Swim Meet Basics

The Water Cats compete in meets through USA Swimming, the national governing body for swimming competitions. Swim meets are organized by other area swim teams and typically take place on the weekends. In order to participate, you need a membership with USA Swimming and an account with our Swimtopia registration system. The swim meet season runs from October through March. There is a second summer season that takes place in June and July.

NOTE: Swim meet participation is separate from the Town of Lansing's Recreation Department Swim Program, which includes practices only.

Meet Structure

Each meet is broken down into sessions, typically by age group. Warm-up generally starts 60 minutes before the start of the meet. 

Events can be separated by gender, age, stroke, and distance. Each meet is unique. 

Within each event, there are heats. Generally speaking, the heats are seeded slowest to fastest. Heat one is usually the slowest based on seed time. Swimmers entered with no time (NT) are generally in the first few heats. The last numerical heat is the fastest based on seed time.

Where do I go?

When you arrive at a meet (at least 15 minutes prior to warm-ups), there are four important places to locate.

1.) The Pool. This is where the competition occurs. The defined pool deck area is limited only to athletes, coaches, officials, and meet personnel. 

2.) The Team Gathering Point. Typically, the team will meet in a gym or on the pool deck, where we sit together and keep our belongings. Athletes usually wait here with their teammates prior to and after their races.

3.) The Locker room. This is where all changing must occur. “Deck Changes” or changing in the gym or public area is prohibited.

4.) Spectator Area. This is where the parents gather and watch the athletes compete. 

What should we bring to a swim meet?

Each family’s list varies, but here is a general list.

For the Athlete:

- A few towels

- Team Bathing suit preferred or a suit they are comfortable wearing

- 2 pairs of goggles

- Sandals to wear in gym and on deck

- Swim Bag

- Clothes to wear over suit 

- Second set of dry clothing

- Healthy snacks 

- Water or sports drink

- Sunscreen for outdoor meets

For Mom and Dad (and little siblings):

- Chairs

- Small bills to purchase a meet program or concessions.

-  A pen and a highlighter for the meet program.

- Snacks

- Shorts and or sandals. (It gets hot in the stands.) If you are helping at the meet time, it may be important to have footwear that can get wet.

- Water or sports drink.

How does my athlete know when to go?

Programs are typically for sale. They will tell you the heat and lane of each swimmer in each event of the whole meet. They range in cost from free up to $5 per session.

Swimmer often write their event numbers on their hands or arms with pens or Sharpies. Coaches will help with this before warm-up.

Some meets will have a Clerk of Course. These volunteers line up athletes so they know when to get ready for the races. The swimmers are called up by event number, so it is important to know what event number your athlete is in. When ready, the clerk of course will escort the athlete to the pool deck for their race. 

If there is no clerk of course, the swimmers will be on deck with the coaches. The coaches and teammates will help them remember when it's their turn to go.

After the race concludes, your athlete should talk to his or her coach before leaving the pool deck.

Once your swimmer is finished with all their events, check in with a coach to make sure there is nothing else, then you can leave the meet. You do not need to remain until the final event in the session.