A comprehensive PDF document can also be found
here
www.swimaqua.org
This is the address for this AQUA web site. To find out about swim
meets, go to the home page. Look at the Events section and click on
the meet you are interested in. you will then see further info
about the meet, including the meet invitation as published by the
host team. Several pages into the meet invitation, a list of events
each day of the meet will be listed. It is from this list that you
decide which events/days you will swim. By following these links,
you can also find meet dates and locations, entry due dates and
meet information. Links to meet results are posted as soon
as they are available.
Meet Entries: Entries for meets are almost always due about two weeks before
the weekend of the meet. It is very important that you pay
attention to upcoming meets and the entry due dates. If you have
any questions about which meets or events your swimmer should
enter, you or your swimmer should speak with his/her coach. You
must get your completed entries submitted by the specified date so
as to simplify the job for our meet entry person. He will process
the individual entries received, then create a list of these
preliminary entries to be sent to the host team. If for some
reason you do not get your entry in to us in time, do not panic.
You can almost always "deck enter" at a meet, although it will cost
you twice as much.
Doing your meet entries:
We require use of our electronic entry forms which are posted on
this website for each meet.
On the entry form, please make sure to put both the meet event
number and name, i.e., Event #11, 10 & U girls 50
free, and your swimmer’s best time in that
event. This will sometimes mean putting in a Short Course
yards time for a Long Course meters event of the same distance.
That is OK if the meet invitation indicates thus (i.e., entering
with a 50yd time for a 50M event you are entering; just put a "Y"
after the time). The invitation might say something like, "Entry
times must be submitted in the course at which the best time was
achieved – short course yards (Y), short course meters (S),
or long course meters (L)," although we rarely if ever swim
short course meter pools.
Both USA Swimming and Gulf Swimming take all the worry out of
historically tracking your swimmer’s past swim times. They
compile it for you. You have your choice of online data
sources:
My USA Swimming - a
personalized database tailored to your own swimmer after
registering. Take full advantage of USA Swimming’s site
by creating an account. If you are a USA Swimming member, you can
link your web account to your USA Swimming membership.
Click here to create an
account and learn more. If you’ve already created an account,
log in here. Some benefits of
linking your web account to your USA Swimming membership:
·
Individual home pages for all swimmers and coaches.
·
Display of personal best times and meets participated
in.
·
Graphical display of times information.
·
Seasonal and lifetime best comparisons of times by percent and
second change.
·
Member only shopping benefits and promotions.
USA Swimming quick times database
search
- search for a time for ANY athlete in USA Swimming; all you need
is a name (for example, there are four swimmers named Michael
Phelps; select Club Wolverine for the Michael
Phelps’ times).
All of the databases are automatically updated just a few days
after a swim meet.
If you are a transfer swimmer from another USA team (not summer
league), then you need to supply both your coach and the entry
chairperson with a copy of your best times and the dates and meets
where you made them. This is so we may enter the times in our
database and also have information for proof of times when
needed.
Also, on all meet invitations, you will see somewhere near the
Order of Events page a box or table listed "Entry Rules." This is
where you can find out any specific things that you need to know
about the meet such as if you can enter with NT [no time] or not.
Some of the terms you should know about are:
Three-event rule – (Does not
apply to an Open meet) - For an A-up meet: This means that a
swimmer with three (3) "A" times from previous meets may swim
all other events offered in that division entered
at his best time; e.g., if a swimmer has an "A" time in the 50
Free, 200 Free, and 100 Back, he may swim the 100 Fly, 100 Breast,
200 IM, etc., if offered in that age group or division. The
exception is that the swimmer must have a 500/400 Freestyle "A"
time to swim the 1650/1500 or 1000/800 Freestyle events. The same
rule applies to the "BB" division times; if a swimmer has three (3)
"BB" times, he may swim all other "BB" events
entered at his best time, etc.
For an 8 & under swimmer to swim all events as a 10 & under
at a "BB" or "A" meet, the swimmer must have at least three (3) 10
& under "BB" or "A" times. For a swimmer to swim all events as
a Senior at a "BB" or "A" meet, the swimmer must have at least
three (3) Senior "BB" or "A" times.
The three-event rule will not be in effect at any championship or
invitational meets.
·
Entries for meets are almost always due about two weeks before the
weekend of the meet. It is very important that you pay
attention to upcoming meets and the entry due dates. If you have
any questions about which meets or events your swimmer should
enter, you or your swimmer should speak with his/her coach. You
must get your completed entries submitted by the specified date so
as to simplify the job for our meet entry person. He will process
the individual entries received, then create a list of these
preliminary entries to be sent to the host team. If for some
reason you do not get your entry in to us in time, do not panic.
You can almost always "deck enter" at a meet, although it will cost
you twice as much.You must submit your email address when
you register with AQUA and CHECK IT regularly. By doing this, you
will be able to receive entry due date reminders, meet and practice
times and schedules and more.
Up/Down rule
For an 8 & under to swim a 10 & under event at a "BB" or
"A" meet, the swimmer must have at least one 10 & under "BB" or
"A" time. For example, if an 8 year old swimmer has a 10 &
under 50 yard "BB" time, then the swimmer could swim the 10 &
under 100 yard "BB" event. For a swimmer to swim as a Senior at a
"BB" or "A" meet, the swimmer must have at least one Senior "BB" or
"A" time. For example, if a 10 year old swimmer has a Senior 50
yard Free "BB" time, then the swimmer could swim the Senior 100
yard Free "BB" event.
ALL 10 AND UNDER SWIMMERS ENTERING SENIOR EVENTS MUST PRE-PROVE
THEIR TIMES BY WRITING THE NAME AND DATE OF THE MEET WHERE THE TIME
WAS ACHIEVED ON THE BACK OF THE ENTRY CARD. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL
PREVENT THE SWIMMER FROM ENTERING THE SENIOR EVENT.
A swimmer who qualifies to swim an event in more than one age group
(i.e., 8 & under or 10 & under, 10 & under or Senior,
etc.), may swim the event in either age group, but MAY NOT swim the
same event in both age groups in the same meet. This rule applies
to both individual and relay events.
Enter with No Time?
–
When it says Yes, it means that the swimmer may enter an event that
he/she does not currently have a time in.
Yard/Meter rule
-
A swimmer with an "A" or "BB" time in yards in a stroke will
automatically have an "A" or "BB" time in meters of that stroke for
that age group or division. However, if the swimmer has not
established an "A" or "BB" time in meters, the swimmer must enter
the meter event at the qualifying time. Also, the reverse is true:
a swimmer with an "A" or "BB" time in meters automatically has an
"A" or "BB" time in yards, but until a yards time is established,
the swimmer must enter the yards event at the qualifying
time.
NOTE: Swimmers entering the Senior Division of a meet MUST have
made the Senior qualifying standard.
Qualifying Time
–
This is the slowest time that a swimmer may have and still
be able to enter a particular event. Not all meets have qualifying
times. If a meet lists qualifying times, swimmers must have equaled
or bettered (swam faster than) the qualifying times to be able to
swim in that meet. They must have times equal to or FASTER than the
qualifying times.
Cut-off Time
–
This is the fastest time that a swimmer can have and still
be able to enter a particular event. Not all meets have cut-off
times. If a meet lists cut-off times, swimmers must not have
equaled or bettered (swam faster than) the cut-off times to be able
to swim in that meet. They must have times SLOWER than the cut-off
times.
Open Meet
– A meet that does not have either
qualifying or cut-off times. These meets are frequently limited by
age groups (11 & older, or 10 & under) in order to keep the
number of swimmers at a manageable number.
