Our mission is to create the most robust team and meet management tools that enable teams to efficiently run successful meets and create positive shared community experiences throughout each season!

We've compiled this best practices checklist covering topics beyond the initial setup of your meet in your Swimtopia team management site, so you can take advantage of all the great features and configuration options available when running your meet in Swimtopia Meet.

Covered in this Article:

➧ MEET SETUP

• Checklist
• Details

➧ MEET DAY

• Checklist
• Details

➧ MEET COMPLETE

• Checklist
• Details

➧ PRODUCT SUPPORT

• Meet Day Support
• Timing System Issues
• Remote Troubleshooting
• Additional Resources

➧ Swimtopia Meet Test Drive

If time allows, run a test drive  

See just how easy it is to prepare for and run a swim meet. There are a few different ways to evaluate Swimtopia Meet, depending on how your team has run swim meets in the past and how thorough you wish to be in your evaluation. ➞ Swimtopia Meet Overview & Test Drive Options

If your DQ codes are different from USA Swimming, send your list to help@swimtopia.com and we can upload them to your site. 

➧ Timing System - Setup and Testing

If your team uses a timing system supported by Swimtopia and you have not completed the integration setup, please get this done promptly! 

Download the desktop version of Swimtopia Meet (required)

The Swimtopia Meet Desktop Application is necessary when running Swimtopia Meet with an external timing system. You will access your meet through the desktop application for time entry. ➞ Swimtopia Meet - Windows Desktop Application Installer (Timing System Support)

Set up the Timing System and connect with Swimtopia Meet 

After you have purchased one of the supported timing systems below, you will follow the steps we've outlined to connect your timing system with Swimtopia Meet. ➞ Swimtopia Meet Settings – Timing Setup & Scoreboards

Perform Practice Tests (highly recommended)

We cannot stress enough how important this step is to ensure a less stressful meet day experience!

Some integrations are still in BETA, so you need to have time to confirm that the current integration works for your team. There are steps required to activate an integration between two systems, so waiting until right before your meet can result in unnecessary stress and meet delays. We are available to help, but we know from experience that...

➧ Swimtopia Mobile App

Promote the Swimtopia mobile app features to your team (early and often)

Encourage parents to download the app. It’s the perfect companion to Swimtopia Meet that frees up your computer table during your meet!

With all the great features Swimtopia’s mobile app offers, you’ll want to help get the word out to all of your families through your website, communication, and social media. ➞ See our Tools to Inform Parents about Swimtopia’s Mobile App 

➧ Benchmarks: Record Books and Time Standards

Set up your record books (if not done already)

Don't forget to create your record books. If you imported your historical meet data, this can be a quick process. You just need to set up your record books (Pool, Team, etc.) and use our feature to find the records on your site. Any records not already on your Swimtopia site can be entered manually. You can use our handy Records Snippet to publish these to your website. ➞ Refer to the Creating a Record Book Help Center article to get started.

Set up your time standard sets (if not shared by your league)

Leagues can set up Shared Time Standard Sets and push them down to all of the league’s Swimtopia teams. This is helpful and ensures accuracy for league-wide meets, such as championship meets and invitationals. ➞ Share the League Shared Time Standards Sets article for step-by-step instructions.

https://maestro.swimtopia.com/a/meet/86752/settings/benchmarks

If your league does not share Time Standards with your team through our automatic league sharing feature, you can create your own to apply to your Meet Templates and applicable meets. ➞ Refer to the Time Standards & Qualifying Times Overview Help Center article to get started.

➧ Sponsor Banner

Create your sponsor banner image to include in your meet reports

To entice sponsorship sales, your team can create a sponsor banner to include the sponsor logos or names on your Heat Sheets, Psych Sheets, and Records reports in Swimtopia Meet. ➞ Refer to the Heat Sheet Banner section of our Sponsorships Help Center article to get started.

➧ Meet Access & Information

Determine meet access permissions for visiting teams

➞ Meet Schedule Is Created by The Team: The meet administrator can control whether the visiting teams have full-manage or read-only rights to meets in Swimtopia Meet. This setting is controlled with the Swimtopia Meet Admin toggle under the Meet Setup > Linking tab within the meet in the team’s Swimtopia account.

➞ Meet Schedule is Imported: Leagues can control whether any or all teams have full-manage or read-only rights to meets in Swimtopia Meet that are linked to a corresponding host meet on the league site. ➞ Refer to the Managing Admin Rights to Meets in Swimtopia Meet on the League Site Help Center article.

Recruit volunteers to assist in data entry during the meet

Swimtopia Meet supports real-time data synchronization between the client app (web or desktop) and our servers. Multiple team admins, from any of the participating teams, can open the meet on multiple computers for concurrent data entry.

For the most efficient meet day, recruit a few volunteers to help with data entry. Even if your team is using a timing system, your meet timeline will benefit if multiple computers are set up for results, DQs, Scratches, Time Adjustment, and printing reports, as needed.

Upload pre-meet reports and meet details to access from the website schedule

Use the “Files” section of your meet in Swimtopia to upload reports that your parents would like to access/print from your website before the meet, such as Heat Sheets, Session Report, Psych Sheet, Meet Details, Volunteer Report, Athlete Check-In / Meet Entries, etc. 

➞ Refer to the following Help Center articles: Adding Files to Meet and Events and Swimtopia - Pre-Meet Reports (Athletes and Entries) to get started.

https://www.lhsplashers.com/swim_meets/past

➧ General Meet Setup

Deck Changes: scratch athletes or make deck changes to entries

Teams vary in the strictness of rules for scratches and deck changes, so our best practice suggestion would be to make your rules clear in your communication to parents. ➞ Refer to the Athlete Entry Deck Changes Help Center article to get started.

If a competitor does not have a team management system, you can manually “deck add” their team of athletes. Create the team in Swimtopia Meet, add the athletes, and enter them in their meet events. ➞ Refer to the Teams Help Center article to get started.

Set up scheduled breaks

Take advantage of our scheduled breaks feature to keep your meet timeline on track for volunteer shift changes, or your parent/coach relays.

Add scheduled breaks under Swimtopia Meet > Settings > Meet Setup > Schedule—per meet or per session. Customize race intervals and use Start Time Estimation to generate a Session Report with projected event start times. ➞ Refer to the Scheduled Breaks Help Center article to get started.

» Tip: Scheduled Breaks can also be used for unscheduled breaks, such as a lightning delay!

Confirm settings in the Seeding and Scoring section

The Seeding and scoring rules that are set in your Swimtopia meet will transfer to Swimtopia Meet when you merge the meet.

If these rules were set incorrectly (and if they’re not locked by your league), you can make the edits directly in Swimtopia Meet (Settings > Seeding & Scoring). You’ll be prompted to reseed or rescore if needed when changes are saved. This will save you from having to coordinate a re-merge of your meet with the competitor team(s).

Do you need to set up divisional or double-dual scoring?

If this was not already set up in your meet templates, you can set these up here. ➞ Refer to the Seeding & Scoring Help Center article to get started.

Add benchmarks to your meet (records and time standards)

➞ Records: Record books are selected as part of the merge process from within the meet setup on your Swimtopia team management site.

If you need to add additional record books or edit which teams are eligible for the record books, you can do so from the Swimtopia Meet Settings > Benchmarks screen. (Record Books must match the meet’s course)

➞ Time Standards: Time Standards can be added to your meet. Unlike record books, which are selected during the merge process, time standard sets must be added to the meet post-merge.

Once added, these benchmarks can be displayed on many of your meet reports. ➞ Refer to the Benchmarks (Records & Time Standards) Help Center article to get started.

Print meet reports for coaches and volunteers

Prepare for meet day with pre-meet reports, available in Swimtopia Meet Settings (gear icon) and in the meet on your Swimtopia site. 

Reports like Timer Sheets, Place Judge Forms, Session Reports, Athlete and Volunteer Check-In sheets, and Athlete Rosters help you stay organized. Customize filters, print, or save as PDFs—all with just a few clicks! 

➞ Refer to the Swimtopia - Pre-Meet Reports (Athletes and Entries) and Swimtopia Meet Settings – Pre-Meet ReportsHelp Center articles.

» Tip: Print in landscape mode for best results, and Chrome is the only fully supported browser for Swimtopia Meet. If you experience a printing issue, make sure you are using Chrome.

Meet Name: make sure it's recognizable for searching in the mobile app

Ensure your meet name is easy to find when fans are using “guest mode” in the mobile app. 

Grandparents especially benefit from this best practice suggestion, since they are the majority of the "fans" eagerly looking for their favorite athletes to follow. Keep them in mind when you create your meet names, so they are not frustrated and call our support line. We appreciate the support as your partner in meet efficiency!

➧ Timing System - Setup and Testing

Set up your timing system and connect with Swimtopia Meet (if not already completed)

Run pre-meet tests to ensure all the timers are working and that times are being sent properly to Swimtopia Meet.

➞ Are you just now setting up your timing system? Refer to the Timing System Setup/Testing section above. Waiting until meet day can result in unnecessary stress and delays. We are available to help, but we know from experience that...

➧ Swimtopia Mobile App

Publish heat sheets

Heat/lane assignments won't appear in the Swimtopia mobile app until a meet administrator publishes the Heat Sheets. While this can be done during the meet, you can avoid confusion or frustration for parents and athletes if you publish them as soon as the final deck changes have been made.

You’ll be prompted in Swimtopia Meet with an option to delay parent notifications, as needed. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet Settings - Mobile App Help Center article.

When publishing the heat sheets to the Swimtopia mobile app, team admin can opt to send or not send a notification informing the participating athletes and parents that the heat sheets are ready to be viewed.

Confirm the meet’s guest access /public meet search is enabled

The Public Meet Search feature allows non-team members (grandparents usually) to follow along from anywhere through the mobile app’s guest login. The setting is enabled by default.

Making sure the meet name is easily recognizable when searching (checklist item above), is only beneficial when the meet can be found!

We hear from frustrated grandparents eager to follow their grandchildren when they can’t find a meet when a team has disabled this feature. Unless your league or team is required to limit access to your meets, we highly suggest leaving this enabled.

Check settings on the black bar at the bottom of the run interface (results entry)

This info bar will keep you informed, so you can clearly see the status of your mobile app settings:

• Are Heat Sheets accessible via the Swimtopia mobile app?
• Are Upcoming Swim Reminders and Live Results notifications enabled?
• Will Guests (non-members of your team) be able to find the meet in the Public Meet Search?

Confirm your live/event heat bar is enabled

Swimtopia Mobile displays a Live Bar that keeps your members up-to-date on what’s happening in the pool in real-time. The Live Bar is invaluable when parents can’t see clearly from their volunteer position, or they are home and trying to time their arrival. They’ll never miss an event again!

This is a FREE feature available in the mobile app, so be sure to tell your team members, and tell the visiting team's admins to spread the word to their members.

If your team does not use a timing system - a volunteer must manually update the events and heats. Create a job for “Event/Heat Updater” in each swim meet, and let team members sign up for one of the easiest jobs at the meet.

If your team uses a timing system - the timing system will integrate with Swimtopia Meet to update the Live Event Heat Bar automatically. The setting to enable the live event/heat bar is found on the Timing Systems setup screen.

➞ Refer to the Enabling the Swimtopia Live Event/Heat Bar Help Center article.

Promote the Swimtopia mobile app to your team

Parents (from your team and visiting teams as well) receive upcoming swim reminders and live results, can see heat/lane assignments with estimated start times (updated realtime), team scores, favorite athletes, and more.

You can print flyers directly from the Mobile App settings page, and post those all around your meet – concession stand, near the wall where you post results (no longer needed if all parents have the app!), restroom doors, etc. Ask your meet announcer to encourage parents to download the app and upgrade to Pro.
The more your families know how the app can keep them informed before, during, and after the meets, the less likely they will be hounding you or your computer volunteers!

➞ See our Tools to Inform Parents about Swimtopia’s Mobile App (includes the flyer below you can post around your meet)

➧ Meet Completion

Check that all events are complete and scored

Before locking your meet and exporting results, check that all events are complete and scored (i.e., there are no “yellow” bars on your Event Status Bar).

Once your Event Status Bar is all “green” you can Export Results to each team. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet - Results Entry and Actions Help Center article to get started.

Make time adjustments (optional - timing system users)

We all know timing systems and people are not perfect. Malfunctions and user error can occur. When this happens, Swimtopia Meet provides an option for officials to adjust the time values as needed.

The results input box will be highlighted in yellow to call attention to a soft touch or late backup button. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet - Time Adjustment Form Help Center article to get started.

Finish & Export: Lock down your meet and transfer results back to your Swimtopia team management site

A meet can be locked and unlocked from the Settings > Finish & Export page. After locking, changes to the meet in Swimtopia Meet are prohibited, so make sure you have cleared any incomplete events.

Once a meet is locked, the team designated as the home team transfers the results back into the Swimtopia accounts. All results will be available in Swimtopia for athletes’ time history and seed times for future meets. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet Settings – Finish & Export Help Center article to get started.

https://maestro.swimtopia.com/a/meet/86752/settings/finish-export

» Note: If you click Transfer Results a second time, all results in each team’s Swimtopia sites will be overwritten with the new results in Swimtopia Meet. If result edits were made in a team’s Swimtopia site under Results > Edit, those edits will be replaced by the transferred results.

➧ Result Files & Reports

Download and send the results files to non-Swimtopia teams (If applicable)

If the competitor is a non-Swimtopia team, and meet entries were uploaded for the merge, you will see that the results are "NOT TRANSFERABLE." (This is also the case if your team uploads your own meet entries file.) 

You will need to download a results file to send to the visiting team. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet Settings – Finish & Export Help Center article to get started.

Provide the DQ Report to your coaches

Disqualifications are tough—they're hard to give and hard to receive. Equip your coaches to guide athlete development by consistently providing the DQ report after each meet. ➞ Refer to the Swimtopia Meet Settings – Post-Meet Reports Help Center article to get started.

Update your record books (“Find New Records”)

If you have record books on your Swimtopia site, you will need to update your record books in Swimtopia after the results are transferred(this does not happen automatically).

To have our system search the swim history of the team database, access your record books in your Swimtopia teaam management site, and click the Find New Records button on the top left side of the record book, under the record book summary. ➞ Refer to the Managing a Records Book Help Center article to get started.

File Upload: upload post-meet reports to the Swimtopia meet

Just like you used the “Files” section of your meet in Swimtopia to add pre-meet file attachments downloadable from your website schedule, your parents will appreciate accessing your post-meet reports there as well. ➞ Refer to the following Help Center articles: Adding Files to Meet and Events and Swimtopia Meet Settings – Post-Meet Reports to get started.

https://www.lhsplashers.com/swim_meets/past

PRODUCT SUPPORT "Customer Happiness" is not just a team name at Swimtopia, it's our mission!

➧ Meet Day Support

We're here to help! If you need assistance before or during your meet, we want you to be able to reach us as quickly as possible. Click on the located at the top right, and you can self-serve through our extensive topic-organized online Help Center, submit a support request, or contact us via phone.

➧ Timing System Issues

In our experience working through issues with customers, we find most are caused by: Meet# differences File-based systems: directory mis-match - where the timing system files are saving to, and where Swimtopia Meet is pulling from to import. Cable issues: wrong port or type of cable (when a cable is needed) A dead battery in the timing system throwing off the internal clock We provide quick access links to system-specific troubleshooting docs from the timing system bar in the run interface, so you can try to self-diagnose your issue prior to contacting us.  We also provide support details for the timing system vendors in case you need to reach out to them. These guides are also available here ➞ Timing System Documentation

➧ Remote Troubleshooting

We also provide a remote troubleshooting option under the Help icon to create a read-only replay of the steps you are taking when an issue occurs. Before reaching out to us, slide the bar to Enable Remote Support, and retrace your steps to recreate the issue. Include the "Session Id" in your ticket or call.

➧ Additional Resources

In addition to this checklist, we have training options covering all of the functionality Swimtopia Meet has to offer to make your meet day a splashing success! Help Center ➞ See the Swimtopia Meet section ▶️ Training Videos - Meet Management with Swimtopia Meet Additional Training Videos ➞ Check out our YouTube Channel Workshop Webinars ➞ Sign up for live Workshop Webinars (when available) Community Center ➞ Check out our Community section for many tips and tricks Swimtopia Reddit ➞ connect, and share tips on our Admin's Hub ➧ League Admins ➞ See the League Management section for league-specific guides ➧ Team Admins ➞ See our Swimtopia Meet - Meet Settings Checklist (after meet entries are merged)

HAPPY SWIMMING!