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New to High School Swim?
Compared to summer country club or city teams, or year-round club teams, high school swimming can feel quite different. High school swimming is a competitive team sport, structured like collegiate competitions. Points from each event are added together to determine team scores. For the swimmers and divers this results in much more of a team feeling than they have likely experienced before. There’s more camaraderie and team-wide support. The relays are really noisy and exciting. It’s a unique swimming and diving atmosphere, fostered by the coaches and the swimmers themselves, and reinforced by the strong support of the parents.
Q: How do combined JV & Varsity meets work?
During the season most meets will be dual meets against another school. For each event, JV swimmers will generally appear in the earlier heat(s), followed by the Varsity heat. (JV Girls Heat, JV Boys Heat, Varsity Girls Heat, Varsity Boys Heat)
For diving, JV and Varsity competitors all participate at the same time. Diving events may begin prior to the start of the swimming events at a dual meet or they may occur in the middle after the 50 free. Each of the dives are assigned scores by three people, a diving coach from each team and a CIF official.
Q: How many swimmers can participate in an individual event?
For dual and tri-meets each team is limited to 3 point-scoring swimmer entries per individual event, and 2 relay teams per event. At invitational and championship meets, the limit is increased to 4 entries per individual event, but only one relay. The Coaches will determine what events you will be swimming at each meet.
Depending on the meet, additional swimmers and relay teams may compete in the event but they are considered “exhibition” and are not eligible to score points. So, even if a swimmer designated as “exhibition” finishes in the top 5 for the event, they will not score meet points (aka varsity points).
Q: How many events can a swimmer swim?
Each participant may compete in four events, with a maximum of two individual events. So 2 individual/2 relay or 1 individual/3 relays maximum.
Q: How is “exhibition” determined?
The coaches determine who will be considered “exhibition” when completing the meet entries.
Q: Can exhibition swimmers qualify for state?
Yes, their times are recorded and are considered official; they count towards state qualification or consideration times.
Q: How does Scoring work?
Relays: The top 3 placed are scored: 8-4-2 points each; only two relay teams being allowed to score for each team.
Individual swimming events: The top 5 places are scored: 6-4-3-2-1 points; only three individuals being allowed to score for each team
Order of Events in H.S. Swim Meet
Order of Events in H.S. Swim Meet
Diving
200 Medley Relay
200 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
100 Freestyle
500 Freestyle
200 Freestyle Relay
100 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
400 Freestyle Relay
2025 CIF Swim & Dive Standards
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