2018 State Swimming & Diving Coaches & Competitor Information

State Meet Information:  Congratulations on qualifying to the 53rd annual Iowa Girls State Swimming and Diving Meet. We are excited about the new prelim/final format. With this new format comes some significant changes to meet operations. It is our goal that you and your athletes have a memorable experience at the state meet. In order for things to go well, we ask that coaches and competitors read the information below.

Competitors List and Entry Form: This form can be downloaded here.  The form MUST be received by the State Office by 4:00 p.m. Monday, October 29. Forms should be e-mailed to Jason Eslinger at ([email protected]). No faxes. 

YMCA Gymnasium To Be Utilized by Swim Teams: Due to an increase in competitors and spectators, teams will no longer be able to put their belongings in the natatorium and the south bleachers of the natatorium is no longer available for competitor seating. Swim teams will now have their team headquarters in the YMCA/YWCA gymnasium only (No belongings in the main pool or the cool down pool). Swimmers will be in the gymnasium or the cool down pool when they are not competing. All bags, coolers and team items are to be put in the gymnasium. There will be monitors in the gymnasium for swimmers to view the races as well as personnel to help swimmers report to their races.  Competitors may also utilize the east side bleachers to sit if they have upcoming events. To gain access to the east side seating, swimmers should enter and exit the pool area through the south doors of the wet hall. No spectators will be allowed in the gymnasium.

COACHES AND COMPETITOR SEATING: There will be a seating section for coaches on the south side of the natatorium and there will be a portion of the southwest corner of the deck to stand. No contestants will be allowed in this area and coaches will situate themselves so that the deck official in that area will not be hampered in performing his/her duties. Coaches should also stay out of the staging area where the event and award parades are being organized. 

No Event Parades During Friday’s Preliminary Meet: There will be no event parades before each event on Friday night. Competitors will need to report to the blocks on their own. There will be closed-circuit monitors in the gymnasium along with available personnel to help alert competitors report. However, it is the athlete’s responsibility to report to the starting blocks.

Grand March on Friday – Please read carefully. The grand march of teams will take place Friday night. When the pool closes at 5:15, teams must report to the YMCA/YWCA gymnasium to be lined up. Each team will have an Olympic-style placard that has the school name on it that they will carry as they march into the gymnasium. Teams will march in alphabetic order. Since athletes will be marching from the gymnasium, athletes must wear some sort of footwear for the parade. Once the march has ended, there will be a short presentation honoring the power point team coaches service awards and regional coaching and athlete meet award, followed by the National Anthem. Coaches, if you feel that your swimmers in the 200 Freestyle need to continue to warm-up they may do so after participating in the parade. Once your team has been recognized and lined up with the other teams, your 200 freestyle swimmers are free to return to the warm-up area to prepare for the race. If your team is not competing on Friday and will not be at the preliminary meet, please let me know for scripting purposes.

PASS GATE: ONLY actual contestants (qualifiers) including one designated alternate per relay, head coach, assistant coach and team manager may enter through the pass gate. Packets with bag tags and deck passes are to be picked up at the pass gate. Reminder, only coaches employed by the school will be allowed on deck. This does NOT include club and volunteer coaches. DECK PASSES WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE (3) PER SCHOOL. A purchased wristband will not allow deck access. You MUST have a deck pass. Schools who make passes available to non-school coaches, parents or athletes in addition to those who qualified risk forfeiture of team allowance.

MANAGER’S PASS: In an effort to keep the south deck less congested, enclosed in your packets is a manager’s pass for your team manager. The pass is designated for managers and gives them access to the back hall and warm-up/cool-down pool. It does NOT give them access any deck areas. We are trying to keep this area restricted only to coaches with deck passes. 

DIVING SHEETS: We ask coaches to turn in diving sheets during warm-up in order for computer operators to input data. Finalized diving sheets must be filled out and turned in to the Diving Referee no later than 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning. A reminder, the Excel-based diving sheet must be used. Click here to download the Diving Sheet. No swimming competitors will be allowed on deck during the diving competition Saturday morning - all must be in the bleachers. Diving awards will be presented immediately following diving competition.

NOTE: The natatorium will be cleared immediately following the diving competition and the natatorium will be closed as YMCA/YWCA personnel prepare for the Saturday night finals. Competitors, coaches and team personnel may go back to the gymnasium. The competition pool will not be open until 2:00 p.m. for warm-ups Saturday afternoon.

REC POOL (WARM-UP/COOL-DOWN): NO INDIVIDUAL is to be on the equipment (slide, boat, etc.) in the rec pool. The Rec Pool area is specifically for swimmers to warm-up or cool-down. Should an athlete be observed on the equipment, they will be disqualified from the meet.

Meet schedule

Session 1: Friday, November 2nd – Swimming Preliminary Meet
1:15 p.m. -  Doors open for swim teams
2:15 p.m. – Coaches Meeting
2:45 p.m. – Swimmers Meeting (in gymnasium)
3:00 p.m. – Warm-ups
4:00 p.m. – Doors Open to GoFan ticket holders (general admission seating)
4:30 p.m. – Doors open to the general public (general admission seating)
5:15 p.m. – Pool Closes to Swimmers
5:30 p.m. – Parade of teams/IHSCCA power point recognition award/IHSSCA Regional Awards/IHSSCA Coach /Athlete of the Year recognition/National Anthem, State Diving Meet

Session 2 – Saturday, November 3rd – State Diving Meet
6:00 a.m. – Divers may enter the YMCA
7:00 a.m. – Pool open for warm-ups (divers only)
8:00 a.m. – Doors Open to Public (general admission seating)
8:50 a.m. – Divers Meeting
9:00 a.m. – Parade of Divers/National Anthem/Start of Competition

Session 3 – Saturday, November 3rd – State Swimming Finals
12:30 p.m. — Swim teams may enter the YMCA
1:30 p.m. — Coaches’ meeting
2:00 p.m. — Pool opens for warm-ups
2:30 p.m. — Doors open to GoFan ticket holders (general admission seating)
3:00 p.m. — Doors open to Public (general admission seating)
4:00 p.m. — Hall of Fame Ceremony/Golden Plaque of Distinction Award/Swimming Finals

FRIDAY SWIMMING WARM-UPS: Prior to the start of the Friday evening competition, your competitors must be advised that in the interest of safety and establishing proper warm-up conditions, swimmers will use the pool as follows: 

  • 3:00 to 3:45: all eight lanes will be used for lap (circle) swimming. 
  • 3:35 to 4:30: Lanes 6, 7 & 8 circle swim, lanes 3, 4 & 5 relay exchanges deep end/turns shallow end, lanes 1 & 2 for sprints
  • 4:30 to 5:15: lane 8 will be used for lap (circle) swimming. Lanes 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 will be used for sprints. This leaves lanes 4 and 5 in the deep end for relay starts with the shallow end being utilized for turns. 

SATURDAY SWIMMING WARM-UPS

  • 2:00 to 2:35: all eight lanes will be used for lap (circle) swimming
  • 2:35 to 3:10: lap (circle) swimming will continue in lanes 6, 7 and 8. Lanes 3, 4 and 5 in the deep end will be used for relay take offs with the same lanes in the shallow end being utilized for turns. Lanes 1 and 2 will be used for sprints. 
  • 3:10 to 3:45: lane 8 will be used for lap (circle) swimming. Lanes 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 will be used for sprints. This leaves lanes 4 and 5 in the deep end for relay starts with the shallow end being utilized for turns. 

AWARDS: The top six place winners in each event will be presented awards at the awards stand. To prepare for the awards presentation, the first six place finishers are to report to the southeast corner of the pool located next to the door of the warm-up pool one event following their race. At the appropriate time, award recipients will parade to the awards stand to be presented with their medals. Competitors recognized on the awards stand must be dressed appropriately. This means warm-up or other school issued clothing must be worn over the suit. Coaches, please remind your swimmers in order to be recognized on the awards stand, they must report to the appropriate location at the appropriate time. We will wait a reasonable time for your athletes to report, but we will not hold up the flow of the meet waiting for them. We will proceed without your athlete if they fail to report in a reasonable time frame. Team trophies for first, second and third place teams will be presented at the end of the meet. The awards and parade itineraries can be downloaded by clicking here

AWARD PACKETS: All competitors will receive a medal. Award stand finishers (1-6) will receive medals with ribbons. 7th-through-32nd place will receive medals with their placing listed. Packets for all competitors and results are to be picked up by the coach following conclusion of the meet from Karon Brown, located in the office adjacent to the coaches’ break room. PLEASE REMEMBER TO PICK UP YOUR AWARDS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEET.

MERCHANDISE:Image Sport will be selling Official 2018 State Swimming merchandise throughout the meet. Programs will also be on sale for $5.00. 

Congratulations and best of luck this week.

Jason Eslinger, Swimming and Diving Administrator.