McGrath Marlins Swim Team

Swim meets are an essential part of the competitive swimming experience. Not only are they a great way for swimmers to measure their progress and stay motivated, but they're also great for team bonding.

Q: Which swim meets should I participate in? As both a YMCA and USA Swimming team, our swimmers benefit from being able to attend a wide variety of swim meets. Do your best to attend at least one swim meet every month. If you're new, start by attending a few Y meets, then consider signing your swimmer up for USA Swimming.

Below is a breakdown of the meets offered.

• YMCA Swim Meets - held at different Y branches in San Diego County. 
  • Novice Meets - These meets usually take place twice a year. They are a great introduction to meets for new swimmers. Only Novice and Bronze swimmers may participate.
  • All Levels Meets - These meets are offered once a month from September to May. Swimmers of all levels may participate.
  • Summer Rec League Meets - Only offered from June to August. The events are shorter, making for a shorter overall meet and a great introduction to competition for swimmers and parents.
  • Y Swim League Championships - All swimmers in levels Bronze and higher are expected to attend this meet. It is usually only held once a year.
  • Other meets - Check the events calendar for other Y meets like Pentathlons or Invitationals. Specific information is included in meet info to see if your swimmer should attend or not.
• USA Swimming Meets - held at non-YMCA pools all over San Diego County. Must be registered with USA Swimming in order to participate.
  • Most USA meets have qualifying times. Some have minimum qualifying times, meaning your swimmer's times must be FASTER than the qualifying time. Other meets have maximum qualifying times, meaning your swimmer's times must be SLOWER than the qualifying time.
    • BC meets = times must be slower than BB times
    • BB+ meets = times must be faster than BB times
      • C/B/BB times refers to the USA Swimming motivational time standards.
    • For all other meets, please refer to the events calendar to check qualifying times.
  • Championship Meets (swimmers must meet qualifying times)
    • Short Course Age Group Championships (early March)
    • Long Course Age Group Championships (late July)
    • Western Age Group Championships (Mid December)

Q: How do I sign up for swim meets? Registration for Y swim meets requires two steps:

1. Pay the registration fee at any YMCA front desk, online using your Y account, or by phone.
2. Sign your swimmer up for events on SwimTopia using the events calendar page. Not sure what to sign your swimmer up for? Leave a note in the comments and the coaches will decide events for you.

Q: What happens at a swim meet? Depending on the meet, swimmers will need to arrive for warmups 1-2 hours before the start of competition. Warmup times will be emailed to meet participants.

Every meet has a meet program called a "heat sheet," which lists every event, heat and lane assignments. Events separate swimmers based on distance, stroke and competition category. Heats separate swimmers within the same event into groups of 6, typically ordered from slowest heat to fastest heat. 

You can write your swimmer's event, heat and lane assignments on their hand, arm or thigh with a sharpie. Here is an example:

Q: What should I bring to a swim meet? 

• One-piece competition swimsuit
• Goggles
• Swim cap
• At least 2 towels
• Sunscreen
• Parka/Robe (if desired)
• Comfy clothes/sweat pants
• Refillable Water Bottle
• Plenty of healthy and nutritious snacks
• Chair(s) to sit in

Q: Do parents need to volunteer at swim meets? Yes. We can't run our swim meets without the help of volunteers. When we go to meets at other Ys, we have to provide a number of volunteer timers proportional to our team size. When we host meets, we have to provide timers AND all of the other volunteer positions needed to run the meet. Here are some of the positions we typically need to fill:

• Check-in - Welcome families and check swimmers into the meet
• Heat Bench - Place swimmers in chairs so they can be ready on time for their event
• Scoring Table - Monitor the computer and timing system
• Awards - Place ribbons/medals into envelopes for teams to take home

Volunteering at swim meets is one of the best ways to support your swimmer and our team. It's also important to give breaks to the parents who are consistently volunteering. You don't need to volunteer at every meet your swimmer attends, but you should plan on volunteering at least every other meet.