Meet Entry Procedures

The coaches follow one of two procedures when doing meet entries.

1. Auto Entry Meets – These are meets where the coaches automatically sign the swimmers up because they are expected to attend. All championship meets, dual meets, hosted meets and some invitational meets are Auto Entry. 

2. Non-Auto Entry Meets – These are invitational meets the swimmer can sign out of if they do not want to attend. To sign out of the meet they MUST cross out their name on the posted eligibility report by the posted due date.  COACHES WILL BE ENTERING SWIMMERS THAT DO NOT CROSS THEIR NAMES OUT.

Auto Entry Meets

Auto Entry Meets are meets where the coaches will be entering your swimmers into the meet because they are expected to attend.  They are chosen by the coaches at the beginning of the season, and will be posted as such.  For Auto Entry Meets,

• Eligibility reports will be posted on the website. They will NOT be posted in the Meet Sign-up Book or bulletin boards.
• Coaches decide on the events and days the swimmer will attend. 
• If a swimmer has a conflict, they must notify their practice coach and email the Meet Entry/Volunteer Coordinators (Karen Johnson and Phil Raw at meetsignout@svynj.org) by the entry deadline. The entry deadline for each meet is posted on the website, the bulletin boards and a reminder will be sent via email.

Deadlines for conflicts in an Auto Entry meet must be strictly followed. After the deadline all swimmers entered will be responsible for any fees incurred for the entries.  In most cases, auto entry meets will have a very quick turnaround, so it is imperative that you check your e-mail and the website on a daily basis.

Championship meets are Auto Entry meets and are mandatory.  Any conflicts for championship meets (YMCA and USA) will not only need to be made to the practice group coach and the Meet Entry Coordinator, Karen Johnson, but also to Matt Donovan, Head Coach directly.  Please remember that failure to compete in Championship meets can lead to dismissal from the team for the following season.

Dual Meets are Auto Entry meets. Refer to the Dual Meet section or the website for the Dual Meet Sign-out procedures.

Non Auto Entry Invitational Meets

If a meet is not designated as auto entry, the swimmer will have the opportunity to sign out of the meet if they do not want to go. Or if they do intend to go they may choose the events they would like to swim. Otherwise, their coach will choose the events and the swimmer will be entered.

For non-auto entry meets, meet information is posted on the website and the bulletin boards at the Somerville (Bronze information only), Bridgewater, and Hillsborough facilities. The following information is posted:

• Meet Packet – this is the information received from the host team and includes the location, start times and order of events.
• Meet Eligibility – the eligibility report lists all the swimmers and the events they are eligible to swim in the meet. This report is posted in the Meet Signup Books.
• Deadline – This is the last day to sign out of the meet or to choose your events. The deadline is hand written on the meet packet.
• Meet Entries – the meet entry report is posted on the boards and the website after the entries are sent to the host team. Always check the meet entries to make sure your swimmer has been entered correctly.

To sign out of a meet that you cannot attend …

·         Go to the Meet Signup Book at Hillsborough or Bridgewater (Silver and Gold groups) or Somerville (Bronze groups during practice times). Then CROSS your child’s name out and initial on the meet eligibility report.

To choose your events …

·         Check the meet packet to see how many events per day you can sign up for.

·         Go to the Meet Signup Book at Hillsborough or Bridgewater (Silver and Gold groups) or Somerville (Bronze groups during practice times) and CIRCLE the events your child wants to swim on the meet eligibility report.

·         DO NOT email your entries to our Meet Entry Coordinator as email has been found to be unreliable.

·         DO NOT contact the host team. This is done by our meet entry coordinator.

·         Any family that is found to have contacted a host team or meet entry coordinator from another team will be subject to being suspended from that and possibly future invitational meets.

Once entered in the meet,

·         You are financially responsible for any fees incurred to enter your child into the meet.

·         Changes cannot be made past the entry deadline!

·         Always check your child's entries that will be posted on the bulletin board and on the web site. Often the coaching staff will add or delete some of the events you have entered.

·         All Coaches decisions are final.

Note: If a swimmer achieves a new best time BETWEEN the signup date and the DATE OUR TEAMS ENTRIES ARE SENT IN, the new best time will be used.  Swimmers’ times for meet entries WILL NOT be updated after our entries have been sent in.

Important! Many invitational meets are posted for only 5 to 7 days because we need to be quick to enter a popular meet or risk being shut out.  Swimmers and parents are required to check the bulletin boards or the website every day or two.  Signups or sign outs may only be done at the YMCA. All Bronze swimmers sign up/out in Somerville. Coach Adele will work closely with the younger swimmers, guiding them through the meet sign-up procedure.