MEET MANAGEMENT MANUAL
FOR
MEET DIRECTORS

Page Topics

Main Responsibilities
Getting Started

Main Responsibilities:

The meet host usually appoints the Meet Director, who is the organizer and coordinator of all meet activities. The Meet Director's main responsibilities include, but are not limited to: securing the meet facility, obtaining a Meet Sanction, preparing and distributing Meet Invitations, organizing meet committees, and distributing final results. A Meet Director should remain the overseer of activities, avoiding direct involvement in one committee or activity. It is essential that the Meet Director stay in regular contact with committee chairpersons, to ensure that the members are handling each committee's assignments thoroughly and expediently.

This handbook contains references to the BSF Rules and Regulations of Swimming, 2000 edition. Citations may differ slightly in subsequent editions. Meet Directors should familiarize themselves with the cited technical rules and administrative regulations of the BSF. The Rulebook should be kept readily available during the meet.

The Meet Director should remember that he or she is responsible for organizing a meet that complies with the BSF's Rules. A detailed meet notebook should be kept and he or she must save all documents including timing tapes, timekeeper cards or heat sheets, relay forms and disqualification slips. The Meet Director should be aware of all BSF and club or pool operator's safety guidelines and warm-up procedures. When in doubt, the Meet Director should consult with the Meet or Session Referee.

The Meet Director's primary goal is to hold a well-organized and efficiently run meet. Swim meets are for swimmers, so design them with the swimmers' best interests in mind. Long, disorganized, meets are not conducive to quality swimming.

Before planning a meet, the Meet Director should review the notes or reports of previous Meet Directors for suggestions, specific needs or possible areas of concern. Planning for a meet should begin months before the actual meet date. The BSF and the club head coaches often select meet dates anywhere from six months to more than a year in advance.

Very early, the Meet Director should review the BSF's Meet Director's Checklist of tasks which they must perform prior to the meet. The Meet Director should prepare a tentative time line for the completion of each action and a notation identifying the committee or individual whom he or she delegated the responsibility for that action. Items not on the checklist will vary from meet to meet but the Meet Director can compile them from the information in this booklet, from BSF procedures, and from the experiences of other Meet Directors.