When the season starts...
The Seals Swim Team normally receives the approved Season Meet Schedule by the first few weeks into Summer Season of that year. This schedule normally includes the Winter Schedule as well. As soon as we have an indication of the meet schedule, we begin making arrangements for hotel accommodations for our away meets.
Most people choose to stay overnight if the meet is being held in a community more than an hour or so from Sioux Falls. It's not much fun rousing children at 5am on the day of the meet and motivate them to do their best. As a team, we normally try to choose one or two area motels and book enough rooms for team families and their extended family.
We will make arrangements to block a number of rooms in hotels that have the best rates and who have openings. We normally look for family friendly facilities that have pools. We also try to book a variety of rooms to suit the various sized families on the team. We will post the booking information on our page, and will list hotels where we have booked rooms there as well.
Once you choose a hotel, you will have to make arrangements to guarantee the room for your family. The block of rooms is normally released to the public 30 days prior to the date of the meet. If you wish to stay in another hotel or with friends or family in the area, you are certainly free to do so. Some families even tow an RV or camper to stay in at local camping areas.
Either way, we encourage you plan early and decide on the meets your swimmer will be attending, and make hotel reservations as soon as possible.
A month prior to the meet...
As you may have already seen, Meet Invites are sent out around a month or six weeks prior to the meet. Each meet has a deadline for entry which is usually a week or two prior to the event date. The Seals team ask that you please note the team meet entry deadline so we can process meet entries and have time to discuss any entry changes with Coaches with plenty of time to submit our team information and fee payment to the host team.
A few days prior to the meet...
A few days prior to the meet, you'll probably be wondering what you're going to take to the meet.
Swim meets are very casual, and the general rule is to stay cool! Even in the dead of winter, it can be very warm and humid inside the pool area, so layered clothing is recommended. Watch the weather forecast in the summer as the meet WILL go on even if there is (lightning free) rain storms. And the summer weather can often start out cool and damp in the morning, but turn hot and humid by the afternoon.
A few families have invested in quick-up shade canopies to protect from the hot sun and from rain. We normally link them all together to provide a large shady and protected area for the team to gather under.
For summer meets, you should bring a collapsible lawn chair for each person at the meet. Even though most indoor facilities have some seating, it is a good idea to keep a couple of those chairs in the trunk, as you may need them.
Most families also bring sleeping bags and or blankets to lay on the pool deck for the swimmer and other small children to lounge on.
Swimmers should bring several towels as they tend not to dry out between events in the humidity of summer or in an indoor pool. There might be a half hour or more between your swimmer's scheduled events, so they should consider packing a bag with handheld games, books, an ipod or other things to help pass the time. Parents and spectators should bring cameras and a bag of reading material, crossword puzzles or other ways to help pass the time.
Your family may also consider getting an sealable clip-board to hold the meet program, pens and highlighters close at hand.
Your family will also want to make sure you have a cooler and plenty of water or beverages for your family and swimmer. You can also consider bringing healthy snacks, but there are usually good concessions at each of the meets. These concessions are a major fundraiser for the sponsoring team, and the snacks are always budget friendly, healthy and fresh.
The Day of the Meet...
All swimmers are divided by sex into age groups as follows:
Boys and Girls 8 & under
Boys and Girls 9 & 10
Boys and Girls 11 & 12
Boys and Girls 13 & over
Lanes in each heat are also assigned by times. The fastest swimmer for that heat is lane four (or the middle lane) second fastest swimmers are in lanes 5 and 3 and so on until the slowest times are at the outside edges of the pool. Swimmers with no times are assigned a lane through a random drawing.
Most swim meets are divided into two sessions, the morning session and the afternoon session. Normally, the morning session is for swimmers younger than 12, and the afternoon session is for swimmers 12 and up. The actual meet begins around 9:00am on Saturday and Sunday, and last around 4 hours. During the summer long course season there may be events held on Friday evening as well. This does not normally happen during the winter season, but there may always be exceptions.
Warm-ups:
Warm-ups are held during the hour or so prior to the start of the meet. Each team will be assigned a lane and warm up time. This assignment is usually sent out a few days prior to the meet. You can review the meet invite for specific information on when warm-ups will be held. As was noted above, the younger swimmers normally swim in the morning hours, with the older kids swimming in the afternoon. Swimmers usually show up at the pool with their competition suit on, ready to hit the water. But locker rooms are normally available if you wish to change there.
Seals families set up on a common area at the pool. We try to make enough room for all families, but you can certainly seek other locations to set up an area for you and your family. Just look for our large team sign that we hang along the fences at most meets!
Posting of Times and Awards
Near the concession area, meet officials will post a recap of final times for all events. These sheets tell you how well your swimmer did against the other swimmers entered in the event. It usually takes about an hour after the event is over to get the results posted.
At most meets, younger swimmers are awarded if they with their heat. Ribbons or medals are also awarded for the overall event to the 7th-14th place. Each event makes their own determination of the awards, and it is normally listed in the meet invite.
