Swim Meet Timers

One of the surprising differences I have noticed about kids’ activities in the US compared to Australia is the higher level of parent involvement that is required (or in some cases, even expected of).  Swimming is not an exception to that.  At least within most of the swim clubs in Texas that I have seen, there seems to be a certain requirement of volunteer hours that each family needs to do for the club.  Volunteering can be a great way to ensure your kids can continue to do the sport that they like, and it can also be a great way for parents to get to know other parents in the swim club.

One of the most common “duty” that a swim parent may have to do is to work as a “timer” during the swim meet.  If there are 8 lanes in a pool, you will need at least 8 timers.  I say “at least”, because in most meets, you normally require two timers per lane.

If your swim club is hosting a meet, they will probably be required to fill the timer slots with parents from the swim club and will ask people to sign-up for a certain time slot.  (e.g. Saturday morning session, Lane 1, 9am–10:30am, 10:30am-noon).  In some large meets, even if your club is not the hosting club, it is common for a visiting club to be allocated to time for certain lanes or certain timeslots. (e.g. Club A has to allocate timers for Lanes 1-4, whilst Club B has to allocate timers for Lanes 5-8).  Please do note that if there are not enough timers, a swim meet cannot proceed – so you may even hear announcements being made at the meet, calling for timers to step on to the deck.

Some basic tips:

1.    Do not be late! Try to come to the deck 5-10 minutes prior to your allocated timeslot.

2.    Since most meets require two timers per lane, you will probably have a timer buddy and it might be another parent from the same swim club that you do not know.  Exchange some pleasantries and leverage the opportunity to get to know each other a bit more 😊

3.    If you are not familiar with the stopwatch, make sure you know how to start, stop & reset.  Usually it’s the button on your top-right to start & stop and the other button on the top-left to reset.  Each timer will be assigned a stopwatch.

< A typical stopwatch used in swim meets. Image source: Shutterstock >

4.    If you have two timers, it’s probably a good idea to assign one person to be the “scribe” and the other to take care of “plunger” duties (if there is only one plunger per lane).
Each lane will have a clipboard with sheets of printed paper that shows the assigned swimmers for that respective lane.  After each race, the “scribe” will need to write down BOTH times next to the swimmer’s name. 
Near the starting blocks, there should be a “plunger” device, which looks like a thin, dark cylinder with a black cable on one end and a button on the top.  The timer with the “plunger” duty should press this button on the plunger with one hand whilst they press the “stop” button on the stopwatch on the other hand at the same time.  But don't be surprised to find 2 plungers per lane in some venues - that just means both timers need to press their respective plunger as the swimmer touches the pad.

< A typical "plunger" - the timer will need to press the round button on the top at the end of the race. Image source:  Colorado Time Systems >

5.    When to press the “start” button:  make sure you know where the Starter Official is standing (it is the Officials who says “Take your mark”).  Next to the Starter Official, there should be a rectangular Start System with a speaker on the side and a strobe light on the top.  As a timer, you should pay  attention to the strobe light on the Start System.  The general mechanics of a start:
- 3 short whistles by the Referee:  swimmers stand next to the diving blocks.  The Starter Official would generally announce the race (eg Event 2, Heat 3).
- 1 long whistle by the Referee: swimmers step up on to the diving blocks
- Starter says "Take your mark" & swimmers assume a starting position on the diving blocks.
- The Starter presses the start button to launch the swimmers.  You will hear a loud "beep" sound and the strobe light on the Start System flashing once.  As soon as you see the strobe light flashing, press the start button of your stopwatch.

< A typical Start System with a "strobe" at the top.  This strobe flashes when the Starter Official starts the race.  Image Source: Colorado Time Systems >

6.    When to press the “stop” button: as the swimmer is approaching the finish, step forward to the edge of the pool to ensure you have a good view of the swimmer and press the stop button when you see the swimmer touching the pad.  If you are the timer with “plunger” duties, make sure you also press the plunger.  Please also ensure you do NOT block any Official who might be in your lane – step around the official to get a good view of the swimmer.

7.    Call out your time to the “scribe”.  If you are the scribe, ensure you write down both times.  My suggestion is to write down the time from the other timer first and then write the time from your own stopwatch.

8.    At the end of each event, someone will be walking up to each lane to collect the timer sheets, so make sure you pass on the completed timer sheet from the prior event.

Some other tips:

a)   If you have any issues with the stopwatch during the actual race, whether it be not pressing the start button at the beginning of the race, or accidentally pressing the stop button in the middle of the race, or if you find your stopwatch not working at all – do not panic.  Simply put up your hand to call for the head timer.  The head timer should be able to give you another stopwatch.

b)   If you are the “scribe” with the clipboard, it’s probably a good idea to check the swimmer’s name to ensure you have the correct swimmer in your lane.  This is especially useful if you are in a meet with young children (e.g. 10 & under).

c)    If a swimmer in your lane got disqualified, a Swim Official will usually approach the timer and will ask for your clipboard so the Official can write the infraction on the timer sheet (this was a common practice during pre-COVID days).

d) For longer distance events where there are 4 or more laps (e.g. 200 yard back, 400 meter free), make sure you are keeping track of which lap the swimmer is on, so you are aware of when the swimmer is approaching the final leg of the race.  You do not want to miss when to actually stop timing!

e) If you have a swimmer in a long distance event, it is quite common that the swimmer must provide for his/her own timers.  This happens most commonly for events such as 500Y/1650Y/1500M Free and/or the 400Y/400M IM.

You might be wondering why you require two timers when the meet seems to be running with electronic touchpads which are supposed to be automatically recording the swimmers’ times.  Unfortunately with all electronic systems, it is possible for the electronic timing system to misbehave.  So having actual people with stopwatches is basically a safety measure or a back-up plan in case there is an issue with the electronic timing system. The basic mechanism of an electronic timing system:

-      The Starter Official says, “Take your mark” and then starts the race by pushing the start button on top of his/her microphone.  This triggers the “beep” sound, the strobe light and the official race clock starts ticking.

-      Once the swimmer touches the pad, this “stops” the clock, and this is usually the official swim time.

-      But if there is an issue with the touchpad or if there was a “soft touch” by the swimmer, the Admin Official will refer to the “plunger” time. When the timer presses the plunger, that also records the end time for that race.

-      If there is an issue with the plunger time as well, then the manual stopwatch times will be used.  Obviously, it is unlikely that both timers’ stopwatch times will be the same, so an average of the stopwatch times will be used.

Until next time, keep on cheering for your swimmers! 🏊🏊🏊