Hampton Park Swim Team

We know that joining a new sport can be overwhelming and confusing… especially on the day of swim meets! 

Swim meets take place on Tuesday evenings, except for the last regular season meet. Meets begin at 6:30* PM, with warmups typically starting between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM. (*larger teams may request a start time of 6pm, and this will be noted on the Signup Calendar)

Meet information will be posted on SwimTopia and sent via email.

Meet declaration will need to be performed by the end of the day on the Thursday prior to the swim meet. Please review the directions found here to learn how to declare your swimmer for a meet in SwimTopia. Please note, our screen will look slightly different as there is no option to select events. Event selection is at the discretion of the coaches. If you have a request for the coach, please add the request as a comment for consideration. 

Remember to bring the following items to each meet:

• Bathing suit, Towel, swim cap, goggles
• Water or sports drinks
• Healthy snacks (granola bars, fruit, pasta salad)
• Chairs for resting between events (note: chairs are not allowed on the pool deck)
• Tents may be set up if needed for shade
• Layers to go over bathing suit (evenings can get chilly especially early in the season)

Event choices include:

1. Individual Medley (IM): One swimmer performs all four strokes in this order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle.
2. Freestyle (new this season: both a distance of 50 and 100 will be available)
3. Backstroke
4. Butterfly
5. Breaststroke
6. Relay

** Final event selection will be made by the coaching staff.  

Relays

In addition to your swimmers 3 individual events, your swimmer is also able to swim in 1 relay event per meet. There are 2 different types of relays: Freestyle and Medley 

Freestyle: all 4 swimmers swim freestyle 

Medley: each swimmer swims a different stroke in the order of backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle (alphabetical order) 

Each week, the meet relay type will alternate, starting with Freestyle relays in week #1. 

As in past years, the coaches determine the relay teams with the goal of maximizing team points. They will do their best to include as many swimmers as possible but some swimmers will not be on a team. Please do not leave a meet without checking in with a coach if you are not on a relay as they might be able to use your swimmer as an alternate. If you know you cannot be at the meet for the relays, please mark that in your comments so the coaches take that into consideration when forming the teams.

Hampton Park Pool Layout

On meet day, the pool will be staged as below. No personal chairs, tables, tents, etc. allowed on the deck. Family seating should be set up in the area labeled "Home Team".

Clerk of Course / Meet Flow / Terminology 

1. Mites (8& under)- Mite parents will round up the mites and escort them through the clerk of course. Please make sure to find your mite parent before the start of the meet.
2. Dive Overs – In order to keep the meet moving as fast as possible, the 9 & over swimmers are typically asked to stay in the water after their race is completed. The next race is allowed to start before the swimmers are asked to leave the pool – they are “diving over” the previous swimmers who have remained in the water. 
3. Calling event numbers- Events and heats will be called by the announcer. Also, look near Clerk of Course event sign for the event # that is being called to the clerk of course.
4. At clerk of course, there will be color coded dots to line the swimmers up by heat.

How to Mark Your Swimmer

1. Swimmers 8 & under - Parents please use your SHARPIE to label the back of one of their shoulders with either last name, or first and last name. This helps the clerk of course find swimmers and line them up much more efficiently.
2. All Swimmers 8 & over - Please use your SHARPIE to label the below information on your swimmer’s hand or forearm.