Terminology
What is a heat sheet?
A ‘heat sheet’ is the swim meet ‘schedule’ that identifies each event, and when and in which lane each swimmer will race. The home team will typically email these out prior to each swim meet. Parents generally bring a pen or highlighter so it’s easier to keep track of your swimmers’ events. They may also opt to write the event, heat, and lane on their child's arm so that the swimmer is less likely to miss a race.
What is an event?
Each race is called an ‘event.’ There are 82 events in a standard swim meet. These events are determined by the age group competing and the type stroke they swim. For each event, there may be multiple heats.
Each race is called an ‘event.’ There are 82 events in a standard swim meet. These events are determined by the age group competing and the type stroke they swim. For each event, there may be multiple heats.
What is a heat?
A ‘heat’ represents a single group of swimmers competing at the same time in an event. At the Evergreen Lakes pool, for example, we can field five lanes of swimmers. Should an event have a greater number of swimmers entered than can be accommodated in a single race, the swimmers are separated into groups. Each race of that single event is considered a heat. Swimmers are grouped according to their seed times, with slower times in early heats, ending with fastest times swimming the last heat of the event.
A ‘heat’ represents a single group of swimmers competing at the same time in an event. At the Evergreen Lakes pool, for example, we can field five lanes of swimmers. Should an event have a greater number of swimmers entered than can be accommodated in a single race, the swimmers are separated into groups. Each race of that single event is considered a heat. Swimmers are grouped according to their seed times, with slower times in early heats, ending with fastest times swimming the last heat of the event.
What is a swimmer’s seed time?
‘Seed time’ is a swimmer’s personal-best recorded time for a particular event. When a swimmer has no recorded time for an event, a coding of ‘NT’ is listed in place of a time. Seed times distribute the swimmers among the heats and lanes according to their best times.
‘Seed time’ is a swimmer’s personal-best recorded time for a particular event. When a swimmer has no recorded time for an event, a coding of ‘NT’ is listed in place of a time. Seed times distribute the swimmers among the heats and lanes according to their best times.
How is an event winner determined?
The swimmer with the best overall time, from all heats in an event, will claim first place. There is a first through sixth place awarded for each individual event, and for first and second in relay events.
The swimmer with the best overall time, from all heats in an event, will claim first place. There is a first through sixth place awarded for each individual event, and for first and second in relay events.
How many races will my child swim?
The head coach makes the entries for all regular season meets. All swimmers are limited by swim league rules to a total of five events for each meet –usually by swimming three individual events and two relay events. A maximum of three individual events is allowed per swimmer. Six and under swimmers only have backstroke and freestyle as individual events. Your swimmer may not swim in two relays as this will depend upon the number of swimmers available – four are needed per relay.
The head coach makes the entries for all regular season meets. All swimmers are limited by swim league rules to a total of five events for each meet –usually by swimming three individual events and two relay events. A maximum of three individual events is allowed per swimmer. Six and under swimmers only have backstroke and freestyle as individual events. Your swimmer may not swim in two relays as this will depend upon the number of swimmers available – four are needed per relay.
To help swimmers keep track of their individual races, many parents use a Sharpie marker to write the event/heat/lane numbers on their swimmers’ hands. Example: Event 32, Heat 3, Lane 4 would be written 32/3/4. Swimmers should also have their age and name (first and last) written on the back of the shoulder.*Very helpful** to timers. This helps the Staging crew verify the swimmers as they arrive and helps the Timers identify swimmers before a race. The kids love to draw all over each other and show us their creative side with lots of color sharpies. Sharpie washes off with a good soapy scrub and/or baby oil.
How does a team score points?
When we swim teams with 100 or more registered swimmers:
1st place = 7 points, 2nd place = 5 points and 3rd place = 4 points, 4th place = 3 points, 5th place = 2 points, and 6th place = 1 point. In relay events, 1st place = 7 points and 2nd place = 5 points.
When we swim teams with less than 100 registered swimmers:
1st place = 5 points, 2nd place = 3 points and 3rd place = 1 points. In relay events, 1st place = 5 points and 2nd place = 3 points.
1st place = 5 points, 2nd place = 3 points and 3rd place = 1 points. In relay events, 1st place = 5 points and 2nd place = 3 points.
If a team places 1st and 2nd in a relay event, then no points are awarded for 2nd place.
What do I do if I see an error in my child’s posted time?
Every effort is made to make sure times are accurately transferred from the timer sheets into the computer software. Due to combining of heats and sometimes events, a child may swim in a different lane than originally planned. Timers are supposed to verify a swimmers name as they exit the pool.
Every effort is made to make sure times are accurately transferred from the timer sheets into the computer software. Due to combining of heats and sometimes events, a child may swim in a different lane than originally planned. Timers are supposed to verify a swimmers name as they exit the pool.
Errors found during the meet
You and your child should be checking the score sheets sent out from the scoring office as the meet is running. At Evergreen Lakes, the sheets are located on the wall/windows of the clubhouse (to the left as you are facing the clubhouse from the pool).
Alert one of the team managers if:
· you know your child swam and they do not have a time or “DQ” on the score sheet
· you see a time by a child you know is not at the meet
· you see a large error in your child’s time (i.e. very different from their seed time)
Be aware that the scoring table must use the data provided by the timers. A very close race may not show the finish order a spectator observed. Our timers are good but no one is perfect.
Errors found after the meet
Errors found after a meet is over are more difficult to change. Notify our council rep.
Other Terminology:
GCSL – Gwinnett County Swim League
Individual Medley (IM)– four laps of the pool swam in the following order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle.
Leg- (relay) the part of the relay event swum by one swimmer.
NT (No Time) – Terminology entered on heat sheet for swimmers who do not have an official time entered for the event.
Relay– A race consisting of four legs, each swum by one swimmer. There are two types of relays:
1) Medley – each swimmer swims a different stroke. The order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
2) Freestyle – each swimmer swims a freestyle leg.
Scratch- withdraw from an event.
False Start- When a swimmer leaves the starting block before the horn or gun.
Backstroke Flags - a string of pennants stretched over the pool so that when performing the backstroke, swimmers will know how far away the wall is in order to successfully execute their turns and finishes.
Block - the starting platform used at the commencement of a race in competition.
Bullpen - a designated location where all swimmers on a team stay when they’re not participating in a race.
Deck- the area around the swimming pool reserved for swimmers, officials, and coaches
DQ - terminology describing being disqualified from a swimming event after the race has occurred due to swimming rule violations with regard to such things as the swimmer’s start, stroke technique, turn or finish. The time achieved will be considered null and void, just as if the swimmer had never swum the race and no points will be attributed to the team’s score. The letters “DQ” will appear, rather than the time achieved, on the official results of the meet.
Competitive Strokes- the four competitive strokes are (1) freestyle, (2) backstroke, (3) breaststroke, and (4) butterfly. Events are held in all of the competitive strokes at varying distances depending on the age group of the swimmer.
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