Swim Meet Guide
Register Before Each Meet
Parents must use our website to commit or decline (RSVP one way or the other) your swimmer for every meet during the swim season. To do this, log on to our website (tsunamiswim.swimtopia.com/login) sign in, scroll down to the upcoming events section of the home screen. Next to each swim meet you will see a RSVP button. Click edit then edit RSVP and select if you are attending or not attending. Parents must also sign-up for a volunteer job at each meet.
Swimmers and parents greatly benefit from participating in swim meets, but we don’t necessarily expect you to attend every meet. Family vacations are encouraged, but if your swimmer will be missing a meet it is imperative that he/she is signed-out by the deadline.
*At a minimum you must swim in two league meets to be eligible for championships. We recommend getting your swimmer signed-in or signed-out (if you have planned vacations) at the beginning of the season. If you need to change your commitment for any reason the deadline is the Monday before the swim meet. Committing or declining to a meet is done online and must be done well ahead of time. The Coaches spend HOURS putting a meet together and an extraordinary amount of time choosing relay teams. If a swimmer is a “no show” or misses an event for any reason, it affects the team and is disrespectful to the coaches.
In the case of relays, a no-show swimmer entered in both the medley and freestyle relays could cause as many as six other swimmers to miss out on their relay event.
Likewise, the volunteer coordinator spends HOURS ensuring all positions are covered by our parent volunteers. Please be respectful! Pay close attention to those deadlines! Swimmers who remain undeclared at the cut-off deadline WILL NOT be entered in the swim meet (even if the parent has signed-up to work). Swimmers who show up to a meet and were not signed-in by the deadline, likely will not be allowed to swim.
Day of the Meet
Swimmers must arrive at the swim meet site by 6:45 am on all meet days unless otherwise noted. All meets start promptly at 8:30 am. Any swimmer not at the meet site 30 minutes before the meet will be scratched and not allowed to race unless arrangements are made in advance with the coach or for an unforeseen emergency. This allows time for the coach to determine if all relays are filled and to assess if alternates are needed to fill in for any events.
Swimmers should also check the posting board for the event numbers they will be participating in. The Swim Meet Order of Events is provided in Appendix B.
Typical Meet schedule:
6:45 Check-In (Swimmers & Parents)
7:15 Scratch time and warmups begin
8:30 Meet begins
12p-1p, Meet ends/ clean up
During the Meet
Immediately before their races, swimmers report to and stay at the Ready Bench (staging area where swimmers wait before races) and are asked to behave in a respectful manner. If a swimmer needs to leave the Ready Bench for any reason, they must let a Ready Bench volunteer know before leaving the area. When a swimmer’s race number is called, he/she should promptly move to the Ready Bench and wait until called to the starting blocks.
When standing behind the blocks, swimmers should wait quietly, behind the timers, out of respect for those about to start a race. Parents are welcome to take pictures from most locations throughout the meets. No photography (including cell phones) is allowed from behind the starting area/blocks at any time during a meet. This is a strict league prohibition and our team enforces this rule stringently.
After the Meet
At all meets (home or away), we ask all parents and swimmers to stay and help clean up the entire pool area including the ready bench and restrooms. We encourage our swimmers to take ownership of their team and help clean up at the end of each meet.
