Typically, 1 judge is in charge of lanes 1-3, while the other is in charge of lanes 3-6. In the event all the lanes are not occupied, the stroke Judge- must communicate with one another on who is watching what lane. 

Inspector of Turns: 2-3 volunteers that have undergone specific training in the strokes/racing /turns mechanics. They watch the start of the race & middle and ending to ensure the turns (open turns, backstroke/front) are “legal”, & hand out DQ’s as required. One for each lane - standing at the end watching over the swimmers as they come into the wall, but due to volunteers this is not always possible. Many times, our Stoke and Turn Judges also fill the roll of inspector of turns as well. The inspector of turns must comply with the relevant rules after the start, for each turn, and at the finish. Stroke &Turn Judge: SWO SHARKS typically combine the roll of Stroke Judge & Inspector of turns into 1 roll due to lack of numbers. This is referred to as Stroke & Turn Judge and we typically use 2 of these.

Stroke & Turn Judge: SWO SHARKS typically combine the roll of Stroke Judge & Inspector of turns into 1 roll due to lack of numbers. This is referred to as Stroke & Turn Judge and we typically use 2 of these. 

Timers: 3 per lane. Record all 3 times, and the time in the middle is the “official time” that the swimmer is given! Ensure they communicate with the starter that they are ready to begin when the starter says “ Timer’s Ready ” by raising their hand( up high in which they are holding their stop watch in) to indicate they are ready to begin the race. Before each Swim Meet there is a “Timers Meeting” at each meet to go over a briefing of rules & responsibilities, go over questions and to make sure all stop watches are working correctly. Volunteering to be a timer is the very best view of the swimming pool, being up front and centre to see all the races.

Marshalling: A place normally located close to the pool where your swimmers head to (when announced) to be put into the proper event, heat and lane. Typically you will hear on the speaker: “Now Marshalling Events 1-21” etc. There will also be a board or event numbers written/posted clearly near the pool. When you hear & see this and your swimmer is in the event they are marshalling, the swimmer(s) will then head to the designated marshalling area. Each pool will have a different marshalling area designated. It is important your swimmers know where this area is and they are reminded they need to be quiet when at this area. This is normally a very chaotic, loud experience as voices normally elevate when people are outside. Every swimmer is excited to see their friends from other teams/nervous for their events. Although we want our swimmers to socialize and have fun, we ask that they do so in a quiet manner so when names are called everyone can hear and nobody will miss their race! 

Personal Best (PB): a swimmer’s best time in an event. Bettering that time is known as “getting a PB.” 

Age Groups: 8 & under, 9-10s, 11-12s, 13-14s, and 15 & overs. Summer swimming in broken down into these so that similar ages compete against one another. Each age category has a different distance they are required to swim. 

Arm Marking: the process by which a swimmer’s events numbers are written on their arms or hands for easy reference for when they are marshalled. Typically done with a Black sharpie (by parents/coaches) before the start of a meet.

DISQUALIFICATIONS: “DQ” 

One aspect of swim meets that we find new parents and swimmers struggling to understand or, even, accepting is the “Disqualification” or DQ. All strokes, turns, starts & finishes during a meet must follow a specific set of rules. These rules are standard across the entire country and internationally (World Aquatics). This ensures consistency and a level playing field for competitors in the sport of swimming. When a stroke is in accordance with these rules, it is considered “legal.” When it is not in accordance with these rules, it is considered “illegal” and the swimmer receives a DQ for that race. This means their time is not valid and, though the experience is still useful from a learning stand-point, it is as if the race never happened. Coaches are responsible for teaching swimmers stroke technique and many drills, practices, and activities are geared towards ingraining technique. However, some stroke rules are challenging for young swimmers to master. Some of the strokes require a certain level of strength, flexibility, or body awareness. These develop differently for swimmers, particularly those in the younger age groups. DQs are MOST common for young swimmers and looked upon as “learning experiences.” Swimmers should never be made to feel bad or guilty about a DQ. DQ’s become a great learning experience for the next time. If your new swimmer receives a DQ during a meet, approach it from a learning angle. Ask: “What did you learn from the race today?” or “How do you think you would tackle it next time?” Please note that everyone is human and in one time or another in our swimming careers we have been disqualified. We are human, we make mistake & errors and even Olympian Swimmers get DQ’d from time to time.

COMMON DQ’s 

• One handed touch for Breast or Fly
• Hands/arms pulling below belly button/hips on a Breast stroke arm pull
• Feet turned in (rather than out like a frog) on Breast 
• Scissor Kick during breast stroke (legs not coming around at the same time)
• Not remaining on their back to touch for the finish on backstroke
• Arms not moving simultaneously on Fly
• Touching the bottom of the pool during any race and propelling themselves forward
• Using the Lane Marker to bring themselves forward in the race
• Taking more than 1 arm stroke into a backstroke flip turn
• Missing the wall during a free or back flip turn
• 2 False starting during any race (leaving early, i.e. before the starter sounds off)
• Entering into another lane when surfacing