Meet levels are based on swimmer ability and qualifying times. C, B and A meets give swimmers a chance to race, post official times, and work toward higher-level meets. Senior meets are for swimmers 13 and up with specific time standards. A Block Party Meet is a fun, low-pressure, one-day meet great for trying new events, but times there don't count for Sectionals and above or National Age Group records.

A bonus event is an extra event a swimmer can enter at an invitational meet without meeting its qualifying time, provided they've already achieved a qualifying time in at least one other event. Some bonus events carry their own time standard.

They're benchmarks USA Swimming sets to measure progress, from B up through AAAA. They help swimmers set goals and compare performance nationally within their age group. Pacific Swimming also sets its own standards for Age-Group Championships and Far Westerns.

The USA Swimming website and app track time standards, and the Pacific Swimming website has senior and age-group standards. Orinda Aquatics keeps an updated Time Standards list on this site as well.

Orinda Aquatics provides team tents at most meets. Pack a team suit, goggles plus a backup pair, swim caps, towels, warm clothing or a team parka, healthy snacks and water, sunscreen for outdoor meets, and a chair or blanket for deck seating.

Swimmers check in at the clerk of the course to confirm their events, gather with the team for a group stretch or warm-up, then get in the pool for a pre-meet warm-up. A coach-led team meeting usually happens around 8:45, followed by a team cheer.

Swimmers are seeded into heats by entry time. Most meets don't pre-seed lanes; assignments are posted around the pool roughly 30 to 60 minutes before each event.

Technical racing suits are generally saved for peak meets: championships, important qualifying attempts and high-level competitions. A standard team suit is appropriate for most regular meets, and coaches will advise when a tech suit is allowed or recommended.

Junior Olympics, now called Age-Group Championships, are Pacific Swimming's championship meets held three times a year in winter, spring and long-course summer. Far Westerns are one of the highest-level age-group meets in the Western United States, with faster qualifying times than AGCs. Qualifying times for both are on the Pacific Swimming website.

These distance events need a lap counter and a teammate or parent to count for your swimmer; Orinda Aquatics has lap counters if you don't have one. Newer or younger swimmers should talk with a coach before entering a distance event for the first time.

We ask that swimmers stick to the meets scheduled for their group each year. The schedule is set for each group's strategic development, so competing outside it isn't in the swimmer's or the team's interest.

USA Swimming is divided into four macro geographic zones and 59 Local Swimming Committees. Orinda Aquatics, code OAPB, belongs to Pacific Swimming, code PC, in Zone 2, which itself contains five smaller zones.

Volunteer roles help the team run smoothly and build community: hospitality and snack shack, timing, set-up and clean-up, marshalling, social event coordination, and team apparel and spirit support.

Each family fulfills one social job during the season, plus two jobs at every Orinda Aquatics-hosted meet. For away meets, every family works a timing shift.

Hosting a meet is a major fundraiser and service effort for the team. Donations help feed volunteers and officials, keep costs manageable for families, and support equipment and team social activities.

Yes. Plenty of swimmers balance Orinda Aquatics with other sports, performing arts and school activities. Keep coaches in the loop so they can help manage any conflicts.

Families are responsible for finding their own substitute if they can't cover a shift; the Volunteer Coordinator's emails include a substitute list.

Officials serve as starters, desk officials, and stroke and turn judges. It's a front-row view of your swimmer's sport, a way to satisfy volunteer requirements, and genuinely useful hours understanding meet operations. Training runs through Pacific Swimming and USA Swimming.

From February through May, many Orinda Aquatics swimmers train part-time and compete with their school team, often keeping one or two Orinda Aquatics sessions a week for strength, technique or championship prep. High school season runs weekly dual meets into league championships, NCS and State.

Neptune is a family travel meet in mid-February for Junior swimmers 14 and under, held in Santa Rosa at Santa Rosa Junior College. It's a three-day trials-and-finals meet: Friday timed finals for distance events, then Saturday and Sunday trials in the morning and finals in the afternoon or evening, usually with a team dinner Saturday.

Senior swimmers travel to the Tualatin Hills Holiday Classic in Portland, Oregon in early December and the Juanita Allington Invitational in Clovis, California in mid-February. Orinda Aquatics coordinates transportation, lodging and meals for both at an additional per-family cost, and swimmers room with teammates. The travel schedule can change at the coaching staff's discretion, with advance notice.

Meet Mobile is the app most meets use for live psych sheets, heat and lane assignments, and results; it's the preferred app for the large majority of meets and carries a subscription fee. Time Drops Live is typically only used at Block Party meets.

Ask a coach, or read The Art of the Shave Down below, which walks through the tradition in full.

Check the Team Leadership page for the coach or board member closest to your question, or send us a note through Contact Us and we'll route it to the right person.