Welcome to EPAC and to Swimming.

If you and your family are new to the sport of swimming, this page should help you get up to speed on how the league and meets work as well as give you a quick guide to the sport’s language.
• Day of the Meet
• League & Special Meet Information

 

Day of the Meet

A lot of planning goes into the day of the meet for coaches – on the day of the meet, if you find that your child CANNOT swim due to illness or another emergency, please contact Deb Houser  at 418-8166 or Coach Lu at 215-4054 as soon as possible. Thank you.

Swimmers Should Bring
Goggles, cap with last name clearly marked on the outside, towels (perhaps 2), blanket to sit on, dry clothes to put on between events and another set to go home in, healthy snacks and water and items to pass the time between events (such as games, coloring books, or cards).

Spectators should bring
Lawn chairs (for outdoor meets), a pen or highlighter to use on line-up sheets, cash for concessions if you plan on utilizing it.

Warm Ups
Times can start as early as 7:00 am.  Please get a good night’s sleep. During warm-ups for away meets generally the coaches will call the entire team to the pool to get some laps and starts in. For home meets the older swimmers may warm up separate from the younger swimmers.

Arrival Time
Swimmers should be at the host pool fifteen minutes prior to warm up times. Swimmers need to check in with a coach who will then direct the parent or swimmer to a posted line up sheet that will identify all the events that the swimmer will be swimming.

Line Up Sheets
The sheets that you see before the meet are NOT final. Lanes and heats often change. Please use line-up sheets for event purposes only. Be sure to check the relay events as well. Notify a coach immediately if your swimmer cannot swim in a relay that he or she is assigned due to having to leave the meet before it is over.

Writing On Your Kid?
Some parents will write the event number and stroke on their kid’s hand or arm in ink to remind them of their events that they are swimming for that meet.  If you choose to do so, please only write the event number and event (ex. #19 – 25 free). Writing the heat and the lane may only confuse your swimmer as these items are subject to change.

Team Parents
A parent volunteer will be assigned to each group of 10-and-Under and 8-and-Under swimmers to organize them for their events and get them to their lanes.

Timers
Each team must supply a set of volunteers that will time each event in each lane. Usually 14-16 are required per meet. All parents are expected to volunteer to act as a timer at some point during the season. Stop watches and instructions will be given prior to the start of the meet.

Heats
Some events will have more swimmers than blocks. When that it the case another heat is added. These extra heats are exhibition only. In regular meets only the first heat of the event counts for points for the team and place for the individual.

How the meet works
The entire team shows up for the meet at the same time. Events are scheduled in a specific order by age and stroke and/or length. The event order is the same for the season however the summer season events differ from the winter season events. Typically the youngest boys swim an event first (8&U boys) followed by the youngest girls (8&U girls). Next would be the 10&U boys followed by the 10&U girls. This would continue for a given stroke. Once the 15&Over swim, the stroke will change and start again with the 8&U’s. Not all age groups swim all events. The line up sheet that you will see the day of the meet will let you know the order of events and when your child is swimming. Please note that a child’s swim level for practice does not come into play for the day in the meet. All levels will race each other within the same age group. A swimmers age group is determined by their age as of December 1st for the winter season or June 1st for the summer season.

Awards
Place ribbons are awarded for 1st – 6th place or 1st – 8th place depending on the pool. All other swimmers usually receive participatory ribbons depending on the host swim club. These ribbons will be given out at the awards banquet at the end of the season.

Leaving a Meet
Please be sure to double-check with a coach or team parent before leaving the swim meet early. It is possible that a swimmer may have been reassigned into an end-of-the-meet relay at the last minute due to a swimmer either not showing or leaving early unexpectedly.

 

League & Special Meet Information

Capital Area Swim League (CASL) http://www.swimcasl.org
CASL is the league in which EPAC participates during the summer. This league consists of twenty-four teams located in York, Adams and Cumberland Counties. Within this league there are four divisions containing six teams each: Division A though Division AAAA. EPAC is currently in Division AA.

Central Pennsylvania Aquatic League (CPAL)  http://www.swimcpal.org
CPAL is the league in which EPAC participates during the winter season. This league consists of twenty-nine teams located in Lancaster, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, York, Adams, and Franklin Counties. Within this league there are five divisions containing five to six teams in each: Division A through Division AAAAA. EPAC is currently in Division AA.

Mid-Penn Swim League (MPSL) http://www.swimmpsl.org
MPSL is the sister league to CASL for the summer season. This league consists of teams located in Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon Counties. The Mid-Penn Swim League and the Capital Area Swim League come together for the Championship Mid-Cap Swim meet in July.

Invitationals
Invitationals are special voluntary swim meets used as fund raisers for the host team. EPAC is invited to swim in a few Invitationals during both the summer and winter seasons. These meets often offer special events or age groups that are not offered during a regular swim meet. Swimmers must pay a small fee for each event in which he or she chooses to swim. This money usually goes to the teams hosting or sponsoring the event. Times for these meets are registered with the league and can be used for ranking in other meets.

Divisionals
Divisionals is a qualifier meet for All-Stars. This meet takes place after all regular swim meets have taken place. All of the teams from one division will come together for one large swim meet. In this meet the goal for a swimmer is a fast time. The sixteen fastest times from all of the divisions in the league will qualify for the All-Star meet. Divisionals occurs in both the summer and winter seasons.

All-Stars
All-Stars is a championship meet for a league. Sixteen fastest times in each event from all of the Divisionals meets in the league compete. Medals are awarded for top finishers.

Mid-Cap Championship Meet
Mid-Cap Championship Meet (also known as Super-Stars) is a summer meet where the top swimmers from the Mid-Penn League and Capital Area League race. The top 6 or 8 finishers in All-Stars from each league are invited to compete this swim meet.

USA Swimming
USA Swimming would be best described as “travel swimming.” It is an opportunity for individual swimmers to gain more experience and compete at a higher level. USA Swimming is the same organization that hosts events for Michael Phelps and Dana Torres and every other professional United States swimmer. EPAC swimmers have an opportunity to swim in this league and compete in regional meets in State College and New Jersey. EPAC coaches recommend USA swimming for serious swimmers ages 9 and up.