Swimmers compete against other swimmers of the same gender, of the same age group, and of the same basic ability.
GRAL classifies your child as a Novice, Advanced, Junior Varsity, Varsity, or Senior Varsity swimmer, according to the top time s/he holds in each stroke. This allows for up to 30 ribbons (5 each of first through sixth place) to be awarded per event. Swimmers are seeded slowest to fastest, and multiple heats are common. Thus, a swimmer can win his/her heat but not necessarily win a place in the event. Also, because of pre-seeding, it is not uncommon to see empty lanes in any heat.
At the end of the meet, team scores are calculated in each of the seven divisions and a total of the four determines the winner.
GRAL publishes new time standards at the beginning of each season if they have changed. The standards generally change every other year.
Swimmers beginning the season without times will be placed as Novice swimmers in all strokes. GRAL times are carried over from the year before. Beginning in 2011, Non-GRAL times are no longer accepted for seed times.
When your child achieves an Advanced time in an event, he/she will then swim as an Advanced swimmer for that particular event. Therefore, your child may swim Advanced in one event, and may eventually become a Varsity swimmer or even be a Novice in another.
However, as your child’s age increases, his/her Varsity time may become a Junior Varsity time in an older age group because of the new time standard for that age group.
If your child swims a slower time in the next meet, s/he does not lose his/her Advanced, Junior Varsity, Varsity, or Senior Varsity status.
Each child who qualifies in at least one event (in the current season) for a Junior Varsity, Varsity, or Senior Varsity time will be invited to CHAMPS held at the Greater Richmond Aquatics Partnership in Richmond, the last weekend in July/first weekend in August. Last year’s times do not count for CHAMPS in the current year, but will be used for seeding.
Relays are done a little differently. They are classified as either Advanced (must include Novice and/or Advanced swimmers) or Varsity (must include Junior Varsity, Varsity, and/or Senior Varsity swimmers and be mixed gender). CHAMPS relays have different regulations.
Why does my child have to be dive certified?
All diving is done in the deep end only in pools (like PC) where the shallow (called the turning end) is less than 4’ deep. Therefore, the timers will move to the other end (at most pools) when the 8&unders are swimming their 25M/Y events. For the 8 & under relays, swimmers 2 and 4 will have to start in the water.
Beginning in 2010, every child must be certified to dive prior to diving in practice or at a meet. Those not certified will have an “X” written on their upper arms at the meet so that the Starter knows that they need to start the event in the water. Some swimmers will be certified to dive off the side or edge of the pool, but not the blocks. They will have a “O” on their upper arms. Coaches will certify divers in the deep end of the pool and will attempt to get all swimmers certified prior to the first meet. However, some children may not be able to dive at all during the season.
Note that meet improvements were made by the 2008 GRAL Board of Directors and include the following:
- Flyover starts for swimmers 9 and older (flyover starts are starts that happen while the previous group is still in the water)
- Some events have been moved around so that swimmers 8 and younger are finished earlier.
- Each division determines a time cut-off time. If relays have not been completed by that time, they will not be swum that evening (with the exception of the 8 & under relay, which is swum first).