Parent Meet Information Should my child compete? The Chinook Swim Club is a competitive club and we would like to encourage all swimmers to compete at some level. Competition allows swimmers to set personal goals and work to reach them. Meets help to give swimmers a direction and focus in their training. Swimmers feel a sense of accomplishment when they can see what their hard work is doing for their swimming. Comradery among team mates is developed as athletes work together to achieve their goals. Team work, goal setting and a hard work ethic will transfer over into the athlete’s school and work life as they progress in the sport. For the young athlete, our mini meets are the perfect introduction to competitive swimming. As athletes progress in the sport there are more advanced meets for them to attend depending on their level and commitment. A common comment I hear is that my child is not interested in competition. A lot of children feel pressure and fear when it comes to competition and I feel that this is holding them back from the full experience of competitive swimming. As a parent, you can help them overcome this by bringing them to a mini meet just to watch. Sometimes this helps to take away the fear of the unknown. After this they can enter one event if they like. Sometimes this slow introduction is just what athletes need to realize that swimming is about them and their goals. It isn’t about the person in the lane next to you. Because swimming is time based, athletes can see their improvements each time they dive in the pool and feel a sense of accomplishment. At some point athletes will also have a swim that is disappointing. Realizing that failure can be a valuable learning experience is important. From failure athletes will learn what they need to do to improve. Athletes and coaches will work together to adjust goals and training objectives to work towards a more desired outcome. This is a valuable life skill that will transfer into other aspects of their life. Overall meets are valuable for the athlete to see how they are progressing in the sport and to be part of a team. Come out and have fun with the Chinooks! Signing up for Meets Approximately three weeks prior to a meet, each swimmer who is eligible for the meet will receive an electronic invitation via our website. Families will be able to sign their swimmers up for all or part of a meet, and that information will then be collected electronically by the coaches, who will enter your child in the appropriate events. You will receive a bill for the meet fees on the following month's invoice. Once events are submitted there will not be any changes. Types of Swim Meets MINI Meets Regional/Sanctionned Swim Meets Qualifying Meets Provincials is a qualifying meet. - Swim BC Time standards are posted on the Swim BC website as Tier I and Tier II time standards and change every year based on the top 50 times in the province from the year before. These are the times swimmers must achieve in order to attend Provincial level swim meets. Athletes qualifying for Tier I need two qualifying times and then they can pick up to 8 events from there. Athletes qualifying for Tier II only need one qualifying time but they can only swim the events that they qualify in. These meets are in a Heats and Finals format (all swimmers will race in the Heats to compete for a spot to swim among the fastest 8 in that event in the Finals). This introduces to our swimmers the challenge of swimming under pressure. These meets are often held at the premier pools in the Province. It is an honour for athletes to qualify for this meet. Western and National Level Swim Meets |