Wharenui Swim Club Meet Preparation - Guide
HAVING A SUCCESSFUL SWIM MEET
Tips to have the best chance of having a successful meet. The “psych” sheets are what we call the lists of
who is swimming where and what in the meet. They are included to aid in your visualization, as well as to
'psych' up for the swim meet proper.
PRE MEET PREPERATION:
Nutrition:
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Eat properly before the swim meet. Plan your nutrition for the meet, and before the meet.
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Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate (before, during, and after the meet).
Mental Preparation:
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Swim meets are like exams. To do well on an exam at school you must study the night before. The
same is true for preparing for a swim meet. Go over your races in your head. Try to visualize your
races and be as vivid as possible. Good visualization lays down the tracks for a successful meet.
Picture everything that might happen in a race.
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Sleep: Make sure to get a good night sleep before each day of the meet. If you don’t get proper
sleep it will have an effect on your swimming.
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Equipment: Make sure you have all of your equipment packed for the meet. Swim suits, goggles,
towels, proper clothing for the meet. Usually it is not a good idea to use new goggles for the first
time at a meet.
DAY OF MEET:
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Arrive On Time: Part of having a successful meet is showing up on time and prepared for the meet.
Coaches like to do group stretches 15mins before warm-ups and if you are late you will miss the
group stretch. If you have expectations of having a good meet and you miss the group warm-up you
have started the day on a bad note.
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Check In With Your Coach: Check in with your coach to see when they want you to get ready to
warm-up. Usually the coach likes the swimmers to come around 10-15 minutes before they get in to
warm-up to stretch and prepare for warm-ups.
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Warm-ups: It is very important to do a proper meet warm-up. Don’t cut corners here!
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Warm-ups for swimmers vary depending on the age and workout group of the swimmer but the
general rule is that if you don't know the pool in warm up, you won't know the pool when you swim a
race in it.
Warm-up Structure:
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General Warm-up: Usually an easy swim. Might involve some kicking, sculling, or drills.
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Warm-up Set: A set of more specific work. May involve kicking, drills, and variables in speed… A
higher intensity than the general warm-up.
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Speed & Heart Rate Set: This is usually a short set that is used for speed work and to get the heart
rate up. It’s usually very intense but also very short. Kind of like revving up the engine of a car.
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Turns: Every pool has a different wall, do some turns on the wall at race speed so that you are not
thrown off by the difference when you are swimming a race.
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Starts: Swimmers will do one or two starts. If you are swimming backstroke you should do a
backstroke start especially if you are at an away meet. (backstrokers should also get a stroke count
from the flags to the wall at race pace). Sprint lanes generally open when half of the warm up time
has passed, one way swimming from a start is permitted in Sprint Lanes. NO DIVING IS
ALLOWED IN A SWIM MEET WARM UP EXCEPT FOR SPRINT LANES!
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Remember, the Warm Up is for YOUR benefit, you decide when you are comfortable swimming in the
pool, not your coach.
RACE TIME:
Pre-Race Routine: Swimmers should have a pre-race routine that they do before every race. The
components of a pre-race routine are up to the swimmer, do what makes you ready to race. I listen to
music, stretch, and visualize while wearing shorts and a T-shirt, I know exactly what stretches I do in what
order, and I know when I remove my deck clothes. Immediately before a race, I reach in the pool and
splash water on myself then do a shoulder rotation exercise. Your own routine is yours and yours alone, but
you should know it like the back of your hand. (First time meet goers, you will develop a routine with time,
below are suggestions for what to include)
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Warm-up/stretch for your race 10ish minutes before your race. Keep the warm up light, enough to
give you mobility, but nothing tiring.
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Talk to your coach about your race, they will give you a quick briefing on key points for your swim.
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Go behind the blocks and check in. Prepare to race (stretch, visualize…)
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DO NOT LET OTHER SWIMMERS KNOCK YOU OUT OF YOUR ROUTINE. FOCUS ONLY ON THE SWIM
YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO, THE LANE YOU WILL BE SWIMMING IN, AND NOTHING ELSE. This is your
routine, this is your visualization, do not let outside elements throw you out of it.
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Relax! Don't hunch over, tense the arms, or be nervous behind the blocks. Stay loose, relax, and be
calm. You have trained for this race, you are more than prepared for swimming it.
The Race:
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Swim your race, the way you planned on swimming it. If you end up leading the pack, excellent but
don't slow down, keep pushing yourself. If you end up behind, do not get discouraged, your final
time is compared to only people in your age category, who may not be swimming in your heat, and
you may in fact be swimming faster then them.
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Do NOT look around as you swim for the other swimmers. Stick your eyes to your lane and leave
them there. (Looking around slows you down, and you should be swimming your own race, not
seeing how other people are swimming their race)
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Streamline off every turn.
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Finish THROUGH THE WALL. A strong finish might only save you .01 seconds in a race, but in
swimming that can be the difference between first and second place.
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DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW AT A SWIM MEET. (New turns, new dives, new pacing, etc) If you
haven't done it at practice, don't do it at a meet.
Post Race:
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Get your time from the official so you can tell your coach.
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Talk to your coach for a debrief on your race. This is an excellent time to learn about areas that you
need to work on to improve and also get reinforced on things that you did well.
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Warm Down. Most swimmers do not warm down after a race as much as they should. If you don’t
warm down enough it will probably have an effect on your races later in the day.
The Warm Down and Debrief can be switched.
It might seem like I spent a lot of time on 'psychology' but at a meet, more than half of your performance is
based on your attitude/state of mind.
AT THE MEET:
Swimmers:
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Swimmers should stay in the team area at the meet. If coaches / team managers need to find a
swimmer they should know where to look for them.
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Conserve your energy. Don’t use all of your energy playing around at the meet. Save it for your race.
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Make sure you eat properly and hydrate.
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Cheer for your teammates.
Swimmers Attitude:
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It is very important that swimmers have a good attitude at the meet. Your attitude affects your
swimming and your teammate’s swimming. It is alright to get upset after a poor race, it’s natural,
but you need to get over it quickly and move on. A good way to deal with it is the “5 minute rule”.
You can get upset about your race for 5 minutes but after that be finished with it. I have seen
swimmers who had a bad swim their first race of a meet and were done for the weekend because
they couldn’t get over it. Don’t be “one and done”.
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Good swims are contagious. If a swimmer has a good swim and gets excited then other swimmers
see that and get excited and they swim fast and pretty soon the whole team is swimming fast! Poor
swims can also be contagious so it’s important to have a positive attitude not only for yourself but
also for your teammates.
If you have any questions about swim meets please talk to your coach. Thanks and have a great swim meet!