SWIM MEETS
OPST participates in several meets per season. A current meet schedule is available on the Web Site. Swimmers are expected to attend those meets that are recommended by the Coaching Staff. In order to measure progress, it is important for swimmers to attend and compete in meets.
USA meets are held throughout the year. Coaches select the meets in which OPST will participate. The Coaching staff will assign the events to be entered in each meet in order to evaluate progress and to determine the focus of future training. Every meet has a limit to the number of events in which a swimmer may participate each session. Each event that a swimmer is entered has an “Entry Fee” and/or “Facility Fee”. These Fees are non-refundable after the Head Coach has submitted entries for the meet.
All meets require members to declare their commitment to attend via the website. Deadlines are not flexible for USA Meets.
DSA meet entries must be declared online 1 week prior to the meet, unless otherwise noted.
Deck entries for DSA meets will not be accepted. Closely monitor entry deadlines. If your child would like to request certain events, use the NOTE section when committing to a meet to communicate the request. In addition, swimmers should talk to their coach about event requests.
Swimmers are expected to be ON TIME to warm-up for meets. This means being prepared and ready to swim at the designated time for warm-up. The Coaching staff recommends swimmers be on deck 20 minutes prior to the start of warm ups. It is crucial for athletes to properly warm-up before a competition. Swimmers are also expected to compete and dress in appropriate OPST apparel. No other team apparel will be tolerated. This apparel includes a current team suit, cap, T-shirt, shorts, and/or sweats.
Parents are discouraged from taking their swimmers to the pool or beach on days of summer season meets. Please be mindful of your child’s hard work by preparing them for competition wisely.
OPST currently participates in two leagues to accommodate our needs as a team on the Eastern Shore. The following information is meant to facilitate the understanding of what each league offers to our swimmers. The 2 competition components of our team currently are:
USA Swimming
USA Swimming is the governing body of the sport. It’s the standard for swimming regardless of age and ability. It’s the level of competitive swimming that will give our swimmers opportunities as they grow in the sport. There is a higher standard for a lot of things but it is not exclusive based on a swimmer’s ability. The higher standard comes in for facilities that host meets, the officials, coaches, referees, and overall organization of a team. There is a place for every swimmer in USA Swimming. The organization and standards of USA Swimming lends itself to producing higher caliber swimmers and more opportunities for everyone.
www.marylandswim.org – This is our LSC Maryland Swimming website.
www.usaswimming.org – This is the website for USA Swimming, the National Governing Body.
Programs and timelines will be sent out prior to the swim meet. This is usually available a couple days before the meet, depending on when the host team provides the information. Print out the information for your reference.
Using a highlighter, go through the program and locate the events in which your swimmer is participating. Each event is separated by gender, age and heat. If this is the first time for a specific race, you will usually find your swimmer in Heat 1 with a NT (No Time.) Heats are run slowest to fastest, unless it is a long distance race.
Mark your swimmer with a listing of events for that day. Take a black Sharpie marker and write on their arm or leg. Most people make a chart with headers denoting E (Event); H (Heat); L (Lane); and S (Stroke). For example, Joe is swimming in four races.
E H L S
#10 1 5 50 Free
#16 2 3 100 Back
#22 1 6 50 Fly
#32 1 7 100 Breast
Follow the program and listen to the announcer. If there is a clerk of course, be sure to have your swimmer listen for their events being called so they can get seated in the proper heat and lane for their event. Keep in mind, that it is the swimmer’s responsibility to be in the water at the right time - and in the right lane - not the coaches and not the officials. Teach your swimmer to double check with the timers as everything is written on their body. They can just point to their arm and ask if they are in the correct lane.
Parents are NOT allowed on deck or behind the starting blocks. Areas along the side of the pool are reserved for Officials and Coaches. Stay out of any other areas that are roped off.
Your swimmer should have all his/her gear in tow (cap, goggles, towels, food, and water bottle). Swimmers should wear team suits, caps and t-shirts at all meets. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. After warm-up, your swimmer will go back to the area where the team is sitting and wait until his/her time to go and wait behind the blocks. This is a good time to make sure any bathroom breaks are taken care of, getting a drink and/or snacks or just get settled in.
As with any sport, Officials will be studying the swimmers. If a swimmer does not legally perform a stroke, start or turn, they will receive what is called a DQ (disqualification). The swimmer will receive a No Time for the event. Generally, your child will learn this from the coach shortly after the event concludes. Officials will not talk to individual swimmers; instead, the coach will receive a DQ slip and the coach will talk to the swimmer and explain what occurred. Most swimmers will receive a DQ at some time or other, don’t let your child get discouraged. There are a lot of little rules to learn. Learn from the DQ but don’t get discouraged.
After each event we ask that your swimmer reports directly to the coach first. It is best when the race is fresh in the coach's mind to go over a quick review. Your swimmer may come for a quick visit but it is important that they stay on deck with their teammates and cheer on their team.
Delmarva Swim Association (DSA)
DSA governs our summer league, June-July, in which so many of our swimmers participate, learn to love the sport and perhaps choose to pursue the sport year- round.
www.delmarvaswim.org– This is the website for the Delmarva Swim Association (DSA)
