The Herndon Halibuts participate in several swim meets throughout the season. All swimmers are eligible to participate in all meets, with the exception of Herndon Olympics. Meets are held at local outdoor pools on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings; no meets are held at the Herndon Community Center. Attendance at swim meets is strongly encouraged, but not required. 

MEET PREPARATIONS:

RSVP Process

All swimmers must RSVP for each swim meet via the Sign-Up Center on Swimtopia. The head coach will send out e-mail reminders of approaching RSVP deadlines. All deadlines are also listed on our event calendar. If you miss the deadline and still wish to participate in the meet, e-mail the head coach. Late meet entries are often possible, but are not guaranteed after the deadline has passed.

Please do not leave your RSVP status blank – it is imperative that you select either Not Attending, or one of the Attending options in the Sign-Up Center for each meet. Please see below for an explanation of the different options.

Attending options include “Attending” and “Attending, no relays”. Please remember that relays take place as the final events in each swim meet, unless otherwise noted. If your swimmer cannot stay until the end of the meet, please select the “no relays” option.

Event Requests

Swimmers are signed up for events at the discretion of the head coach; however, event requests will be considered on an individual basis. This year, we have added a function to our Sign-Up Center that allows for a note to be attached to an RSVP for each meet. Swimmers/parents may use this function to make event requests. Additionally, event requests can be e-mailed up until the RSVP deadline for each meet.

According to Herndon Swim League rules, swimmers are limited to six events per meet – four individual events plus two relays. This means that a swimmer cannot participate in all four strokes and also an I.M. (individual medley). Participation in the I.M. event is limited to three swimmers from each age group per meet. Please indicate early in the season if your swimmer is interested in participating in an I.M.

MEET PROCEDURES:

Arrival Times / Warm-Ups

Prior to each swim meet, swimmers will be notified of the team’s assigned warm-up time. Coaches expect swimmers to arrive 15 minutes before our warm-up begins. Usually, arrival times are 5:30 p.m. for Wednesday evening meets, and 7:45 a.m. for Saturday morning meets; however, these times may vary slightly, and those variations will be communicated via e-mail to parents and swimmers a few days before each meet.

Warm-ups are 10 to 15 minute miniature practice sessions that allow swimmers to get in the pool before the meet starts. Swimmers are expected to follow general rules of practice behavior and safety during warm-ups, including circle-swimming etiquette, and no diving unless directed by a coach.

Team Area / Pick-up / Drop-off

Swimmers are expected to stay in our designated team area during meets. This is usually a large grassy area or area of the pool deck where our team gathers. Those swimmers who choose not to stay in the team area risk missing their events. If a swimmer needs to leave the team area for any reason, please alert one of the coaches. Coaches or other volunteers will gather swimmers in the team area for each event, and send them to the clerks of course to line up in their heat and lane order.

Swim meets generally run for three to four hours. Our Saturday morning meets usually end anywhere between 10:30 a.m. and noon, and our Wednesday evening meets usually end between 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Coaches are not allowed to leave until every child has been picked up at the end of each swim meet. Parents/guardians are strongly encouraged to stay to watch their swimmers compete; however, if you leave the meet, you must arrive for pick-up at least 30 minutes prior to the earliest expected end-time for each meet (10 a.m. on Saturdays, 8 p.m. on Wednesdays).