We did our swim meet schedules a few weeks ago, even though they aren't finalized yet. This is always a fun process, trying to figure out how meets are going to provide a good opportunity to perform and at the same time not do the exact same meet each time you attend one. So, what are the different ways of having a swim meet? I am going to provide some different types of meets and what the purpose of those meets are in my opinion.
First thing is the normal ABC or BRW meet (depending on what LSC you swim in). These meets are your normal meet that offers a lot of different events and are swam by age-groups. These meets have become so much the norm, that meets do become somewhat stale after so many. These meets are typically done with the scoring and placing by division (the reason why they are called ABC or BRW). For a ABC meet, the divisions will be based on national motivational times, and there will be a 1st place for the A division, B division, and a C division. This makes it so the swimmer competes within their competition Level (Southern California has their own time standards of Blue, Red, and White, BRW). These meets I see as the best opportunity to be gearing up to make qualifying cuts for championship meets. Even though you can do so at other meets, this meet provides the swimmer most of the events to try to qualify.
Next there is the next most common meet, which is the Senior Meet. These meets normally have time standards, and all swimmers compete against others of their same gender, age plays no part in scoring, placing, or any aspect at this meet.
The intersquad meet. These meets are to provide your own team an opportunity to compete in a smaller meet environment. These meets will normally be much shorter and many people enjoy that aspect. New and younger swimmers benefit from this kind of meet because there is not the huge number of swimmers in attendance, and the pace of the meet can be slowed down due to the smaller size. The downfall of these meets, is that your faster swimmers don't have the competition from other teams, but it is still a nice change of pace for even your fast swimmers.
The Dual, Tri, or Quad meet. These meets are with 2, 3, or 4 teams competing against each other. These meets are designed to be fun, and it is easy to cheer as there are only a few teams that are competing, so there is a high likelihood that a teammate is swimming in the pool in every heat. I like to allow the swimmers to enjoy these meets, and the idea of racing and not about achieving a time standard. This is a good change of pace, and a great way to build team spirit. These meets also are typically smaller and quicker, so it allows for the pace of the meet to be slower and not as rushed.
Pentathlons. These meets are meets where swimmers can compete in all four strokes and normally an IM event. Scoring is kept for all five events, and the awards are for a cumulative score. This is great to promote development in all strokes, which is a major emphasis of an age-group program. Again, I don't stress qualifying for championships at these meets, but rather competing to try to get the best score possible.
IMR and IMX Meets. These meets are like pentathlons, but the format of events is defined by a nationally recognized program by USA Swimming. The scoring is based on Power Point System that doesn't take into account what place you finish, but rather a score from 1 - 1000 based on your time. This is probably a more accurate scoring system than by placement of pentathlons, and again it awards the highest score by age. These meets are really important as it helps get more participation in the IMR and IMX program, which becomes a determining factor later on if the swimmer wishes to apply for national or zone camps, or special programs offered by USA Swimming. Almost all of these programs include some requirement of a good IMR and IMX score.
These meets all have their own flavor, and can be very different experience. What kills many of these meets intent, is coaches and parents who treat them all the same as a way to get a qualifying time standard. These meets are available, but there are other meets that should just be fun; developing a team atmosphere; or developing a racing mentality. Allow meets to be different, and not all like the normal ABC or BRW Meet. This change reduces that amount of times that we increase stress on the swimmer (stress not being a bad thing, as it can be a motivation, but we need to control how often that stress is applied).
To everyone, have a great short course season this fall.
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