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Welcome to the world of
competitive swimming, a fantastic sport and great experience for
anyone. Still, we recognize that many aspects of our sport
are difficult for newcomers to understand. Hopefully this
page will help answer any questions you may
have.
United States Swimming is
the national governing body for the sport of swimming. All
participants of Sea Devils Swimming must be members of this
organization. Membership is renewed in the fall of each year.
Membership provides limited, co-benefit accident and liability
insurance for swimmers participating in supervised workouts and
swim meets.
Minnesota Swimming is the
Local Swim Committee (LSC), or administrative division, that
handles our geographic area which includes all of Minnesota, and a
few select counties in Western Wisconsin. MSI grants
annual charters to clubs like the Sea Devils, making them a part of
the USA Swimming family. MSI also administers all USA
Swimming sanctioned meets that take place within their
jurisdiction.
Seasons
The competitive swimming year
is sectioned off into two seperate competitive seasons, each with
their own set of championship meets. The first season starts
in early September and runs through March. This season is
typically referred to as the Short Course Season because
all competitions during this time, with the exception of the Spring
National Championship Meet, take place in a 25 yard, or "Short
Course" pool.
The second competitive season
runs from early April through early August, and is usually referred
to as the Long Course Season due to the fact that meets in
this season are (whenever possible) held in 50 meter, or "Long
Course" pools. The Long Course format is used for all USA
Swimming Senior National Meets, as well as most major international
meets such as the World Championships and the
Olympics.
Because USA Swimming uses two
seperate formats (Long Course vs. Short Course) throughout the
year, swimmers who swim year-round will have two different sets of
best times, just as the club has two different
sets of club records. Swimmers, coaches and
parents will often try and "convert" times so that races and times
in different formats can be compared, and there are several tools
for sale at meets that will help with conversions, but parents
should be aware that Long Course / Short Course conversions are
rarely accurate. Instead, it is more helpful to view each
season, and the times achieved in the
season, separately.
The 4
Competitive Strokes
One of the many things that
makes swimming such a unique sport is the fact that swimmers
compete in a variety of different strokes. Races are swum
at various distances (depending on the age group) in each of
the following strokes: Backstroke, Breastroke, Butterfly and
Freestyle, as well as in an Individual Medley in which each
swimmer competes a specified distance of each of the strokes.
Relays are also done in which one swimmer from each team swims each
of the 4 strokes. Although your child may have learned other
strokes such as the elementary backstroke or the sidestroke, in
swimming lessons, these 4 strokes are the only ones competed in USA
Swimming meets. More information on each of the strokes is
included below.
Backstroke.
- This stroke is easily
identifiable as it is the only one done on the back. It
is done using an alternating arm motion combined with a
flutter kick and good hip, shoulder and trunk rotation.
Backstrokers may flip onto their stomach to change direction
at the walls, but it must be done in a continuous motion, with
no more than one stroke permitted on the stomach. Race
finishes must be done on the back.
Breastroke
- Breastroke is done using a
two-arm simultaneous stroke and underwater recovery along with a
strong "whip kick" which is sometimes called the frog
kick. Balance in the breastroke is attained through a
"teeter-totter" motion in the water, which has swimmers
alternating putting preasure on the upper and lower body,
rotating over the short axis. Usually considered the slowest
of the 4 strokes, Breastroke is also one of the most difficult
strokes to do correctly.
Butterfly
- Butterfly is done using a
two-arm simulateous stroke with an above water recovery along with
a "dolphin kick". Using the same "teeter-totter" motion
as the breastroke, butterfliers appear to move through the
water with an undular, or wave-like motion. Rhythm, timing
and strength are the most important factors in a fast
butterfly.
Freestyle
- In all freestyle events,
swimmers may use whatever stroke they would like to get from
one end of the pool to the other. Typically, however,
swimmers will use the front crawl during freestyle events as it is
the fastest. Because of this, coaches, swimmers and parents
often use the word "freestyle" in exhange for "front
crawl".
Meets
Here at Sea Devils
Swimming, we believe that competitions are an important step in the
progression each swimmer goes through as a swimmer, so we therefore
encourage all eligible members to take part in the
meets our club attends. At this point, however, none of
our competitions are required.
At all MSI meets,
the events in which swimmers compete are determined based on the
age of the swimmer. Each age group has their own set of
events chosen to ensure that swimmers compete in a wide variety of
events without requiring any athlete to swim an event he or she is
unable to do (e.g. an 8 year old will not compete in the 200
fly). Each age group also has it’s own set of time
standards designed to provide a set progression of improvement
relative to the group’s age and physical maturity, while also
ensuring that swimmers always compete against other swimmers of
like ability. The USA Swimming designated age groups are
8 & Under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16,
and Senior.
At almost all meets
we attend, swimmers compete only against swimmers of the same
gender and in the same age group, and seeding is done by time,
which means your swimmer will always compete in a heat of
swimmers of roughly the same ability
level.
Types
of Meets
USA Swimming Meets
come in a variety of different formats, from Novice all the way
through Junior and Senior National Championships. All of
these formats, however, are determined based on
time standards which indicate the minimum (and
sometimes maximum) achievements under which a swimmer may
compete in a designated meet. All MSI meets use the Minnesota
Swimming Time Standards, while regional or national meets typically
use standards based off of the USA Swimming Time
Standards.
Minnesota Swimming
classifies their time standards into 5 groups: C, B, A, CH, and
ZONE. These levels represent a progression upward
(i.e. B times are faster than C times), and usually indicate
the type of meet a swimmer may compete in.
Below is a brief
description of all the types of meets you will likely encounter as
a swim parent.
C/Pre-C
Meets are for swimmers who have previously not swum
an event (“No Time”) or have a “C”
qualifying time or slower “Pre-C” time. These meets are
great for novice swimmers and first meet experiences. C/Pre-C Meets
are also a good opportunity for more experienced athletes to
attempt longer events for the first time, such as the 200 Fly, 500
Free, or 400 IM.
A/B/C
Meets are for all swimmers, and all members are
encouraged to participate.Because these meets involve multiple
ability levels, awards categories individual events are divided
into three levels: “C” and slower, “B,” and
“A” and faster.
B/C
Meets provide an intermediate level of competition
for swimmers with “B” times, “C” times and
“No Times.”
A
Meets are for experienced swimmers who have attained
Minnesota “A” times and faster. Team scores are kept
and team awards are given.
State
Meets are open to qualifiers with a “CH”
(Champ) time or faster. The team state champion is determined at
these meets. The Minnesota Swimming Championship for winter short
course season is held each March in Rochester. The State
Championship for summer long course season is held each August at
the University of Minnesota.
Zone
Meets are annual regional championships, held each
August by USA Swimming, which is divided into four zones. Athletes
qualify by achieving a “Zone” time, which is the
National Age Group “AAA” standard. This is an all-star
type of competition in which Sea Devils swimmers represent a
conglomerate Team Minnesota. It is sometimes held in Minnesota but
often is hosted elsewhere. Other teams in our zone include
Wisconsin, Iowa, Midwestern, Missouri Valley, Ohio, Michigan, Lake
Erie, Illinois, and Indiana.
Speedo Sectional
Meets are faster than Zones but but not quite as fast
as Junior Nationals. There are no age groups and time standards are
difficult to achieve. This meet is held in a Midwestern
location.
Junior
Nationals, held every March and August after State,
is the national championship meet for USA Swimming athletes ages 18
and under. This elite meet with very fast qualification times
brings the fastest young swimmers throughout America together to
compete.
US
Nationals, held twice a year, is the top annual
championship meet in America. Qualification times for this elite
senior meet are faster than for the US Open. America’s
fastest swimmers, including world-class athletes such as Michael
Phelps, Ian Crocker, and Natalie Coughlin, participate.
The best swimmers from the
United States (and the entire world) compete at Junior
Nationals and Nationals.
Olympic
Trials are held every four years to select swimmers
for the Olympic Games. This elite senior selection meet has
qualification times faster than US Nationals. The top two swimmers
in each individual event, plus a few additional freestylers, are
selected for the US Olympic Team.
International
Meets, such as the Olympic Games, World
Championships, World Cup, Pan Pacific Games, etc., require
selection by USA Swimming to represent the United States on a
national team comprised of top American swimmers.
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