If you’re hosting your first swim meet, it can seem like an intimidating and difficult process. Don’t worry – SLS is here to help! Here are several tips to help you ensure your swim meet runs successfully.
Find the Right Location
First things first, you need to find the right place for your swim meet. This is a big one – after all, no pool, no meet! If you’re part of an organization that has its own pool, the search is likely over for you. Hosting at your own pool is a simple option unless the swim meet will be too big for your facility. If you’re renting a pool space, make sure it’s big enough for the event. There should be at least six lanes, but eight to twelve is even better.
Whether you’re hosting on your home turf or another pool, make sure to submit your request well ahead of time. Pools can book up months in advance, and you don’t want to be scrambling to find a pool last minute. You also want to make sure you reserve the entire facility and not just the pool.
Ensure You Have Everything You Need
Ideally, when you reserve the space where you’ll be holding your meet, most (if not all) of the equipment will be part of the deal. Whether or not it does, use this list as a checklist to make sure you have everything you need to help your meet run smoothly.
- Tables
- Chairs
- Umbrellas (if hosting an outdoor meet)
- A sounds system
- An electronic timing system
- Lane lines
- Extra gear, like swim caps and goggles
- First aid kit
- Towels
- Stopwatches
- Clipboards
- Pencils
- Extra batteries
- Time boards
- Event boards
Recruit Volunteers Early
Volunteers are the key to a successful swim meet. Other than technical difficulties, finding enough volunteers, timers, and officials is usually the biggest challenge.
If you’re a coach for a larger swim league, you have a bit of an advantage of having lots of parents to ask. If you do ask parents, make sure you start recruiting early. Like finding the right place to host, you don’t want to be asking parents last minute whose schedule isn’t booked up. If you’re a smaller swim league or club, you’ll likely need to get a little creative and reach out to the community for the extra support.
Remember to be crystal clear in your needs with volunteers and staff. There are lots of moving parts at a swim meet, and it’s essential that each of your volunteers know what they’re responsible for and what you expect of them.
Be Meticulous about Safety
One of the top priorities of your swim meet is to keep the safety of your swimmers, volunteers, coaches, and spectators top of your mind. In order for your swim meet to be safer for everyone in attendance, make sure the facility is inspected early and that safety measures are taken seriously.
Make sure there are no openly unsafe or hazardous areas before the meet, such as blocked exits, broken diving boards, or holes in the ground. If there are safety hazards, ensure they are repaired before the meet and double-check that the problem is fixed. Make sure that first aid kits are on hand and are completely stocked to deal with any injuries and accidents.
Another way to ensure the safety of your meet is to have your volunteers, staff, and officials take part in a background check, especially if you’re hiring out for help. Unfortunately, youth sports programs can attract some dangerous individuals in search of young victims to groom. It’s imperative all swimmers are assured a safer and more secure environment with reduced risk of physical, emotional, mental, or sexual harm. Background checks, especially advanced level background checks, help to make sure everyone is safer at your meet.
Expect the Unexpected
It seems like it’s just part of hosting a swim meet – something is bound to go wrong eventually. Whether your announcer is sick, the sound system is malfunctioning, or someone slips, things go wrong in one way or another. And there’s no way for you to control them.
It can be stressful when things don’t go according to plan, but that’s life. Sometimes our best-laid plans can go awry, and that’s okay. If you’ve done the proper preparation and groundwork, you’ll be able to take on just about any challenge and ride it out like a wave.
With these tips, you’ll be on your way to hosting a great swim meet!
SLS is Here for You
With these tips, you’ll be on your way to hosting a great swim meet! As a bonus, if you need help with the order of events for your meet, you can use our template to guide you.
If you’re not sure where to go for background checks, Summer League Swimming is ready to help you out. We provide nothing less than advanced-level background checks. While there are over 1,200 background check companies in the US, many of them only offer low-quality checks. At SLS, we want to do better so you can do better. That means offering comprehensive background checks that will keep your swimmers safer.
Our goal is to introduce youth from the ages of 5-18 to the sport of swimming by providing fun, safer, and healthy environments. No matter where you are in the United States, we’re ready to lend a hand. Let us help you reach your full potential!
