Refer to the meet information sheet for the pool address and scheduled warm-up time. Meet information sheets are posted on our Competition Page and on the Midwestern Swimming website.

It is a good idea to bring a sleeping bag for the swimmer and bleacher seat pads or something similar for the adults. Folding chairs are recommended at outdoor meets in the summer. Some meets can be long, and swimmers will be glad to have a place to rest between events. You also will want to bring cards, books, or other favorite games to pass the time.

There are concession stands at most meets. Junk food is usually readily available. Swimmers will feel and perform better if they eat healthy foods. You might want to bring a cooler or lunch box with a sandwich, fruit, fruit juices, water, etc.

Before you leave home, check to be sure your swimmer has suits, goggles, caps, and at least two towels. These are the critical items. Swimmers must also have clothes or sweats and shoes to wear between events.

Plan on arriving at the meet early enough to claim an area to sit or, when at an outdoor meet, set up a tent as a ready area.  Parents of B-T swimmers should sit together in the stands as a way of being a support team for all of our swimmers. This way, if Gina’s mom went to get a soda, Katie’s mom can help her put on her cap!

Please arrive early. All swimmers, and especially novice swimmers, perform much better and have much more fun if they are not rushed. They need time to dress, become familiar with the facility, look at the heat sheet, talk to the coach a coach is present, and greet their friends.  Swimmers should be ready to enter the water immediately when the meet referee opens the pool for warm-up. 

Get a program (heat sheet). These are available near the door or gate to the pool. The cost is usually minimal.

Find your swimmer in the heat sheet. Confirm that he/she is entered in the correct events at the correct times.

Parents of younger swimmers should write the event, heat, and lane on their swimmer’s hand in ink. Example: 3-1-6 50 BK (Event 3, Heat 1, Lane 6, 50 Back)  (If available in advance of the meet, Coach Neal will post the events, heats, and lanes on the B-T website the night before a meet.  Check the website and, if posted, do all the hand-writing at home before you come to the meet.)

If a B-T coach is present at the meet, swimmers should report to the coach ready to swim. (Check the Competition Page to see which meets will be attended by a B-T coach.)  If a B-T coach is not attending the meet, swimmers should report directly to the meet referee.  The best place to find the meet referee is at the timing table.  Go to the start end of the meet and there should be at least one table set up with timing equipment.  Check in there.  Swimmers will be assigned a coach for the meet.  Swimmers should immediately check in with their assigned coach(es).  Some coaches enjoy having unattached swimmers join their group, others...not so much.  All the coaches will help swimmers that need help anytime!

Warm-up lanes are usually assigned.  The sheet is posted at the start end of the pool.  Swimmers should report to their assigned warm-up lane(s) before the scheduled warm-up start time. This means goggles, suit, and cap on, heat sheet checked, events written on hand, ready to go!  (At the meets that Coach Neal attends, swimmers who are late for warm-up will not be allowed to warm-up with the team. In addition, swimmers who are late for warm-up may not be allowed to participate in relays.)  Please be on time!

After the warm-up, the coach will send the swimmers back to their ready area to rest before the first event.  Swimmers should rest between events - off their feet.  Swimmers must be dressed in top and bottom when resting in the ready area.  Shoes must be worn when traveling to the rest rooms, concession stand, etc.  Swimmers should not rest in the ready area dressed only in their swimming suits.

Swimmers should also be drinking plenty of water between events.  Parents are responsible for keeping swimmers sitting or lying down resting.  Swimmers are not allowed to run around or play about the facility.  The coach or wranglers must be able to go to the ready area and locate any swimmer at any time.  Parents, this is very important, and a good habit to learn early in a swimming career.

The use of sunscreen is recommended at outdoor meets even when the swimmers are sitting under the tent.

Often at meets, the host team or an independent swim shop has a table or booth where they sell every type of swimming accessory imaginable.  Swimmers love to shop as much as anyone.  It is fine to take a look and purchase anything you wish, but then swimmers should return to the ready area and stay there.

If the first event is a relay, the coach will give a list of names to one of the parents of a relay swimmer.  This parent should help the swimmers get their relay together and get to the block on time. If everyone is sitting in the ready area, this is easy.

Once the meet starts, swimmers are responsible for reporting to the block in time for their events.  An easy way to keep track of the events is to cross out each heat in the heat sheet as it is completed.  The time between events will vary from meet to meet.  It can be ten minutes, or over an hour.  Parents should remind their swimmers that it is the swimmers’ responsibility to get to their events on time.  Leave enough time to check in with the coach before each event.  Swimmers should always report to the coach before their events for last minute instruction and encouragement.  Parents are to watch the events from the bleachers along the sides of the pool.  Parents are not allowed behind the blocks or at the far end of the pool.  Cheer for all B-T Aquatics swimmers.  After their events, swimmers should report directly to their coach.  This means that immediately after their swim they walk to the coach.  Swimmers should not talk to parents or friends about their race until they have discussed it with their coach.  It is important that all parents support this policy.

Please give your swimmer a few moments to think about what they have just accomplished and to discuss it with the coach before you talk to them.  Please don’t be there at the end of the pool when they finish.  Let them walk to you.  Let them speak first.  Listen and look for cues from your swimmer before you give your response to the race.  Don’t offer stroke technique advice or race strategy advice to swimmers.  Please leave that for the coach. Parents should just show children lots of love and attention (independent of swim performance).  Parents should see to the comfort and safety of the children, and let the coach do the coaching. 

If you have any questions during the meet, please ask the other swimming parents.  Communication between coach and parents during the meet should be limited.  Feel free to ask the coach important questions about where the swimmers should be, or what time they should be there, but save the in-depth analysis of a swimmer’s stroke and training program effectiveness for another time.  The coach is very busy and focused on the task at hand.  If you have unanswered questions or concerns about your child's events, write them down.  Coach Neal will be happy to help you with these after the meet:  aquatics@brownell.edu

Final times for all events are usually posted on a wall in the pool or adjacent area.  Please check the results of your swimmer’s events.  If you feel a mistake has been made, please notify the coach immediately.  (The best way to fix a mistake is to give the coach a slip of paper with the event #, swimmer name, heat, lane, and posted time.  This is the information the coach needs to submit to the host team to correct mistakes in the posted results.)  Parents or swimmers should record the swimmer’s times from all the meets.  Each swimmer should maintain a log of their times in a small spiral notebook.  Use one page for each event.  Log the date the location and the time.  Logbooks should be kept in a zip-lock bag along with a pen or pencil for recording times.

All swimmers should check in with the B-T coach, if present, before leaving the meet. Please check your ready area to make sure you have all your belongings and that all trash is picked up.

Swimmers may be asked to be part of an awards ceremony. Whenever there is a presentation of awards at a meet, swimmers should be prompt and cooperate fully. The following rules should also be observed:

Meets are an important reason you practice so hard. They are intended to be fun and challenging. Swimming fast is fun. Remember the B-T Aquatics motto is "We swim for good times!" Good times means fast times whenever we compete and fun times whenever we are together. No one can realize his or her dreams without competitors. Competitors are to be valued, respected and treated in a sportsmanlike fashion.

B-T Aquatics encourages all young swimmers to train and compete in all swimming events, distances and strokes. This policy promotes versatility and encourages the swimmers to explore their potential in the wide range of events offered in competitive swimming.

Swimmers who compete in Midwestern Swimming/USA Swimming sanctioned meets are eligible for our Face-Up Fast and Swim the List awards.

Good luck!  Swim for good times!