Timing at a Home Swim Meet

Hi! Thanks to all of the parent volunteers that helped make today's swim meet a success! Great job Lakers!

Reminder - we have a swim meet at home on Tuesday vs. Roanoke. Warm-ups start at 5:30! The following swimmers are who I have listed as being absent: Ted, Hannah, Lauren, Kolten, Katie P, Kale, Tommy... Please let me know if you will be absent and are not on the list.

Also, at the last two meets, there have been some really close races which have had discrepancies in the stopwatch time and the lane judge's placement. I have put together some guidelines that will hopefully help to alleviate some of these problems. Please read and follow the guidelines below. Thanks!

Timing at a home swim meet:

• There are two timers per lane. You will be assigned one lane for the duration of the meet. One timer will be assigned to record the swimmer’s time on an index card clipped to a clipboard.
• Make sure your stopwatch is at 0.00. Listen for the Starter to start the race. Watch the starting system for the start of the race. There is a light that will flash and a beep that will sound when the race is started. Since light travels faster than sound, start your stopwatch as the light flashes. The Starters usually say “Swimmers take your mark!” Then the starting system will be activated.
• Check your stopwatch to make sure it started.
• As the swimmer approaches the end, stand as close to the pool’s edge as possible, and watch as the swimmer finishes his/her race. The race is finished when he/she touches the wall with ANY part of his/her body. This can be the head, hand, fingernail, etc.
• The moment the swimmer touches the wall, stop the stopwatch. It is even helpful to watch the wall being touched, rather than the hand touching the wall.
• Record both times on the index card. Write down both hand times even if they are the same. Do not round up or down the times (i.e. 48.10 and 1:00.74), write down all numbers. Do not circle any time. Scorekeepers take care of this. If you have any doubt that your time is accurate (e.g. if you are pretty sure that you were late in starting or that you missed the touch) don’t write down your time. Write NT (no time.)
• Check the Lane Judges positioned on the side of the pool for which lane has 1st, 2nd or 3rd place. Record this for your lane on the index card. If there is a discrepancy between the Lane Judges and Timers regarding a close race, talk to the timers in the other lane to compare which lane came in 1st. Sometimes the Lane Judges will see the race differently than what the stopwatch indicates.
• A Runner will pick up the cards and take them to the scoring table.
• Clear your stopwatch. You are now ready for the next race.
• Repeat.

Things to remind swimmers:

• Two-hand touch on the wall for breaststroke and butterfly.
• Don't dive off the block on a relay until the incoming swimmer touches the wall.
• IM = Fly, Back, Breast, Free
• Medley Relay = Back, Breast, Fly, Free

If you have any questions or any suggestion on improving our swim team, please let me know. Thanks!