Swimming 101

Swimming is an exciting fast paced sport. But it helps if you understand how a meet is set up and scored, and also the top goals for the teams and individuals competing.

What makes high school swimming one of the most exciting and objective sports on the scene? The clock. everyone races against the same clock. A horn sounds to start the race and 8 swimmers explode into the water, each trying to be the first to hit the wall and finish the race. So, the guy who got to the wall first is the winner? Sure. Does that mean that the second, third, fourth or even the eighth place swimmers is a 'loser'? Not necessarily. Each swimmer is racing against the clock, so if a swimmer improves his time, even if he does not take first place, that swimmer has improved! Think about that concept for a moment. What are we trying to teach our student/athletes? Hard work, dedication, and continuous improvement; these are the things that lead to success. Not just in the pool, but in academics, and in life. In high school swimming, even a teams 'B', 'C' or 'D' swimmers can be the star of a meet with a breakout performance in their individual event or a great 'split' in a relay.

So lets look at a typical dual meet. Two teams, 12 events, and up to five places scoring points per event.

The events in a swim meet are laid out as follows:

200 yd Medley Relay (4x50 yds - Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle)
200 yd Freestyle
200 yd Individual Medley (4x50 yds - Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle)
50 yd Freestyle
1 meter Diving (6 dives)
100 yd Butterfly
100 yd Freestyle
500 yd Freestyle
200 yd Freestyle Relay (4x50 yds)
100 yd Backstroke
100 yd Breaststroke
400 yd Freestyle Relay (4x100 yds)

Each team is allowed to enter 3 swimmers to compete for points in individual events, and 2 teams to compete for points in the three relay events.

Points are awarded as follows:

Individual Events:

First place - 6 pts
Second place 4 pts
Third place - 3 pts
Fourth place - 2 pts
Fifth place -1 pt

Relay Events:

First place - 8 pts
Second place - 4 pts
Third place - 2 pts

There are a total of 16 points for each individual event, and 14 points for relays. The total points available in a dual meet - 186. The first team to 84 wins.

In Championship Meets, the events stay the same (except diving, which has 11 dives), but the scoring is increased to 12 or 16 places.

Macomb County Championships and the State Finals Meets score 16 places.
MAC Division Championship Meets score 12 places.

Dual meets are usually held on Tuesdays and Thursdays (1 hour 15 mins - 1 hour 30 mins).

Championship Meets are held on Fridays and Saturdays (2 - 3 hours).

I hope this information helps. If you have more questions, you can post questions @ www.MacombVarsity.com or www.MacombCountySwimmingandDiving.com