1. Middle Atlantic Swimming
Meet Director’s Training Seminar

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

3. Meet Director Rules

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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 , etc.)

10. 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

11. 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.)

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

13. 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

14. During the Swim Meet

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

16. 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.

17. The Meet Director – Meet Referee Relationship
Discussion
The Meet Director – Meet Referee Relationship

18. Meet Director Duties: Post Meet

19. 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

20. Scratch Back Seeding Process

21. 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

22. 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!

23. MA Meet Director Certification Process

24. 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)

25. 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