Swim meets give swimmers the opportunity to put into practice all those things the coach has been telling them to do. For many swimmers, the swim meets are the ‘fun’ bit of swimming. These pages will give you some information about the types of meets you are likely to be involved in, how you find out about these meets, and what to do once you get there.

Are there different types of competitions?
There are 3 main types of meets that you might be involved in. Initially we suggest taking part in a Timezone. However you may also be involved in other meets around the Wellington region (the signature meets) or you may be involved in the Wellington Championships.

TIMEZONE

A Timezone is like an official swim meet (it has official starters, referees, inspectors of turns, timekeepers, etc) but this event is only for SwimZone Racing members. When you participate in a Timezone event you will only be competing against members of our own club.

Why do we have Timezones?

• These events allow swimmers to gain an official recorded time for their chosen events. There are no qualifying times to meet so anybody can swim.
• To allow swimmers to gauge where they are at compared to other swimmers.
• To give the opportunity for swimmers to beat their personal best (PB) times.
• To raise funds for the club. These cost $5 to enter and you can swim a maximum of 3 events.

When do we have Timezones?

• These are held every 4-6 weeks on a Friday night. A schedule of Timezones can be found on the notice board at Naenae Pool. Warm up is at 4:30 for a 5:00 start and the meet is usually completed by 6:30.

Format of Timezones.

• When your swimmer arrives at the pool they need to go to the entry area (on the Zoom tube side of the pool in the deep end) to pay their entry and get a competition number written on their arm.
• The coaches set a programme and marshall the events for the night. Swimmers will race against those at a similar level according to times. Swimmers without times are generally raced together.
• Swimmers can swim in any three race events they like (sometimes the longer events are restricted to the more experienced swimmers). When swimmers first start they usually swim the 25m and 50m races.
  The events swum at Timzones change from Timezone to Timezone to allow swimmers to get times for a wide range of events.
• To be able to officially record times at the Timezones we need to have a full set of officials. The officials are basically parents of the swimmers. We cannot hold these events without parental involvement (see section on parental involvement). You may be approached to be a timekeeper at these events. This is an easy task and you will be given instructions of what to do. Please accept the challenge and help out at the timezones if asked. Better still why not volunteer when you pay your entry! We are always looking for timekeepers on the day!

SIGNATURE EVENT

These meets are held throughout the Wellington region and are hosted by individual Wellington swimming clubs. These meets are coordinated through the Wellington Swimming Association.

When hosting a signature meet, a club is responsible for coordinating: officials, runners, food assistants, door stewards, medal bearers, and raffles. Clubs use these meets as major fund-raisers.

Swimmers do need a time to enter these events and can not enter with a ‘no time’.

WELLINGTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

These regional meets occur in the summer (mid-January) and winter (Aug/Sept). This event showcases the Wellington talent of swimming. Clubs are responsible for nominating officials for these meets as well as being responsible for some sessions of the meet. If a club is responsible for a session, they need to supply: runners, door stewards, medal bearers, and food assistants.

Swimmers need to qualify to swim at these events. Qualifying times are published by the Wellington Swimming Association in their annually updated booklet which you will receive when you join the club.

How do I find out about what swim meets are coming up?

Flyers for upcoming swim meets are put on our website www.SwimZoneracing.co.nz and on our club notice board (the glass case at the deep end of the pool on the changing room’s side). The flyers give information on

• The type of meet (see types of competition section above)
• The pool set up - long-course (50m pool) or short course (25 m pool)
• The events being swum – strokes and distances (e.g. 100m freestyle)
  If there are qualifying times and what they are
• The closing date by which the club must enter the swimmers. Note - this is not the date that swimmers must enter – there is a separate earlier closing date for swimmers to get entries to our race secretary.
  The cost of entry. This is usually a fee per event that you must pay the club.
• Your team coach and/or manager will let you know about meets that swimmers from your team should enter and we would encourage all swimmers to enter those meets if at all possible. These will different depending on what team you are in. When swimmers first start it is important for them to enter Timezones and our club’s Signature meets.

All swimmers should be aiming to qualify for the Wellington Champs
There will be other meets that occur during the year. You can enter your child in any competition (as long as they meet the entry criteria) that they want to swim in.

How do I know what events to enter my child in?

Your team coach and/or manager can advise you and your swimmer as to what events they should enter. Please do not be afraid to ask them for guidance if you haven’t been given any information.

To start with swimmers usually enter 50m events in as many strokes as they are able to swim.