FAQ

WARM UP SCHEDULE - TIME TRIALS @ SAN RAFAEL HIGH

(space is very tight; you may warmup only with your practice group)

8:30-8:35 am: Tadpoles, Novice 1 & Novice 1+

8:35-8:40 am: Novice 1/2, Novice 2 & Novice 2/3

8:40-8:50 am: Novice 3 & Novice 4

8:50-9:00 am: Pre-Int, Intermediate & Advanced

Lost and Found
There is always an overflowing Lost and Found Bucket at the pool, especially after a home meet. We will periodically try to email or display Lost and Found objects, but items not claimed in a reasonable time will be given to a local charity.

Guidelines for Swim Meet Participation
To swim in a swim meet, swimmers age 8 and under must be able to swim a 25 yard freestyle in 38 seconds or a 25 yard backstroke in 41 seconds. For other strokes and other age groups, swim meet participation is subject to Tidalwaves coaches’ determination that the swimmer can perform legal stokes and legal turns.

Disqualifications (DQs)
The stroke & turn judge must disqualify (DQ) a swimmer for illegal strokes and/or turns. A DQ is an official disqualification of a swimmer’s race. Only stroke & turn judges can DQ swimmers. Below are some of the reasons why DQs are given:

Freestyle: Swimmer turns too soon and fails to touch the end of the pool.

Backstroke: Swimmer executes a faulty flip turn or turns onto his/her front before touching the end of the pool at the finish of the race.

Breaststroke: Swimmer takes more than one complete stroke underwater after entry dive or turn, fails to touch with two hands on turn and/or finish, or head does not break surface of water during each stroke.

Butterfly: Swimmer incorrectly places his/her arms, or has an inaccurate kicking technique. The swimmer fails to touch with two hands on turn and or finish.

Swimmers in all age groups may receive DQs, in which case no ribbon is issued. In the event of a disputed call, the Referee, who is supplied by the home team, makes the call.

Swim Meet Survival Tips

When you arrive at the swim meet, be sure to check your swimmer in at the Check In Desk. This will be at EVERY swim meet.

Bring plenty of towels, dry clothes, hats and maybe even old sleeping bags to keep warm or lounge on between events. Cards or small games also come in handy to pass the time between events. And don’t forget the sunscreen, swim caps and goggles! Be sure to mark all your items with a permanent pen. Things are often left at the pool!

Remember to clean up your area after the meet! Overall, the goal is for the kids at meets, is to do their best and HAVE FUN!

Marin Swim League Meet Format

All regular meets are called “dual meets”, with one team swimming against another to test individual and group strength in each age group. The format of the dual meet is the same each week:
There are 60 events at each dual meet:
#1-5 Medley Relays All age groups
#6-15 Freestyle Events All age groups
#16-25 Backstroke Events All age groups
#26-35 Breaststroke Events All age groups
#36-45 Butterfly Events All age groups
#46-55 Individual Medleys All age groups
#56-60 Freestyle Relays All age groups

Medley Relay: Four swimmers form a team (two girls & two boys). Each swimmer swims one of the four strokes. They swim in this order: back, breast, fly, free.

Individual Medley (IM): One swimmer swims each of the four strokes in this order: fly, back, breast, free.

Freestyle Relay: Four swimmers form a team (two girls & two boys). All swim freestyle.

Coaches are responsible for placing swimmers in appropriate events. Swimmers and parents are encouraged to accept these decisions, which are made in the interest of both the swimmer and the team. Swimmers earn their places on relay teams. Selection is based on times established during individual events and coaches discretion.

There are five age divisions in our swim league: 8 & Under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18.

Each child competes in the age group of his/her actual age. If the child has a birthday on the day of the meet, he/she must swim at this new age level. The exceptions to this are the All-Star and Championship meets in which swimmers swim based on their age at the last dual meet.

Girls’ events precede boys’ events in each age division.
8 & Under swimmers swim one length (25 yards) of the pool, except for the IM swimmers, who swim each of the four strokes one lap for a total of 100 yards. All other age groups swim two laps (50 yards) for individual events and relays. They also swim 100 yards for the IM. The only exception: 15-18 freestyle event which is 100 yards.

Line-Ups: The coaches determine the line-ups for the meets. The line-ups/heats are automatically created by the meet software program and inform swimmers what events they will be swimming in and what their lane assignments are. Heats are grouped according to recorded best times.

Warm-ups HOME meets begin at one hour before meet start time; the visiting team warms up after the home team.

Warm-ups AWAY meets begin 1/2 hour before meet start time.

Age Group Coordinators are available to help the parents and swimmers find out what events they are swimming and write those events on swimmers' hand.

CALL YOUR AGC IMMEDIATELY IF YOU CANNOT SWIM AT A MEET YOU SIGNED UP FOR.

Heat Sheets: The official line-up pages for the meets are called heat sheets and are posted on the website the night before each meet.

Scoring Points at Meets: The fastest times from any heat are the scoring times. Scoring is as follows:
Relay Teams - 1st place = 7 pts, 2nd = 3 pts, 3rd = 1 pt.
Individual Events - 1st = 5 pts, 2nd = 3 pts, 3rd = 1 pt.
Team sweeps of a specific event are not allowed. For example if the 3rd place swimmer is on the same team as 1st & 2nd place the 3rd place point will go to the faster swimmer on the opposing team.

Ribbons: All swimmers in all events are awarded ribbons regardless of whether they scored points, unless they are disqualified by an official (in which case a yellow slip will usually be in your ribbon folder). The ribbon will have the swimmer’s name, event, age group, time and date recorded on the back side.  Relay ribbons are given to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place relay teams.  All other events, ribbons are awarded to 1st through 8th place.  All four members of a winning relay receive ribbons.

Ribbons are poolside at swim practice the Monday following the dual meets in a large plastic tub.  If you have any questions, e.g missing or incorrect ribbon, please put a note in the "ribbon log" located inside the ribbon tub. If you are missing a ribbon, check the results to see if you were DQ.  (no ribbons for DQs).

Team & Pool Records: Individuals breaking existing team and/or pool records will be awarded a special ribbon and have their name entered on the record board.

All Stars & Championships: Qualifying time (Q-time) is necessary for swimming in the All-Stars meet. You must participate in at least three dual meets to qualify for the Championship meet, but there are no qualifying times.