Participation on a swim team is a significant time commitment for the parents and swimmers. Summer swim meets take place on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Swimmers and parents are expected to attend the meet in its entirety to ensure that swimmers do not miss any events for which they are signed up, such as relays, and that the parent volunteer obligation is fulfilled. Please check the Swimtopia website for any updates to the meet times, place, and on-deck times. Swimtopia App is great to have. 

During swim meets, at home and away, the pool is closed to all other neighborhood residents. Non-swimmer spectators are not allowed in the pool during the meet at any time. This includes the baby pool. An adult should always supervise their children.

THE WEEK BEFORE A MEET

• Please declare your swimmer’s availability as early as possible so we can create the meet lineup.
  
  • Monday at 7 PM for Wednesday meets
  • Thursday at 7 PM for Saturday meets
• Visit https://tavtsunamis.swimtopia.com/swim_meets and sign in to your Swimtopia account
• Click on the "Meets & Events" tab and open the “Meets & Events Calendar”
• Scroll down to each meet and click the button for "Meet Entry"
  • This is where you "declare" whether your swimmer will or will not attend that meet and whether they are available for relays

  If a swimmer is not declared for a meet, it will be assumed that the swimmer is not participating in the meet and will not be included in the meet sheet.

  Seeding meets takes time. Adding swimmers after the fact is not easy and, in most cases, cannot be done. If you do not sign your swimmer up for a meet, we will assume that your swimmer will not be swimming.

• Scroll down to each meet and click the button for "Job Signup"
  • This is where you sign up for your volunteer shifts. All families are asked to volunteer during meets at least 5 times each season.
  • You must ensure your family completes your volunteer shift at the meet (check in with the volunteer coordinator). You can perform your volunteer shift yourself or appoint a parent, grandparent, older responsible teenager, or a trusted adult. We need every family to pitch in to ensure our meets run smoothly!

THE NIGHT BEFORE A MEET

• We highly recommend that you label everything! Team shirts, caps, goggles, bags, towels, etc. (All the Tsunami gear is identical; label yours)
• Pack your swimmer’s bag.
• Have your swimmer eat a healthy dinner and get some sleep, especially Friday night, before Saturday's meet.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE MEET

• Your child in their Tsunami swimsuit with sunscreen already applied (even if it is cloudy).
• Goggles & Cap. These are two items that are often forgotten and can cause stress, especially for new swimmers. Please label them and pack them the night before.
• Towels. Labeled with your child’s name. (Seriously, checkthe  lost and found to see the mountains of towels left after a meet)
• Chairs/Canopy tent. Create a “home base” for your family and friends!
• Snacks or money for concessions. If you forget to pack healthy snacks for your swimmer to munch on, each team typically has concessions available.
• Water. Keep your swimmer hydrated!

WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT THE MEET

• HOME MEETS – Please find team area to check in with the clerks and have events added to their arm. 
• Parking fills up quickly! Plan extra time to park and walk to the pool. Parking is available on Macalister, Santmyer, and Tavistock Dr. for home meets. DO NOT PARK IN TOWNHOMES, or risk being towed.
• Volunteer Check-In. All volunteers should check in with the Volunteer Coordinator.
• Volunteer Assignment Meetings. Please listen to the Announcer for pre-meet briefings that will take place for certain volunteers. All ‘on deck’ positions (Stoke and Turn and Timers) will have a pre-meet briefing.
• SwimTopia will be used this season to track results. Results will be reconciled ASAP after each meet. Results are posted to the team website, updated in your swimmer’s SwimTopia profile.

Meet Schedule:

Please refer to the Meet Schedule for exact meet dates and times and to sign up for events that each swimmer will swim.

Wednesday PM Meets:

• Home Meets – Arrive by 5:00pm; Warm-Ups at 5:15pm; Meet begins at 6:00pm
• Away Meets – Arrive by 5:15pm; Warm-Ups at 5:35pm; Meet begins at 6:00pm

Saturday AM:

• Home Meets – Arrive by 7:00am; Warm-Ups at 7:15am; Meet begins at 8:00am
• Away Meets – Arrive by 7:15am; Warm-Ups at 7:35am; Meet begins at 8:00am

Meet Sheets:

Meet sheets are compiled prior to the meet and are available on the team website and on the Team Facebook Group. Parents and swimmers can expect to view the meet sheet approximately 24 hours prior to the swim meet. Meet sheets are compiled by the coaches and determine the order in which a swimmer will swim within an event. Parents are able to declare their swimmer “eligible” for a particular event/stroke, prior to the meet on the team website, but the final determination will be made by the coaches.

Swimmers will be scheduled to swim a maximum of 3 Individual events and up to 2 relays at each meet. 

Meet Events:

All competitions are set up by age group and gender, with the exception of some mixed age relays. A swimmer’s group is determined by the age of the swimmer on June 15 of the current year.

The lengths of the individual races are as follows:

• 6 & under: 25 meters
• 7/8: 25 meters
• 9/10: 50 meters (25 meters butterfly)
• 11/12: 50 meters
• 13/14: 50 meters
• 15 -18: 50 meters

The swim events are Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Individual Medleys (IM), Medley Relays, and Freestyle Relays.

An IM (Individual Medley) is for swimmers that can swim all four strokes in one race. The order of events is Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle. All strokes are 25 meters and the total for the IM is 100 meters. A swimmer must have a legal stroke for all four of the strokes to be considered for an IM. A coach will determine if a child can swim an IM based on their performances at meets and practices.

Relays:

A relay will consist of 4 different swimmers in their age group. Each swimmer will swim 25 meters of an assigned stroke. The order of strokes is Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle for the Medley Relays.

For the younger age group relays, swimmers swim a Freestyle Relay. In addition, we also have freestyle relays that are mixed aged. This means that there is a swimmer from each age group participating in this race, still only 4 swimmers per relay team. Relays are selected by the Head Coach only. You cannot sign your swimmer up for a relay. Please talk to the coach if you want or do not want your swimmer to swim in a relay.

It is imperative that parents and swimmers check meet sheets for scheduled relays. If a relay team member leaves early and does not give sufficient notice to backfill the space, the entire relay team will be disqualified. This results in disappointed swimmers that wanted to swim but can’t. If a swimmer is unexpectedly unable to stay for the meet in its entirety, this should be communicated to the clerk of the course and coaches prior to the meet starting.

Meet Check-in:

Swimmers are required to sign-in with the Swimmer Check-In person at least 30 minutes before the meet starts. With permission, swimmer's events will be written in Sharpie on the arm of a swimmer before warm-up. Failure to comply with the checking-in rule may result in the swimmer being dropped from relays and individual events. Home team warm-ups begin at least 30-45 minutes before the meet start time. Swimmers need to check in before warming up.

During a Meet:

• All meets begin with the National Anthem

Swimmers should remain in the team area during the meet. This allows swimmers to rest between races and ensures they are found in time for their events. If, for any reason, a swimmer needs to leave the team area (e.g., to use the bathroom, get something to eat, or see their parents), they should notify one of the clerks of course before leaving. If a swimmer needs to leave before his/her event, they will need to notify their coach and clerks of course or they will be considered a no-show. The ultimate responsibility belongs to the swimmers.

• You are free to leave the meet once your swimmer has completed their events and your volunteer shift is also complete. However, we do encourage everyone to stay for the whole meet. Relays are exciting for everyone, in and out of the pool, and are often one of the most lively parts of the day!

Missed Meets:

If you designate yes and then cannot come you must let the Coach know prior to the meet date. If you are late, you will be scratched from any relay team you were placed on, and a replacement will be found. If you miss the meet, without prior notification to the coaches, you will NOT be eligible to swim a relay in the following meet. Discretion is up to the coaches. Once a meet is seeded and merged with the other team it is very difficult to add swimmers. It is critical for the success of the meet to know who will and will not be able to attend the meet. If you need to leave early or arrive late you need to also let the coach/team manager know.

AFTER THE MEET

• Please remember to clean up after yourselves and your swimmers! Help out by picking up trash, even if it’s not yours. We need to be sure that we leave the pool and pool house in the same or better shape than how we found it. This is NOT only the clean-up crew's task. 
• Check your SwimTopia account for your swimmer’s results and improvements.

Ribbon Policies

Ribbons are awarded to swimmers for every meet and race they compete in. Awards will be held and ribbons handed out weekly on Thursdays at 7:45pm during practice. Heat winner ribbons will be provided by times at the meet.

For individual events, placement ribbons will be awarded for 1st-6th place. If a swimmer places after 6th place, they will be awarded a participation ribbon. For relays, placement ribbons will be awarded to 1st-3rd place relay teams. Participation ribbons will be awarded to relay teams placing after 3rd place. If a swimmer or relay team is disqualified (DQ) they will receive a participation ribbon only.

Time Trials:

Time Trials are intended to give the swimmers the opportunity to participate in a mock meet setting and establish their initial times for the season. It is a good time to refresh themselves with how a meet runs and give new swimmers a feel for what a meet is like. Time Trials is held at the beginning of the swim season. Parents of swimmers participating in the time trials will be required to work. This mock meet will give the swimmers and parents both a feel for how a meet is run and where they need to be.

End of Season Meets:

Typically there are two types of “end-of-season” meets. The Divisional Meets (the number of these meets will be determined by the total number of teams involved for that year) and the All-Star Meet. There will be an alternate structure for the Divisional Meets. This alternate structure will not impact the regular season structure or schedule. This structure will be determined by the ODSL board each year to ensure that each Divisional Meet will have approximately the same number of teams and swimmers. The All-Star Meet is only for those that meet qualifying times.

End of Season Meet Criteria and Qualification:

Any swimmer that competes in at least two League-sanctioned meets during the current regular season will be eligible to compete in the Divisionals. Qualification for All-Stars is based on cut times for each event that will be determined by ODSL early in the season. A swimmer without an official league time (NT) in an event cannot swim that event in the Divisional Meets or the All-Star Meet.