Beginners Guide to Open Meet Entry

Meet Information
Each competition will have details on when the meet is, warm up times, events, qualifying times and a most importantly the closing date for entries. The closing date is very important as we need time to process the entries before sending them off to the meet organiser. Please read the meet conditions carefully – this will help explain things you may later question.

Entering
You may want to print off the entry pack for the meet, which will be published on Club Organiser against the relevant competition.

If you are unsure which events to enter, please do discuss this with a club coach. It is important to ensure that the right focus and balance of events are selected. It is also good for swimmers to compete in a range of events over a number of open meets to ensure swimmers are developing in all areas. Avoid entering the same events repeatedly at events and avoid entering more than three events per session.

Once the swimmer has selected the events, you will need to process your entries on Club Organiser. Some Open Meets have indicator times which are minimum entry times (when applying check the qualifying times against the meet pack which is also available on the event listing – against the relevant competition).

Swimmers should enter a variety of events and we encourage them to enter different strokes and distances. We encourage rounded skills so entering an Individual Medley is desirable.

As a guide, accessing the following event distances would be expected and provide a good guide for progression through the club:

• Academy – 50s and working towards considering 100m events
• Development – 50s, 100s and working towards considering 200m events
• Junior – 50s, 100s, 200s and considering including experience at 400 Free and/or 400 IM
• Youth & Seniors – 50s, 100s, 200s, 400s, 800 Free and/or 1500 Free

If you are unsure if an event is suitable please do reach out to a coach to discuss.

On The Day
Travel to Open Meets will be by personal means/arrangement. It is important to know what time the warm ups begin and aim to arrive half an hour before this time to get changed and find the rest of the team. There is usually limited space for swimmers so the earlier you arrive the better space you will have to sit in.

Make sure you are familiar of the building – swimmers will sit with the team and coaches and parents/spectators will usually sit in a different area. Make note of the catering facilities it can be a long day and both swimmers and parents will need to keep fuelled.

Swimmers are expected to stay with the team and follow directions of the coaches and team managers in attendance at all times. They must ask if they are going off to see parents/spectators. There will be coaches and team managers in attendance at all club supported meets, they will prepare the swimmers for their warm ups and races.

What to bring:

• Two swimming costumes and a warm up swim suit
• Goggles and a spare pair
• Two Towels – one to keep you warm and one to dry off afterwards
• Compulsory Club Kit – consisting of at least a dry side and pool side T-Shirts and Swimming Hat
• Food to last the day or sessions you are attending (poolside – not with parents!)
• At least two litres of water/squash and suitable sports drinks. NO FIZZY DRINKS
• Snack foods high in carbohydrates
• Music – iPod, etc
• Reading book/homework
• Please note that Phones are not allowed poolside or in changing areas (they must be left in bags if swimmers need them to contact parents)

Parents
Swimming meets can be long and hot for parents, so please make sure that you are also prepared correctly:

• There are sometimes programmes on sale at the entry desk – pick up one so you will be able to see when your child is swimming. Alternatively, a lot of meets will have the schedule and results online. Keep an eye out for this information.
• Make sure that your child is with the group and knows where you will be in case of emergency.
• Bring plenty of food/drink to last the day – can be a long day sat watching swimming
• Bring a note book/note paper to record your swimmers achievements
• Must stay in the designated spectators area and not cross over into the swimmers/coaches area.
• Parents are not allowed poolside or in the officials’ areas at swimming competitions
• Must supply their swimmer with the correct club kit as per the uniform policy

Results
All swimmers times will be added to their profile on Club Organiser a few days after a meet. Official times from licensed meets are also uploaded onto the Swim England web site under the Rankings and Results section. There is also a link from the club website to this location.