Swim Meets

The basis for the structure of a competitive swim club are the swim meets. There are currently 3 types of swim meets our club currently participate in.

As a pre-competitive swimmer they will be able to experience a pre-competitive swim meet which will expose them to some of the aspects of competitive swimming. At this level of swimming the structure is very relaxed and fun.  The aspects of racing are the same as the other two competitive swim meets. They swim in individual and relay events set up by the host club and are expected to follow the steps as in other meets from marshalling to racing to the finish. Each swimmer will receive a certificate and a ribbon for participation. This is an important step in the introduction to competitive swimming as it shows the swimmers, coaches and parents how much improvement is accomplished and what they have learned after the many hours of lap swimming in the pool and that everything they do in practice has a purpose in racing.

Program Meets are held six times over the course of the swimming season.  Three are held in the Short Course season in a 25 meter pool and the other three are held in the Long Course season in a 50 meter pool. This is a 1 day meet where swimmers under 13 swim in the late morning and over 13 swim in the late afternoon. There are no qualifying times and heats are swum slowest to fastest in mixed gender by age group. The events vary in the three meets and repeated in the other season, therefore it is very important to attend as many as possible so that a swimmer has a greater chance to qualify for higher level meets and gain racing experience.

Provincial and National level meets have qualifying times which a swimmer must attain prior to attending these competitions. Once a swimmer is able to reach this level the goals of the swimmer become quite evident and are the stepping stones to the highest level of achievement.

Process of competiting - Invitational and Championship Meets

By Age group     10 and under

                          11 and 12 year old

                          13 and 14 year old

                          15 and over
Provincial championships times are categorized into 'B' and 'A' time standards.  The objective of each swimmer is to obtain the fastest times in his/her age group. All beginning swimmers start below 'B' times and work their way up. 'B' provincials are held two weeks prior to 'A' Man Sask championships with National Championships two weeks after that.

An Invitational Swim Meet is a meet held over 2 or more days where males and females compete separately, unlike in a program meet. This is the first time a swimmer will be exposed to a heats and finals format. Heats are swum in the morning with a break (generally no less than 2 hours)and the fastest 8 (16 depending on meet management) will swim in the early evening for Finals. The top three finishes in each race will win medals.