Ready Bench Information And Helpful Tips

General Information

What are Ready Bench Parents? Ready Bench Parents are the volunteers who watch over the swimmers during the meet, line them up in the correct event, heat and lane order and take them to their correct positions behind the blocks. You will be given an updated heat sheet upon arrival. Please use the updated heat sheet to line up the swimmers as it may contain changes that have been made after the heat sheets were first distributed. Give the updated Heat Sheet to your 2nd half replacement.

Ready Bench (5-6’s): Please write swimmers' names on their shoulders with a sharpie if not already marked. This is helpful for lining up the swimmers as some of the 5-6’s may not feel comfortable talking to someone they do not know. Also, make sure that caps (if  wearing a cap) and goggles are on and in place before taking swimmers to the blocks. Please escort swimmers to and from the restroom as needed. The 5-6's are done at the end of the 1st half.

Ready Bench (7-8’s, 9-10’s): Please make sure that these swimmers have their caps and goggles on before taking them to the blocks.

Ready Bench (11-12’s, 13 & Up): The older swimmers are generally self sufficient and do not need to be taken to the blocks. However, you will need to remind them when their events are coming up.

Helpful Tips

• Get to know the swimmers: At the beginning of the shift, familiarize yourself with the swimmers and make sure everyone has their events written on their bodies by Event / Heat / Lane so they know what and when they are swimming.

• Swimmers should stay with their Ready Bench: We have asked all Piranha parents to remind their swimmers to be on good behavior and to stay in their respective age group areas and not walking around during the meet. By keeping swimmers in their age group areas, it makes finding and organizing the swimmers much easier. We would like every swimmer to make it to the blocks in time for their events, however, it is not your responsibility to track down missing swimmers.

• Lining up swimmers: There are two different ways swimmers can be lined up and taken to the blocks or opposite the blocks (for the relays). The first way is organizing swimmers by heat and then lane. The second way is to line swimmers up by lane and then heat (shown in the examples that follow). You will need to determine which way makes the most sense to you and stick with that method.

• Lane Assignments: Hidden Forest swimmers are not assigned to the same lanes for every event or heat. For example, in a meet Hidden Forest swimmers may for the most part be in lanes 1, 3 and 5 and opposing team in lanes 2, 4 and 6. However, based on the number of swimmers per team this can vary. The swimmers are placed so that the meet is run in the most efficient manner, so always check the heat sheet.

• Heats: Heats are run from slowest (heat 1) to fastest (last heat). If there are 10 swimmers in an event, there will be two heats. Heat 1 would have 4 swimmers assigned to lanes, and Heat 2 would have 6 swimmers assigned to lanes. Not every heat will have every lane filled with swimmers. If there are not a full 6 swimmers in a heat, the inner lanes are always filled first as they are considered the fastest lanes.

• How far in advance do I need to line up swimmers? As a guideline, line swimmers up at least 10 heats in advance, as the time between heats runs quickly, sometimes as fast as 45-60 seconds. When the second half of the meet starts, the number of heats per event usually gets smaller and the meet progresses much more quickly. You may need to line up swimmers more than 10 heats in advance.

LINING UP SWIMMERS FOR RELAY EVENTS BY LANE AND THEN HEAT

There are 2 relay events: freestyle and medley relays. The first events of a meet are the freestyle relays. Swimmers need to be ready and lined up prior to the start of the meet. The medley relays are the very last events of the meet.

Relays 12-Under: The relays for the 12-under events are always a total of 100 meters/yards, so each swimmer swims 25 meters/yards (one length of the pool). Lining up relay swimmers for the 100 meter/yard relay events is the same as individual events, except you will take swimmers swimmers #1 and #3 start to the blocks and #2 and #4 to the opposite end of the blocks. Remind all swimmers of what stroke they are swimming.

Relays 13-18: For the 13-18 year-old relay events, relays are always 200 meters/yards. Each swimmer swims 50 meters/yards (two lengths of the pool). All swimmers start and finish at the blocks, just like the individual events for this age group.

FREESTYLE RELAY EVENTS:

Freestyle relays are the first events of the meet and all swimmers are swimming the Freestyle stroke. There is one heat for each gender and age group, so the relays progress very quickly. 

For the Freestyle relay, you will want to start lining swimmers up 10-15 minutes before the meet starts. Below is an example of a 100 meter freestyle relay:

Once the swimmers are lined up by lane, confirm with each swimmer their event, heat and lane and walk the swimmers to the blocks or opposite the blocks to get them to their respective lanes.

MEDLEY RELAY EVENTS:

The medley relays are the very last events of the meet. In the medley relay, each swimmer completes a different stroke and the order is always as follows:

Swimmer #1: Backstroke

Swimmer #2: Breaststroke

Swimmer #3: Butterfly

Swimmer #4: Freestyle

Lining swimmers up for the medley relay is the same as for the freestyle relay. However, be sure to ensure that each swimmer knows which stroke they are swimming.

Once the swimmers are lined up by lane, confirm with each swimmer, event, heat, lane and stroke and walk the swimmers to the blocks or opposite the blocks in order, and get them to their respective lanes.

There are times when a swimmer that is scheduled to swim is not present. It is important to make sure that no swimmer swims in the wrong heat in place of another missing swimmer. PLEASE CONFIRM THAT YOU HAVE THE CORRECT SWIMMER FOR THE LANE, EVENT AND HEAT BEFORE THEY STEP UP TO SWIM.