In Florida the high school season is in the fall. Nationally high school swimming is governed by the NFHS and by the FHSAA here in Florida. All NFHS rules and regulations are followed except where specifically set aside by the FHSAA. All events are in Short Course Yards except in non-conforming pools which should only be used for practice. The order of events is standard but can be adjusted in some situations with mutual consent. The order is always girls followed by boys with the girls events being the odd numbered events. At the state meet girls and boys alternate each year as to who goes first.
High school swimming is very different than both age group and private league swim clubs. At club meets, swimmers usually sign up for the events they want to swim, in High School, Coaches will assign you your events. The atmosphere being somewhat of a combination of the two. Most swimmers find the team orientation to be much more enjoyable than the more individual approach of USS swimming. The majority of events in high school swimming are much shorter than what club swimmers are used to, with only one distance event. The dual meet format is new for club swimmers but not for league swimmers. This format allows for a lot more excitement than most age group meets, especially when the teams are evenly matched. The majority of the meets we will swim will be dual meets. Below are descriptions of the various types of meets that we will swim during the course of the season, and a summary of how points are awarded.
Except for City Relays, meets consist of 3 relays events, 8 individual events & diving. The order of events is the
same for all types of meets except diving. Diving is usually held at the beginning of the meet or during the
break and is scored as an individual event. The home swim team is responsible for providing officials, timers and score keepers to run the meet.
The events are as follows:
Event 1 & 2 – 200 Medley Relay Event 3 & 4 – 200 Free
Event 5 & 6 – 200 IM
Event 7 & 8 – 50 Free
Event 9 & 10 – 1 Meter Diving
Events 11 & 12 – 100 Fly
Event 13 & 14 – 100 FreeEvent 15 & 16 – 500 Free
Event 17 & 18 – 200 Free Relay
Event 19 & 20 – 100 Back
Event 21 & 22 – 100 Breast
Event 23 & 24 – 400 Free Relay
Types of Meets
Dual Meet – Two teams – 3 entries per team per event in 6 lane pool. One team will have lanes 1,3, 5, the other will have 2,4, 6. Four entries in 8 lane pools.
Scoring
City Relays – All high school swim teams in Hillsborough county are invited. Around 24 will show. This meet is useful for measuring the best teams in Hillsborough county. There are 16 relay events, 6 girls, 6 boys and 4 mixed. The mixed relays are composed of 2 boys and 2 girls.
Scoring – Score is kept separate for the boys & girls teams. The mixed relay scores are divided by 2 and added to each team’s score.
Districts – Timed Finals, all heats are seeded according to entry times. Heat sheets will be available. Individual event winners automatically advance to regions. Swimmers in places 2-8 stand a good chance of advancing as well since regions is composed of a field of 24, which leaves 22 at large spots to be filled by the next fastest times from only 3 districts. The top 8 relay teams will advance for a field of 16 at region meet.
Scoring
Regions – Same format as districts. Usually held at the FGCU Aquatic Center in Fort Myers. The top swimmer in each event automatically advances while the next fastest swimmers for all regions (4) will comprise the rest of the field of 24. Swimmers must place in the top 16 to be considered for at-large times. 16 relays teams will be selected for advancement to the state meet and will be chosen from at-large times from each of the 4 districts. Relays must finish in the top 8 to qualify.