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USA Meets offer a wide range of
events including long distance events including the 200IM and the 500
Free, which many of our 12 & under will swim.
We typically only enter ONE USA
Meet per month which generally runs Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.
Three-day USA Meets are draining on a swimmers’ body. It usually
takes a little time to recover from those meets.
The USA Meet host team sets the
events and the order they will swim. There is NOT a six (6) & under
division, so six & under compete in the eight (8) & under age group. All
other groups compete in their respective age groups. Often eight & under
boys and girls, and nine and ten year olds swim in the morning, but that
CAN vary.
Heats run slowest to fastest.
Depending on the host team’s facility, there could be as many as 10-20
heats per events.
All meets use the Colorado Touch
Pads timing equipment so times are more accurate than watch times. Watch
times are used only as a back up source. USA Meets have certified
officials, and only USA certified coaches can be on the pool deck during
the meets. In some meets, the team is allowed to ‘camp out’ on the pool
deck during the meet, and the parents are upstairs in the stands. Some
meets offer an adjacent gym for swimmers and families.
In USA Meets you will get
Disqualified (DQ) if your stroke is NOT legal. There are no exceptions.
Coaches will not enter a swimmer in an event if their stroke is not
legal in practice. Getting DQ’d is a part of the learning curve,
and should not be considered a negative. If there is a DQ on deck,
the USA Official must raise their hand, and typically, they inform the
swimmer (or the coach) after the race. They also turn in a DQ slip
to the scoring table, so there is no question on the specific violation.
The coaches determine which
events swimmers are ready for, so parents do not have to choose.
Details will be available in the meet packets if available.
Once a swimmer is entered in a
meet, meet fees are charged, even if the swimmer gets sick, etc. and
cannot attend. NO REFUNDS. The USA Meets have a timeline to
maintain and will only accept a certain amount of entries. Swimmers are
NOT entered after the deadline.
USA Meets awards vary according
to the meet. Some award ribbons for JO Championship Times and A Regional
Times and others offer ribbons or medals for the Top 6 or 12 in various
categories. Swimmers DO NOT get a ribbon for every event they swim. |
