How to Read a Heat Sheet
What is a Heat Sheet?
A Heat Sheet is a list of participants, organized by the events in which they are racing, in program form. It is compiled from submissions by the competing teams and differs for every meet.
It includes:
- All participating swimmers.
- The Events (E) in which they will participate.
- Heat (H) number and Lane (L) number.
In the example below, Ruth McGee is swimming in Event #7 (Girls 8 & Under 100 IM) in Heat 2 and Lane 3.
Event Number:
There are 70 events in each meet. The events will take place in number order, with girls always going first.
Heat Number:
In each of the 70 events, there are HEATS. Each heat has up to 6 swimmers (dependent upon pool size). Heats will swim in increasing number order, with heat 1 going first, until all heats are complete. Swimmers are placed in heats based on their times from previous meets.
Lane Number:
This tells you the lane in which a swimmer is scheduled.
How can I help my swimmer remember their race information?
Once you have located your swimmer's races, you are encouraged to write their event, heat, lane on their arms in Sharpie (see example below).
You are strongly encouraged to write your swimmer's last name on their back right shoulder or swim cap! The swim deck is crowded during meets. Having your swimmer's name and race schedule makes it easier for our volunteers to quickly line them up in the Clerk of Course.
Take Note:
For meet efficiency sometimes heats will be combined. This can be due to swimmers who do not show up for the meet, or to try to save time. For example, if there are 3 girls swimming in 15-18 butterfly and 3 boys swimming in 15-18 butterfly, we may combine to one heat to save time. We will also do this on later heats that may not be full. The starter will announce any combined heats. Please pay attention as your swimmer's heat approaches for any changes. Also ask your swimmer to tell the timer their name at the end of every race to be sure if there was a heat combined they are still attributed their right time.
