What to Expect at Your First Swim Meet:

A Guide for Parents and Swimmers

What to Bring To a Swim Meet:

1. Swimsuit, cap, and goggles. A backup pair of goggles if you have them.

2. Towels- two minimum per swimmer. One to dry off with, and one to sit on. Swimmers will be sitting on the ground with their age group. Having a designated “spot” will help keep them where they are supposed to be.

3. Have a couple of folding chairs in your car on meet nights. Some pools have plenty of chairs, and others have their chairs stacked up and out of the way.

4. Something for your swimmer to wear between heats if they are cold. Terrycloth robes or hooded towels are great for this. Some like to bring sweatpants, t-shirts, and jackets or sweatshirts.

5. Entertainment such as travel games, cards, coloring books, books, etc., to pass the time between heats and to help keep swimmers in their designated area.

6. Snacks and drinks, if pool allows. We are told ahead of time if a pool doesn’t allow this and we must purchase from their snack bar. Suggestions for items to bring: water, juice, Gatorade, granola bars, fruit, yogurt, cereal, trail mix, sandwiches.

7. Sharpie, pen, highlighter, and heat sheet. Swimmers will get their events written on their arms. The heat sheet can be printed from the Swimtopia website the day of the meet. Having as many copies at the meet as possible is very helpful.

Before the Meet Starts:

1. All swimmers must confirm their participation in a swim meet on Swimtopia. If for any reason you are unable to attend a meet in which your swimmer is signed up, please notify coaches as soon as possible.

2. Both home and away meets require the help of parent volunteers. Please sign up on Swimtopia.

3. Meets start at 6:00. Arrive at the pool at 5:00 unless told otherwise by coaches. This will allow time for taking attendance, warmups, and writing events on the swimmers. There is a lot to do before a meet begins and having all swimmers there and ready will cut down on any pre-meet stress.

4. Find a place to put your swimmer’s stuff. The team sits together so look for familiar faces, the WST banner, and your swimmer’s age group sign. Have your swimmer set up camp with their age group and let the WST coaches know they are at the meet.

6. There will be a parent or coach who will have event info for your swimmer, or you can look at the heat sheet to see which events, heat, and lane they are assigned to. Write all this on your swimmer’s arm with the Sharpie, plus their name on their back. This helps your swimmer remember what events he or she is swimming, what event number to listen for, and what lane to get lined up behind. It will look like

E H L (the Event number, Heat, Lane)

7. Swimmers report to the pool deck for warm-ups at 5:00 for home meets and 5:30 for away meets, unless told otherwise by coaches. 

8. Swimmers return to team area after warm-ups. Take them to the bathroom at this point! The meet will usually start about 10 minutes after warm ups are over. The coaches will talk to the swimmers and do some cheers.

9. If grandparents or other family members are coming to watch the meet, make sure they know that youngest swimmers go first! If the meet starts at 6:00, and they arrive at 6:01, they will have missed the first 6 and under event. Allow plenty of time to park and walk to the pool- especially at home meets where our parking lot fills up quickly!

When the Meet Starts:

1. Know what events your swimmer is competing in and make sure your swimmer knows what event numbers they are swimming. Again, a heat sheet and sharpie are a swim parent’s best friends!

2. Listen for event announcements. Upcoming events are announced over the loudspeaker, asking swimmers to report to the deck. Events start immediately after the previous one finishes so swimmers should report to the deck a few events prior to their own with their cap and goggles on their heads. The heat sheet and their arm will say what lane they’re in, and age group parents and coaches can help get them lined up in the right spot. Often times, there is a marker near the announcer , letting you know what event we are on.

3. Please don’t go on deck or to the starting line with your kids. It will be a lot easier to make sure everyone is lined up in the right place if only coaches, age group parents, and other meet volunteers are on the pool deck. Feel free to stand along the side of the pool to cheer for your child as they swim.

4. Age group parents will help your child get to the starting line, but they cannot be responsible for locating your child at the pool if they are not in the team area with their age group. This is done for multiple reasons: you are volunteering, they can get to know the swimmers and build relationships,and it's more fun. If a swimmer is not with the team, they will miss their event! Please reinforce this to your swimmers and know where your child is and what event the meet is on at all times. We had several incidents in 2019 where age group parents couldn’t find swimmers when it was their time to swim, including an entire relay team getting disqualified because of one wandering swimmer.

5. If you have a new swimmer who needs to stop during their race, that is ok! They may STOP and hold on the lane line for a second, then LET GO and continue. If they ADVANCE themselves on the lane line, they will be DQ’d. Yes, they will actually DQ 5 year-olds for this! Please explain this to your swimmer and make sure they understand not to pull themselves along if they need to hold on. You may not flip over onto your stomach for backstroke, either. Let your child know that the timer will not let them hit their heads on the wall. They stop them with a kickboard or their hand.

6. After swimming their event, your swimmer will go back to the team area to wait for their next event.

7. When a swimmer has completed all their events for the day, he/she is able to go home. Be sure to check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not included on a later relay.

8. Ask for help!! If during any of this you feel lost or confused, be sure to ask other parents for help! We have all had our “first meets” and know it can be overwhelming. Once you have attended one or two meets, it will all become very routine and enjoyable.

9. Parents please find the Volunteer Coordinator when you show up and sign in. This way you can get credit. These first few meets we will need “ALL HANDS on DECK!” If you see someone who is unsure or needs help, please ask.

10. HAVE FUN!!! While we compete at meets and strive to do our best, having fun, cheering our teammates on and being proud WST swimmers is the goal!

Please note, things are a little different due to the lingering effects of Covid. Each pool may be a bit different and have different rules than in past years. We are all doing the best we can.

Example: we may only be allowed one parent on deck or none, some pools may have the first three lanes of timers be from the same team, vs one from each team at each lane. Please be flexible as we all navigate this new normal.