At BAC, we believe that competitions are an important step in the progression each swimmer experiences, so we encourage all members to take part in meets as soon as they're ready. However, none of our competitions are required, and each family finds the meets to attend that best fit their schedule.

We host a couple of meets each year and attend meets hosted by other clubs all season long. Swimmers can compete in as many meets as they want, as long as they meet eligibility requirements.

Read on for how best to prepare for a meet, both with equipment, food, and more! 

At all BAC meets, the events in which swimmers compete are determined based on the age of the swimmer.

USA Swimming Designated age groups are: 

• • 8 & Under
  • 11-12 
  • 13-14
  • 15-16
  • Senior

Each age group has their own set of events chosen to ensure that swimmers compete in a wide variety of events without requiring any athlete to swim an event he or she is unable to do (e.g. an 8 year old will not compete in the 200 fly). Each age group also has its own set of time standards designed to provide a set progression of improvement relative to the group’s age and physical maturity, while also ensuring that swimmers always compete against other swimmers of like ability.

At almost all meets BAC attends, swimmers compete only against swimmers of the same gender and in the same age group. Seeding is done by time, which means your swimmer will always compete in a heat of swimmers of roughly the same ability level.

Meets come in a variety of different formats, from Novice all the way through Junior and Senior National Championships. All of these formats are determined based on time standards which indicate the minimum (and sometimes maximum) achievements under which a swimmer may compete in a designated meet. All MN meets use the Minnesota Swimming Time Standards, while regional or national meets typically use standards based off of the USA Swimming Time Standards.

Minnesota Swimming classifies their time standards into 5 groups: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Championship and ZONE. These levels represent a progression upward and usually indicate the type of meet a swimmer may compete in.

Below is a brief description of all the types of meets you will likely encounter as a swim parent.

Block Party Meet

This type of meet is a great first meet.  Typically 2 or 3 teams that get together in a relaxed atmosphere to have fun and learn about racing and how a meet is run. 

This is the most frequent type of meet attended by BAC. These meets allow anyone to swim, regardless of ability or whether a swimmer has ever competed before.  These meets could be in the area or a Travel meet in a neighboring state.

The following meets are not considered open meets; swimmers must have a provable USA Swimming time that meets the time standard within the last calendar year. Finals meets are held both at the end of the Winter Season in March and the Summer Season in July.

Minnesota Championship Meets

Minnesota Achievement Championships (MAC in winter) is desigigned for Bronze level and below swimmers to have a season end meet.   Minnesota Regional Championships (MRC): Takes place after MAC Meet. This is a meet that will allow Silver and Gold level swimmers to have a final meet to see their growth over the year and a chance to achieve State Championship times to qualify for the MN State Meet. 

State Championship Meets 

This is the meet that uses the CH or Champ time standard. This is the end of the season meet for Minnesota Swimming, held for the Winter Season in March, and in late July/early August for the Summer Season. No times below Champ will be allowed, but times faster than Champ are permitted.

Zones

For comparative and competitive purposes, USA Swimming has divided the country into "zones."  Each LSC (such as Minnesota Swimming) is placed into a zone, and every summer following the Summer State Championships, there is a Zone Championship Meet, in which the LSC’s in each zone compete against one another. Swimmers at the Zone Championship Meet compete for their LSC, not for their home club. What this means is that BAC does not attend zones; Team Minnesota attends zones, and any BAC swimmers competing in the meet will swim for Team Minnesota. Zones is a great way for swimmers who have typically been rivals to come together as teammates in a fun, competitive atmosphere. Travel to the zones meet is the swimmers families must make their own accommodations, depending on how MSI chooses to organize the team. Team Minnesota has its own coaching staff made up of coaches from around the state that may or may not include anyone from the BAC coaching staff.

USA Swimming Junior & Senior Nationals, Speedo Sectionals, Futures Championships or TRY Pro Swim series

At the conclusion of both the Winter and Summer Seasons, There are many swimming meets in which the top swimmers in the country face off against one another. Junior Nationals is open to all swimmers ages 18 & Under,  Senior Nationals and all the rest listed above are open to anyone who achieves the minimum time standards.  These vary from meet to meet and can be found on their respective web sites.