Meet Entry Information
There
are often questions on which meets to enter, how to enter a meet, and what to
expect at a meet. Unlike summer league
swimming, most
Determining Which
Meets to Enter
Meet
levels are based on a swimmer’s progress against USA Swimming 2005-2008 Motivational Time-Standards found on
the North Texas Swimming
Website.
Time
standards are also available in meet information itself, or in the back of your
Mustang new member handbook. The time
standards are listed in either short course (yards) or long course (meters).
Time-standards for B, BB, & A (and above A) have progressively lower times
for similar events. In other words, B
time standards aren’t as fast as BB, and so on. Level “C” is entry level, so
there is no time standard.
Once
swimming in a meet, swimmers attempt to make “B” times, then “BB” times, “A”
times, TAGS time standards, Sectional cuts (no age limits but typically 14 and
over). Ultimately, some may even attain Junior National, National or Olympic
Trials cuts.
For 12 and under
swimmers
- As a general rule new swimmers age 12 and under start competition at B/C
level meets. For B/C level meets, the Mustangs participate in Division II North
Texas meets this season. Technically, a swimmer in this age-group is a “C”
swimmer until proven otherwise in meet competition. Once swimming in meets they
attempt to progress to “B” times, then “BB” and then “A”. Once swimming in BB
meets, they will continue to swim at these meets until they achieve 3 "A"
times. Some “A” meets might even require a swimmer to have an “A” time in each
event they wish to enter.
For swimmers 13 and
above
– Swimmers most likely will start competition at BB meets. There is no B/C
classification for this age group and they will continue to swim BB meets until
they achieve 3 "A" times or above. Some “A” meets might even require
a swimmer to have an “A” time in each event they wish to enter.
Meet
Organization
During
the Fall, Winter & early Spring, meets are usually organized as “A” meets
or “BB/B/C” meets and swum in 25 yard short course pools. During the late
Spring and Summer, meets are typically organized as separate A, BB, or B/C
meets. B/C meets continue to swim in 25
yard short course pools, while BB and A meets occur in 50 meter long course
pools.
Entering a Swim
Meet
Swimmers
must enter meets & events based
on their age as of the first day of a meet.
This differs from many of the summer leagues that have one cutoff date
and allow a swimmer to compete at that age for the entire season.
Once
you determine which meets your swimmer qualifies for, you can find meet
information at the North Texas Swimming Website using the Meet
Information link. The information includes warm-up times, event schedules,
and general info about the meet you are looking for. You can click on the meet you are interested
in and view or print the meet information. The meet information will let you
know whether or not they qualify and entry fees.
!!! SWIMMER MEET ENTRIES ARE DUE TO
COACH DOUG VIA EMAIL THE THURSDAY, TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE MEET !!!
One
item in the meet information posted on the North Texas Website that can be
misleading is related to when meet entries are due. Meet entry deadlines found
on the North Texas Website are deadlines for delivery of consolidated team
entries from our coach, not
individual entries from a swimmer submitted to our coach.
What if I'm too late
and have to late enter? Currently there
are several meets on the North Texas Swimming calendar that do not allow late
entries. All the more reason to make
sure your entries are submitted and you don't get closed out of a meet. To discourage late entries, many
If
you need to late enter –
- Bring the
swimmer’s USA ID Card - Your swimmer’s USA ID number begins with their
date of birth in mm/dd/yy format, then the first 3 letters of their legal first
name, middle initial, and lastly the first 4 letters of your last
name. For example, a USA ID could
be 050885JOHBSMIT (birthdate 05/08/85 with first name JOHn middle initial
B, and last name SMITh).
- Bring a list of
events and entry times - To prove those entry times you will be required
to bring a copy of the swimmer’s best times from the USA Swimming SWIMS Database. If they haven’t swum the
events you are attempting to late enter, they will be entered as a NT (no
time) with no need for proof. Note that swimmer times will typically be
available in the SWIMS Database around 2 weeks following the completion of
a swim meet.
Do I enter my swimmer
in relays? The team will take care of entering all
relays at all meets, so it is not necessary to enter relays when you enter a
meet with Coach Doug. All swimmers who
enter a particular meet will be eligible for any relays that the coaches choose
to enter for that meet. Many factors go
into the decision of whether or not to swim relays and who will swim on those
relays. These decisions will be made by
the coaching staff.
Emailing Your
Swim Meet Entries
In
order to enter a meet you must -
Email Entries to Coach Doug with MEET
ENTRIES DUE TO COACH DOUG THE THURSDAY, TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE MEET.
Things
to consider when completing your e-mail entries -
- Write the meet
name in the e-mail subject line - This helps to put this in the
appropriate e-mail folder when received
.
- List the events
in meet event order on your e-mail - Typically the girls events are odd
numbered and the boys are even numbered.
- Check the meet
information to see how many events per day or session your child may swim
- On the meet information there usually is a daily limit of events that
your child may enter. If they
exceed this number at the meet, they will be disqualified in the event
which exceeds the daily limit regardless of how they perform in that
event.
Review Meet
Entries
A
few days before the meet you can review meet entries. Please review your meet
entries to make certain that you are both entered in the meet and entered in
the correct events. Entry times are a swimmer’s
best times, which are maintained in our team manager database by Coach
Doug. If you submitted an email entry
request to Coach Doug and your swimmer is not on the report, or there is an
error in the events entered, please contact Coach
Doug via Email.
Once
the entries have been submitted to the host team by Coach Doug, they will be
available on this website for your review by the Monday prior to the meet
start.
|
Date & Location of Meet |
Meet Name (Click to See Entries) |
|
January 9th
– 11th, 2009 |
Please
understand that corrections cannot be made prior to a meet. Corrections are
made during the late entry period prior to the start of a meet. Reviewing your
entries prior to a meet will allow both you and Coach Doug to be aware of the
corrections needed. This facilitates a smooth completion of any late entries or
corrections on the day of the meet.
Meet Day
Please
arrive at the meet at least 10 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time. All swimmers are expected to participate in
warm-ups and particularly at the BB/B/C level, this is the time that the
coaches will put relays together based on the fastest combinations of swimmers
who are there. Swimmers are required to
check in, usually 30 minutes before the meet begins, for each event that they
are entered in. Failure to do so will
result in the swimmer being scratched (removed) from the event. Check-in sheets are typically found on the
pool deck posted on a wall. After a
swim, the swimmer should go directly to their coach who will talk to them about
the race. Finally, each swimmer should
wear a Dallas Mustang swim cap when competing.
For more information
on North Texas Swimming sponsored meets, see Meet
Information on the North Texas Swimming Website
