Old Natchez Country Club

Our weekly dual meets are meant to be FUN and exciting, but they can be overwhelming for first-timers. Here's a Swim Meet 101 to help familiarize yourself with what to expect.

Dual Meets

Each week throughout the season, we will participate in dual meets where we will swim against one other team in our division. These meets begin with a short warm up session for each team and start shortly after. Meets can last 2-4 hours depending on size of teams and efficiency of volunteers.

Volunteers

Each meet is run by parent volunteers from each swim team. Below is a listing of the volunteers that impact swimmers’ meets; however, there are many other important roles to conducting a successful meet. 

• Clerk of Course – Line up child in proper events, heats, and lanes prior to walking them to start blocks. This is an important piece of the meet to keep the children organized so they don’t miss events, especially during relays!
• Referee –Sets the flow of a meet and has the final word. Blows a series of short whistles to indicate meet is ready for the start of each event.
• Starter – After Referee indicates the ready of an event, the Starter will command swimmers, “Take your Mark” and start the event with a loud BEEP.
• Timers – Use Swimmingly app on their personal cell phones to keep the time for each swimmer. The Starter starts each event in the app. Timers stop the running time when the swimmer touches the wall at the other end and enter the swimmer’s team and ID to properly record times.
• Stroke and Turn Judges – Observe all swimmers for proper stroke and turn technique and preparing disqualifications (“DQ") of swimmers not swimming in accordance with the rules.
• Scorekeepers - Run the ipad that compiles all times and scores events accordingly.

Events/Strokes

These dual meets run through the different strokes in different distances based on age and gender.  Each 6&Under Swimmer is eligible to swim a 25 of both freestyle and backstroke and a freestyle relay.  Swimmers in all other age groups are eligible to swim a total of three individual events (two 25s of the different strokes plus an IM) and both relays.

• Freestyle
• Backstroke
• Freestyle Relays
• Breaststroke
• Butterfly
• Medley Relay
• Individual Medley (I.M.)

Meet Email

Each night before a meet, you will receive an email the night with detailed information about the meet.

• Location/Club-specific Directions
• Arrival time. Your prompt arrival ensures the timeliness of meet start and reduces confusion for kids.
• Where to sit. At each meet, ONCC will have tents set up for each age group. Swimmers need to stay in these designated areas for the entire meet so as not to miss an event. A coach will be in charge of each 10 & under age group to help them get to clerk of course.
• Lineup by Swimmers.  This report will list each swimmer in alpha order and the events he/she is entered in. This is a helpful report for marking your child before a meet.  
• Heat Sheet. A heat sheet is the listing of every event in sequential order detailing each child in its designated heat and lane. Print the heat sheet to follow along at the meet. Review to see what events your child is swimming. Be sure to check relays for your child(ren)’s age group and do not leave a meet until you know your child is done. Staying for the end of the meet to cheer on teammates is always fun! 
• What to Pack. Below is a suggested list of what to pack your child for each meet.
  • Cap and Goggles
  • Snacks and water/drinks. Some clubs will have snack bars; others will not.
  • Sunscreen
  • Two towels – one to dry off with, one to sit on is suggested.
  • Activities to keep child(ren) occupied
  • Heat sheet

Mark your Child

Based on the information found in the heat sheet, before the arrival to the meet, use a sharpie to mark your child with the following:

• Swimmingly ID. Each swimmer is assigned a three-digit ID that is used the entirety of the season to track times throughout the season. This ID can be found in the heat sheet next to your child’s name in parentheses. Each week, mark your child’s upper right shoulder with a sharpie as follows:
  • First and Last name
  • Age
  • 3-digit Swimmingly ID
• Events. On your child(ren)’s forearm, use a sharpie to write the following information for each event. Doing so will help the clerk of course and making sure your child(ren) arrive to each event.  The Lineup by Swimmer report is a great resource for marking your child.
  • Event (E)
  • Heat (H)
  • Lane (L)

Meet Results

At the conclusion of each meet, information will be reviewed and , and a meet results will be sent to parents to see how their child(ren) placed and times as well as the team who won the meet.

***Inclement weather**

In the event of rain, thunder, or lightning, please do not leave a meet until a coach informs you that the meet has been cancelled. Meets can be lost if families leave in the event teams agree to wait out passing weather and the meet continues.