SACRAMENTO SWIM LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS FAQ s What is Champs? What are the Championships? The Championship Swim Meet is the culmination of the Sacramento Swim League season and a great opportunity for your swimmer to show off what has become of all the hard work and time that he/she has put in this year. All of the teams in the league swim against each other in one large final swim meet. Team and Individual Points are awarded for placing in the Top 10 for Individual and Relay Events. When/Where is the Championship Meet? This year, the Sac Swim League Championship Meet takes place on Saturday, July 18th and Sunday, July 19th in the pool at Woodland H.S. in Woodland CA. PLEASE SAVE THE DATE- We are working to have 100% Stingray Participation at Champs. 6 and Under Events are only on Saturday July 18th - Families with only a 6 and Under swimmer- just need to attend one day - But if you have any older swimmers.their events are over both days. 21 North West Street Woodland, CA (The event has a very early check-in time both days and lasts a good portion of the day- Till about 4-5pm) What can we expect at the Championship Meet? You can expect some fast swim times!!! It is not guaranteed but most swimmers get their best time of the year in many events at Champs!! It may be all the hard work the kids have put in it may be the excitement it may be the pool. Actually it may be all of those things put together that make the times so fast. This is the biggest meet of the year..so there are lots of kids lots of parents and a lot of swimming excitement. What is the weather like? The weather can be hot, since the meet takes place in late July so expect to bring a lot to drink and while there may be someone to share shade with you may want to bring an umbrella or pop-up canopy. Will I have to bring food/water etc?
While there will be some food there (provided by a snack bar) it is a good idea to bring an ice chest with your own selection of food and drinks. You can expect... a T-Shirt Vendor an Ice Cream/Freeze vendor.a coffee vendor a snack bar and a Swim Shop (Suits, Goggles etc.) - but it is usually much more cost effective to bring your own items to eat. How will I know when my child is supposed to be swimming? There are a couple ways to know- 1) You should have an idea of the events that your child will be swimming from talking to the coaches or your swimmer in the days previous to the meet. Also the swimmers events will be posted near our team camp. The event numbers/type of event will be announced over a loud speaker (but sometimes it is hard to understand) so we have to make sure our kids know their events are coming up. The events/heat and lane that they are swimming in will be posted shortly before the meet starts and many parents/team parents write the EVENT/HEAT/LANE in black marker (sometimes with the swimmers last name above) on the upper arm to make sure they know the list of events this- So if you had a 9/10 Boy at the Championships and they were swimming the events below (they could be swimming more or less events than this example) Event 4 the 100 IM Heat 5 Lane 2 Event 28 the 25 Back Heat 5 Lane 6 Event 40 the Medley Relay Heat 4 Lane 3 Event 70 the 25 Fly) Heat 5 Lane 1 The swimmers arm might look something like this- SMITH 4/5/2 28/5/6 40/4/3 70/5/1 2) Just like regular swim meets there will be a TEAM PARENT for each age group and gender. That TEAM PARENT will do their best to gather the kids together and get them to the Ready Bench in time. But Team Parents need your help too.sometimes the kids wander around or don t have their goggles, cap etc. ready
What is Finals? At the Championship Meet- The swimmers are seeded into the meet from the fastest time that they have swam in that event during the year. The higher the heat the faster the swimmers are So heat 5 is going to have faster swimmers in it than Heat 2 will. But some of the faster swimmers will be dispersed through a few of the higher heats. The swimmers swim a preliminary round in each event and their new time (no matter what heat they swim in) may place them in the top 10 of all the swimmers in that event- If it does.then that swimmer will make it to Finals in that event and will get to swim again later in the day to earn points for their team. (There are two Alternate spots that come from the 11 th and 12 th place times and if a swimmer does not make it to the ready bench in time or they cannot swim- the alternate will take their place) Why are relays important? Relays are important due to the fact that each team can enter -2 Teams of 4 relay swimmers- and since the Top 10 teams earn points- having two teams entered almost assures the Stingrays of scoring points with both relay teams. This feat can only be accomplished if we have the full team in attendance and the coaches can create two competitive relay groups. That is why we are looking for 100% Team Participation at Champs this year! How are relay teams chosen? Basically it is just based on the fastest swimmers in a particular event being put together- to form an A RELAY Team. And then the next fastest group of swimmers put together- to form a B RELAY Team. My child is not going to win- So why should we go to the Championships? While your child might not win or make finals- the atmosphere at Championships is different from other meets and it can be a really fun and exciting experience. There is a parade (each team with a Theme).opening ceremonies time to hang out with swim friends before the end of the season and a real chance to swim the best time of the year in their events. Since the event is big- The experience the swimmers gain is valuable for the following year and will help the team as a whole. Do we need to volunteer at the Championships too? Yes- Because all of the swim meets are parent run, we all need to attend and complete our assigned tasks- Each team is given different jobs and most jobs are completed in one of the 4 shifts throughout the day- So once you are done for that day you can concentrate on being a fan! (More info in the Survival Guide for Championships will come out prior to the event)
Are there awards/ribbons for the swimmers? Yes- Every participant in the meet will receive a nice participant ribbon and if they happen to place in the top 10 in an event they can also receive a medal. The top point earning swimmers and teams can also earn trophies (Which are given out at the end of day 2). Plus the Stingrays have their own awards night (usually on the Tuesday evening following the Champs meet) where awards for each age group (MVP, Most Improved, High Point etc.) are giving out. So the Sacramento Swim League Championships is the last possible meet of the year? The answer to this question is actually, NO. There is one more possible meet your child/ swimmer could be involved in and it is called THE MEET OF CHAMPIONS. This meet takes place a few weeks after the Championships conclude and is a meet that includes our league but also is open to all of the other recreational swim teams/leagues in the greater Sacramento/Nor Cal area. The Meet of Champions brings together all of the top swimmers from each of the leagues so the swimmers can compete against the other top performers. This is a totally voluntary and extra meet- There is no obligation to swim at this meet. Info here- http://www.meetofchampions.com How does a swimmer qualify to swim at this meet? There are a couple ways to qualify. 1) Swim a MOC (Meet Of Champions) qualifying time at any sanctioned league meet during the swim season. You can review these times at http:// www.meetofchampions.com/qualtimes.aspx and if your swimmer does- they are automatically qualified to attend this event. 2) The swimmer places in the top 10 at Finals at their League Championship meet. (So if your swimmer places 10 th overall or better in the 25yard Freestyle in the Final Race at Champs- that swimmer qualifies for The Meet of Champions.) When/Where is the Meet of Champions? This year The Meet of Champions will take place Aug 1st and Aug 2nd at Roseville Aquatic Center in Roseville CA 3051 Woodcreek Oaks Blvd. [ Map it! ] (916) 774-5262
Why should our swimmer compete at this meet? This meet is totally and completely voluntary and is really up to your swimmer and you to decide if they want to compete at this event. If your swimmer wants to test themselves against other great swimmers wonderful.if not no problem we would love to see the Stingrays have an awesome showing at this event.but competing is up to you.