Forest Park Swim Team

Swim meets is where all that practice comes together and the swimmer races against swimmers their age to win that ribbon!

There are three basic types of meets:

1. Time Trial - a one-team event where a child swims every individual stroke to get their baseline time.
2. Dual meet - where one team competes against another. These meets are free, and happen on Wednesday nights or Saturday mornings. They typically last 3-4 hours. 
3. Invitationals - these are bigger meets where multiple teams participate. Each is unique in their own way. These can last anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days. Click here to find out more about the invitationals this team participates in.

Meets are all about the swimming events. A typical meet will have events for all 5 individual strokes (IM, Free, Breast, Back, Fly) as well as a Medley Relay and a Free relay. Typically an individual swimmer is eligible to swim in 3 individual events and 2 relays. This may vary by meet and space on the relay teams.

Knowing What Your Child Will Swim

When you arrive at the swim meet, an entry list will be posted at the pool, and likely online. While the format may be different, they generally contain similar information.

Using that information it is highly recommended that you mark up your child. That is, you take a sharpie and transfer that information onto their hand. For younger swimmers (8 and under) it's desirable to do it on their back shoulder for their shepherd to read. Once they are old enough to get to an event, mark up their hand like so.

Life hack: if you make a mistake, sunscreen takes sharpie right off. 

Getting to the Blocks On Time

When children are 8 and under, a designated adult called a shepherd rounds up the children, brings them to the blocks, and lines them up in the right lane at the right time. Quite often, shepherds are an adult in the same age group they are shepherding, and are willing to keep on your child if you have to work. Of course always ask ahead of time rather than assuming someone will assume the responsibility for your child.

After your child is 9 it is their own responsibility to get to the right place at the right time. They must listen to announcements to hear what event is happening and try to get there at least a few heats ahead of time. The meet will not stop to wait for them. Your child will most likely miss at least one of their races at some point. Don't worry, it's a moment of growth that allows them to learn from their mistakes.

A meet is an exciting event, but it helps to be prepared. You will be spending three hours or more at the pool. Bring

• Sunscreen
• Gear for your swimmer - swimsuit, goggles, cap, towel, sharpie
• Camping chairs, or something to sit on
• Pop-up tent for shade (optional, many families share their tent)
• Extra towel or parka for your swimmer for evening meets and cold days
• Healthy snacks for your children
• Cash for snack shack (optional as snack shack accept credit cards or venmo, but cash is perfect to give the children to get their own snacks)
• Entertainment for your child like coloring books, card games, or other small toys