Must my child participate in meets?

• Yes, Junior and Senior Waves swimmers must participate in at least 2 USA Swim meets annually
• Pre-Team, Developmental, and Modified Junior Waves swimmers are encouraged to participate in at least 1 meet annually
• These competitions are actually the best, most fun part of being on a swim team! You may well find that once your child swims at a meet, they start asking to attend more swim meets.
• In order to swim at the Silver and Gold Championship meets, your swimmer must have participated in at least 2 USA Swimming sanctioned meets during the Pre-Season and Main Season. (September to March)

How many swim meets are there to choose from?

• Usually, 2 swim meets during Pre-Season
• About 6 to 8 swim meets during Main Season, plus the Silver and Gold Championships at close of Main season (March)
• During the Spring and Summer Seasons, we try to attend 2 to 4 swim meets, plus the Long Course Championships
• Each year in January or February, Waves hosts a home USA Swim Meet at the Ausable Valley Central School

What are the Silver and Gold Championship meets?

• Both of these meets are held at the end of Main season
• The Silver meet is held first and is the last opportunity of the season to try and get a qualifying time for the Gold Championship meet. In other words, there are cutoff times that your swimmer has to beat in order to participate in events at Golds. These cutoff times can be found on the website: www.adirondackswimming.org
• All Adirondack Swimming meet information is on the website: www.adirondackswimming.org 
• If your swimmer qualifies for an event at Golds, they may not swim that event at Silvers. To put that another way, if your child signs up for a race at Silvers, they must have swum that event at least once during the season (in order to have a qualifying time) and their time must be slower than the Golds qualifying time)
• It is expected that your child will participate in at least one championship meet per season  

Where are the meets held?

• Most meets are held on weekends in the Saratoga, Clifton Park, Schenectady, Albany/Troy and Potsdam areas
• In January or February, the Waves Team hosts the annual Waves Winter Blast at Ausable Valley Central School
• Waves has participated in meets in Vermont, both in Colchester and White River Junction 
• Waves Swimmers with qualifying times have participated in the December Speedo Championships held at the Plantation Aquatic Center in Plantation, Florida and at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

What is the required team uniform at a swim meet?

• Team Swimsuit or Tech Suit
• Team Swim Cap (first one provided by team)

Where do I get the required team meet apparel? 

• SwimOutlet:https://swimoutlet.com/collections/wavesswimteam
• Deep End: https://lakechamplainwaves.itemorder.com/

What items are needed for swimmers at meets?

1. Team Swimsuit and Extra Swimsuits
2. Team Swim Cap and Extra Swim Caps
3. Goggles / Bungees and Extra Goggles
4. Water Bottle / Gatorade
5. Healthy Snacks
6. Sharpie
7. Towels x2 
8. Sweatshirt / Sweatpants / Pajama Bottoms / T-Shirts / Swim Jacket
9. Flip Flops / Crocs / Water Shoes

What items should parents/guardians bring to meets?

• Pen/Highlighters 
• Camera/Cellphone
• Snacks/water
• Money/Credit Cards for heat sheets, snacks, t-shirt/sweatshirt vendor, raffles and vendors that sell swim equipment 
• Camping Chair (seating in lobby, cafeteria, or downstairs at RPI) 
• You may want to dress in layers (with shorts underneath) as pool venues are quite warm

How long are the meets?

• Meets typically run 2-4 hours per session
• Sessions are divided up among age groups and/or preliminaries and finals

What are the age groups for meets?

• 8 & Under
• 10 & Under
• 9-10
• 11-12
• 13-14
• 13 & Over
• Senior (15 & Over)
• Open (Any Age)

Do the Waves families typically stay at one hotel when traveling to meets?

• Waves reserves a block of rooms at a reduced group rate for each away meet and shares hotel information with families
• Hotels with reduced rates, along with deadline to reserve, are posted on our website (with corresponding swim meet) and sent out to families via email and SportsYou
• Families are not required to stay at the same hotel

What can I do to support the team at meets?

• All Waves Parents/Guardians are expected to assist with timing in our assigned lane(s) at the meet
• The club will be fined if Waves Parents/Guardians do not provide timers for the assigned lane(s) ​
• If it is your first experience timing, we will pair you with another parent who can show you what to do
• You sign up for a timing slot (half hour, 45 minutes, or hour) via our team website
• For Waves Winter Blast, Parents/Guardians also assist with other volunteer positions during the sanctioned meet

What can I expect at a meet?

• You should mark your swimmer’s arm, using a Sharpie, with their event number, heat number, lane number, and the type of event (“25 free”). An example of how to do this can be found below 
• At start of meet, you may be able to purchase a program or “heat sheets” so you know which heats your swimmer is in
• Meet Mobile is an app that many teams use to post the "heat sheets" and swim results
• At no time, should a parent or other family member enter the deck area at a swim meet 
• Unless parents/guardians are timing, lap counters, coaching or officiating (Only exceptions)
• Only swimmers, coaches, lifeguards and officials are permitted on pool deck due to USA Swimming insurance policies
• A large fine ($250) may be assessed to a club for each violation 
• Seating in the prime viewing area is limited at some away meets
• Best practice is to watch your swimmer race, then vacate the area so other parents can watch their children swim
• When your swimmer has their next event/heat, then return to the area to watch
• Your swimmer usually stays with the team and their coaches on the pool deck for most of the meet
• Swimmers are allowed to see you if needed, but should return to their team to avoid missing events/heats
• Most meets have food for purchase, as well as various types of swim gear, and vendors selling souvenir apparel

Are there additional fees incurred for meets? Yes.

• An individual fee for each event that a swimmer registers for in a meet ($4-$10)
• A surcharge of $2 to $10 per registered swimmer per meet in the LSC (Local Swimming Committee)
• A surcharge of $15 to $25 per registered swimmer per meet for Eastern Zone swim meets (outside of NY)
• The club covers the cost of any relay races that your swimmer participates in
• Meet fees are posted to Waves families' accounts of registered swimmers after the swim meet
• Swim Meet registration fees are not refundable and are charged regardless of meet attendance, unless the host team cancels events, sessions, and/or days

Please follow the below chart to mark your child's arm or leg with a Sharpie for all swim meets: