Amherst United Swim Meets

A dual swim meet is a meet against one other team. Generally there are 8 swim meets in the Winter season, 5 swim meets in the Summer. Swim meets tend to last about 3 hours. Swimmers compete against other children in their age group. Your child ages up to the next age group on their birthday. The breakdown of age groups is as follows:

8 and under         

9-10         

11‐12         

13‐14         

15‐18.

Swimmers are encouraged to participate in as meets as possible, both home and away. We are a competitive swim program and need all our swimmers to commit to swimming in our meets, however Rec meet participation is not a requirement to participate with the team.

Swimmers will be placed in a variety of events at a meet. Please do not ask coaches to have your child placed in an event at a meet. If you would like to discuss your swimmer please do it through email to Coach Evan.

Prior to the meet, swimmers will be given an ON DECK time to arrive and dressed to swim. Swimmers need to be on deck at this time, so coaches can take attendance and get swimmers in the water on time and warmed up properly. If your swimmer has NOT checked in with a coach by that time, they will be scratched from the meet!

The swim meet schedule and address for each pool will posted on the website. In addition, meet reminders will be sent out ahead of time via email with directions and on deck times as well.

For ALL meets, please check your email before leaving. Not only can weather cause a cancellation, but sometimes water quality or a conflict with facility scheduling can also cancel a meet. It is a good idea to check shortly before you plan to leave, just to make sure.

Meet tips:

Stay through and participate in all of your events at a meet. It only hurts your team and possibly relay partners if you leave early. Check with a coach before leaving to make sure you are all done before changing and leaving. If there is an emergency and you must leave early, please notify the coach first.

Events are listed on one of the walls inside of the pool with swimmers names next to each event. Some parents find it useful to mark their child's hand with an ink pen with their event numbers (if your child finds this helpful, please send them with a marker or pen).

Swimmers should prepare to line up 10 events prior to their event. You need to pay attention to the event number we are on and get yourself in line on time. For younger swimmers, buddies will help them do this.

Encourage your child to use the rest room in advance of their line-up time. The same goes for eating snacks.

During a swim meet, whether home or away, swimmers should NOT leave the pool deck without notifying a coach first. Swimmers also need to know that the locker rooms and hallways are NOT places to hangout; swimmers should be on deck cheering for their teammates.

Parent/caregiver Volunteer Duties:

Rec swim meets are parent-run. In order for a swim meet to take place, we need all parents to volunteer at rec meets. The best volunteer position for new swim parents are timing positions, food table, bathroom and hallway monitors. You are only expected to volunteer for half a meet. 

Below is a list of the jobs that must be filled for each meet. 

• Starter: This requires previous experience or special training. This person announces each event and starts each event.

• Timer: This is the job that requires the most number of volunteers.  At each meet you will be given a stop watch and directions on how to use it. Generally we need 6 to 8 timers at a time.

• Back-up Timer: This timer starts the watch at the beginning of each race and records time for any person who has a mishap with timing their particular lane.

• Stroke and Turn Judge: Each team is expected to supply 2 judges per meet. This person is responsible for making sure strokes and turns are done legally. Training sessions are usually held by the league at the beginning of each season. There is also a video tape available that can be viewed.

• Bullpen Monitor: These people help line up the swimmers in the correct order for their events. They also monitor behavior on deck and make sure the kids know what event they are swimming and what lane they are swimming in.

• Scorekeeper: These people count up the points for each team during the meet and enter the points into a computer.

• Runner: This person collects all timing cards and place cards from the timers and takes them to the scoring table after each event.

• Food Table: For home meets, these people help set up the food table, sell food, and pack up the food table at end of meet.

• Locker Room Monitor: This person periodically goes through the locker room to make sure kids are behaving and respecting property.

• Hallway Monitor: This person monitors hallways and open spaces to help guide visitors to locker rooms and bathrooms, and make sure kids are behaving and respecting property.

Dual Meets:

Championship Meets:

Swimmers must swim in a total of two dual meets to qualify for the championship meet. Summer Champs will be held on July 22nd at Tantasqua High School.

Uniforms:

We ask that all swimmers come to practice with a training bathing suit, swim goggles and a swm cap. The Amherst Rec team will provide a team cap and asks that a team suit from SwimOutlet or a plain black bathing suit be purchased for team uniform to be used during meets. A standardized uniform contributes to team morale and makes our swimmers easy to identify at larger meets. All swimmers are allowed to swim in jammers and rash guards.