Swim Meet 101
"A" Swim Meets
The Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL) is divided into fifteen divisions (A-O) with the fastest teams in Division A. Assignment to a division is based on a team’s performance during the previous year.
Swimmers may swim no more than four individual events (three different strokes and Individual Medley) per week. A swim “week” begins with an “A” meet followed by a “B” meet. A stroke may not be repeated in the same swim week. These rules do not apply to relay events. Many swimmers swim both “A” and “B” meets. For all meets, line-ups are made at the head coach’s discretion.
“A” swim meet line-ups are decided by the coaches ONLY. Parents do not sign their children up for “A” swim meets. Typically, the top 6 swimmers in freestyle and top 3 in the other strokes and IM swim the “A” meets. Relay events are decided at the meet by the coach (usually top 2 freestylers). “A” meet line-ups will be posted on the website and at the pool by Thursday morning. It is imperative that you let Andrea know ASAP if your child is on the “A” meet line-up and cannot swim that day. If your child gets sick, please call Coach Andrea's cell phone at 301-938-9112 as soon as possible so that we can replace the swimmer.
“A” Meet
Each week, the fastest three swimmers in each individual event from each age group and each gender will represent Manor Woods in the “A” meets. For freestyle, the fastest six swimmers for each age group and gender group will swim. “Fastest” is determined as the swimmers with the lowest times in each event. “A” meets are held on Saturday mornings. There will be five dual meets per swim season. A dual meet is comprised of forty individual events, four relay events, and six individual medley events.
Ribbons for individual events are awarded for 1st through 6th places with 7 -12 being awarded finisher ribbons. Ribbons for the relay events are awarded to 1st through 4th place. A swimmer does not receive a ribbon if they disqualify (DQ) in a stroke. These ribbons are usually presented to the swimmers at the pool following home meets and at a fast-food restaurant following away meets.
Team points are awarded as follows:
- 1st place - 6 points
- 2nd place - 4 points
- 3rd place - 3 points
- 4th place - 2 points
- 5th place - 1 point
“B” Meets
“B” meets are designed to provide competition opportunities for all those swimmers who do not have fast enough times to compete in the “A” meets. Many of the kids will swim both “A” and “B” meets. “B” meet swimmers are very important to our team, and we work very hard to make these meets fun and exciting. “B” meets are not bound by the rules and regulations of the MCSL, but usually follow them very closely. The teams we will be competing against this year in “B” meets are: Washingtonian Woods, King Farm, Tanterra, Hallowell, Olney Mill and Rockville. We will also be participating in a 'B' Relay Carnival.
B Meet entries open at noon on the Saturday prior to the B Meet (right after the A Meet). Swimmers can choose their own events for B Meets following the guidelines of no more than 4 total events in one week (3 individual strokes and 1 Individual Medley (IM)). ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN BY 11:59 PM MONDAY EVENING - No entries will be accepted after this time. ** Please add a calendar reminder for each week, we will not be adding any entries after the deadline.** If your child is signed up and cannot make the meet, please notify the B Rep as soon as possible and they will work with our automation team to remove them from the program.
Relay Carnival
Each MCSL Division has one 'A' Relay Carnival per swim season. The relay carnival is comprised of twenty relay events. All teams in the division compete. The relay carnival contributes points toward the calculation of the Division standings and helps determine participants in the MCSL Relay All-Stars Meet. Medals are awarded for 1st place and ribbons for 2nd and 3rd places. Team points are awarded as follows:
- 1st place - 14 points
- 2nd place - 10 points
- 3rd place - 8 points
- 4th place - 6 points
- 5th place - 4 point
- 6th place – 2 points
Divisional Championship Meet
The divisional championship meet is held at the end of the season with all six teams competing. This meet is comprised of two heats per event, except for relay events which have one heat. Each team provides two swimmers per event and only one relay team per relay event. The two fastest swimmers from each age/gender group in each event will represent the Manor Woods Swim Team. Like regular “A” meets the most events a swimmer can swim is a total of three individual events, one IM and one relay event. Fastest times can only be taken from “A” meets. Placement in Divisionals is up to the coach’s discretion.
In individual events, medals are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, and ribbons will be awarded for 4th-6th places. In relay events, medals will be awarded for 1st place and ribbons for 2nd through 4th places.
All-Star Meets
There will be one County Relay All-Star Meet and one County Individual All-Star Meet per swim season. Both of these meets are league-wide (Divisions A-O). The winning relays from each division compete in the Relay All-Star Meet. The Individual All-Star Meet is comprised of individual and individual medley events with the fastest sixteen swimmers per event selected from all league divisions.
In the Relay All-Star Meet, plaques are awarded for 1st place, medals for 2nd and 3rd places, and ribbons for 4th through 8th places. For the Individual All-Star Meet, plaques are awarded to the first three places, medals for 4th, 5th, and 6th, and ribbons for 7th through 16th places.
MCSL Coaches Invitational Long Course Meet
The fastest eight swimmers from each age group (with two alternates) in the league are invited to participate in each event. Times are based on the first three dual meets. Swimmers may not be entered in or compete in more than two events. Events are the same as non-relay events in dual meets with distances doubled.
