About Meets

What to Expect:

Welcome to the Boar's Head Swim Team! Here is a quick overview of the event process.

Pre-Clerk of Course:
After team cheers, 8 & Under and 6 & Under relays will be announced to the swimmers. Relays will be organized, and led to the clerk holding hands.

For individual events, it is the swimmer's and or parent's responsibility to get to the clerk on time.

At the Clerk of Course:
Swimmers' names will be called by a clerk, and their event card will be handed to them. Swimmers must have a card to swim in an event. After they receive their card, they will be asked to sit in their correct heat and lane, as described on the card. The clerk will help to organize swimmers before their event. When called, the front row will go to the blocks, and those behind will advance a row forward.

At the Pool:
For relays only, coaches will lead swimmers to their lanes. The second and fourth legs will go to the shallow end of the pool. At this point, those swimming should have their caps and goggles on. It is recommended that this happens at the clerk. Timers will ask for the card, and swimmers will wait for the event or heat to be announced. When the event is called swimmers will listen to the whistle to know when to board the block. 

At the Start:
5 short whistles will call attention to the starter. One long whistle will signal the swimmers to board the blocks. The starters will then ask the swimmers to "take their mark", and then a loud beep will command the swimmers to dive. If a swimmer false starts, a rope will be dropped in the pool to stop them, and the starter will rapidly beep. This process will only happen for the first leg of a relay, or an individual event. 

During a Relay:
As a leg of the relay is finishing, the next leg will get into the water, and wait. When the first leg touches the wall, the next leg will push off, and continue the event.

During an Individual Event:
The starting process is the same as a relay. The swimmer will proceed to to the block, and follow the whistle commands, and directions of the starter. When the event starts, they will swim it all the way through by themselves. Remember, there may not always be a coach there to help your swimmer get to the clerk, or their block. Please keep an ear our for the announcement of your events. If you have questions, find a coach or experienced parent.

That's all there is to it! Welcome to Boar's Head, and GO BOARFISH!!

Helpful Swimming Vocabulary:

• Stroke: The four recognized ways to swim competitively, consisting of Butterfly (Also called "Fly"), Backstroke (Also called "Back"), Breaststroke (Also called "Breast"), and Freestyle (Also called "Free"). There is also a medley of these strokes, called an "IM", in the order above.
• Dual Meet: A competition between two teams.
• Championship Meet: The final competition of the season between all teams.
• Individual Event: A race consisting of only one swimmer per lane. Their results belong only to them.
• Relay Event: A race consisting of four swimmers per lane. The results of the relay belong to the team. In the JSL, the only recognized relays are the 200 Freestyle Relay and the 200 IM Relay.(Referred to as the 200 Medley Relay)
• Exhibition Event: Denoted by an 'X' (X NT or X time). Swimmers are only allowed a certain number of events per meet. However, coaches can enter their swimmers into additional "Exhibition Events", which won't contribute to the team's score, but will count for the swimmer's personal best time.
• PR: Personal Record, or a swimmer's fastest recorded time in an event.
• DQ: A disqualification, caused by an unfair practice. A few examples of practices that can lead to a DQ are: pushing off the bottom of the pool, and finishing with one hand during Breaststroke or Butterfly.
• Heat: The group that the swimmer will be competing with. Each event will typically have multiple heats, with one swimmer or relay on each block.
• Heat Sheet: The book of information for each meet. It gives a list of each event, event number, swimmer, swimmers heat and lane, and sometimes projected times for events and heats.
• Clerk-of-Course:​ A series of benches or chairs that organize swimmers into their heats before they step onto the blocks. Swimmers also receive their event cards here.
• Starting End: The side of the pool with the blocks.
• Turning End: ​The side of the pool without the blocks.
• Ribbons: Swimmers that place down to 16th place will receive a ribbon for their accomplishment. Swimmers that have been DQ'd will receive a "Super Swimmer" ribbon for their effort, and swimmers that place first in their heat will be awarded with a "Heat Winner" ribbon.