Middle Atlantic Swimming Meet Director’s Training Seminar

Course Contents Rules Pre-Meet During the Meet Post Meet Pre-seeded vs. Scratch Back MA Meet Director Certification Process

Meet Director Rules

Rules Teams running meets and the meet director are bound by the rules and policies of both USA Swimming and Middle Atlantic Swimming You as the MD (or anyone associated with your team) cannot circumvent these rules and policies for any reason, without prior approval from Middle Atlantic Swimming through the Technical Planning Chair

Rules Meet Director’s Handbook – Online at MA website. This is your swim meet bible! Sometimes changes are necessary for the good of the meet and the swimmers attending. However, no changes can be made without consent of the Technical Planning Chair.

Rules – All meets must have… A certified Meet Director A certified Safety Director A certified Administrative Official At least 1 certified Deck Referee (per pool) At least 1 certified starter (per pool) Enough officials to cover all lanes, start and turn end and sides of the pool Enough timers, computer operators, awards people, hospitality people, admissions people, and deck safety personnel to ensure a safe and well run meet

Example: A 2 pool Meet at GCIT Meet Director Safety Director Meet Officials Coordinator 1 Administrative Official per pool 1 deck referee per pool (usually multiple referees are at the meet throughout the weekend) 1 starter per pool, same as above, usually multiple starters are on site throughout the weekend 5-6 deck safety personnel per session 17 timers per pool (2 per lane plus 1 head timer) 1 Colorado operator per pool 1 Hy Tek computer operator per pool (can be same person as AO) 2 admissions people (they also double as our awards people) 1 hospitality leader 3-4 additional hospitality helpers

Pre-Meet Planning-Short Course Previous March: prepare your meet bids (secure venue, prepare bid packet, sign all necessary forms, submit on time) April: Attend HOD meeting and “bidder’s” meeting Once the schedule is set, begin preparing your meet information and set up the meet in Meet Manager Submit Meet info, TM event file, sanction application, and sanction fee to Middle Atlantic Office by August 1st Submit event sequence/session breakdown to Technical Planning Chair for approval by August 1st Once the meet info and event sequence is approved, it will be posted on the MA website

Accepting Entries Be prepared to start accepting entries IMMEDIATELY Beware: the 4 hour Rule! YOU are responsible for staying within this boundary. Come up with a plan for periodically seeding the meet and checking the timeline. If you are new to running meets or are getting a lot of entries at one time, do this after EVERY team you enter. Once you meet the 4 hour limit on a session: cut tha music and effectively communicate this information to the masses (posting on MA website, automatic response on your email, etc.)

Session Timeline Rules MA Policy Manual 6.5.1 Meet sessions must be planned to end within 4 hours of starting on a 20 second heat interval In Middle Atlantic, long course meets with a 13 & over session can go to 5 hours Championship meets and designated distance meets can go beyond 4 hour sessions

Session Breakdown and the 4 Hour Rule Can break out certain events to create a new session Sessions consisting solely of “Senior” or “Open” events are exempt from the 4 hour rule However, when other sessions in the meet have age specific events the senior events in that session must be 400/500 or longer (you can also restrict minimum ages, provide age specific qualifying times, etc.)

Discussion Changing meet format to provide more opportunities for athletes to enter the meet

Other Pre-Meet Items Make sure your key volunteer areas are covered Continual and effective communication with teams attending Set up and communicate warm-up schedule Set up and communicate an emergency weather plan Make sure all equipment is in working order and print out all necessary documents (DQ slips) Make sure you have all necessary meet awards

During the Swim Meet

What are the Meet Director’s responsibilities during the swim meet? PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING!

The meet director's job during a meet is to keep the wheels greased, the engine tuned, and the vehicle moving forward (with good music playing, of course). You need to be prepared to step in wherever and whenever it is needed.

The Meet Director – Meet Referee Relationship Discussion The Meet Director – Meet Referee Relationship

Meet Director Duties: Post Meet

Post Meet Duties Send results to teams IMMEDIATELY (TM results file, HTML results) Send database backup to MA Office within 24 hours of the meet ending See to it that all forms are filled out and sent in to the MA Office Send rebate check to MA Office Communicate with the facility (if you do not own it): what went well, what did not go well, what can be better or improved upon next time? Go over your meet log (you kept one, didn’t you?) and begin preparing meet information for next year’s meet

Scratch Back Seeding Process

Scratch Back Procedure Scratch back seeding can be used to estimate session timeline with a scratch factor A scratch factor is an estimate of how many swimmers will scratch at the meet Procedure can be used to cut down on empty lanes at the meet Be safe when doing this! You do not want to go beyond the session time limit. Always discuss your entries with the Technical Planning Chair ongoing before the meet. If it is your first year you should be conservative with your estimates (5% for 12 & unders, 10% for 13 & overs) Many factors can affect the scratch factor Keep accurate notes year to year so you can properly estimate your scratch factor

Scratch Back: How to Do It Make sure teams attending know the procedure BEFORE the meet: everything from the scratch deadline to how they declare their intention to scratch Rent a high capacity copier – you owe it to the people attending the meet to provide them with a heat sheet, especially if you are charging for admission Make sure teams and spectators know the procedure for distributing heat sheets Have 2-3 people on hand accepting team scratch sheets and inputting scratches Set the deadline and stick to it!

MA Meet Director Certification Process

Certification: Education and Training Attend meet director’s seminar Review meet director’s handbook: know it back and forth Attend the Administrative Offical Class Take and pass the Meet Director’s test Take and pass the AO test Maintain USA Swimming non-athlete membership Complete and pass Level 2 background check Train (pre, during, and post meet) with a current MA meet director for one full swim meet Train with a certified AO for two meet sessions (can be done concurrently with #1)

Maintaining Your Certification Meet Director certification will last for two years Maintain USA Swimming membership with Level 2 background clearance Serve as a Meet Director for at least two club run sanctioned meets during the two year period Work four sessions at MA hosted Championship meets (Senior Champs, Elite Meet, Junior Olympics, etc.) as a computer operator or Admin Official