Relay Teams

Create and manage relay teams for team events.

Overview

Relay events feature four swimmers working together as a team. Each team needs to create relay teams before entering relay events. SwimMeet Pro makes it easy to organize relay lineups and track relay entries across multiple events.

Types of Relays

Two main relay formats in competitive swimming:

Freestyle Relay

All four swimmers swim freestyle:

Common Distances: 200 (4x50), 400 (4x100), 800 (4x200)
Order: Any four swimmers, any order
Strategy: Usually fastest swimmer last (anchor)
Fastest Relay: All swimmers use front crawl

Medley Relay

Each swimmer swims a different stroke:

Common Distances: 200 (4x50), 400 (4x100)
Order: Backstroke → Breaststroke → Butterfly → Freestyle
Strategy: Match swimmers to their best strokes
Challenge: Requires stroke specialists

Creating Relay Teams

Set up relay lineups before entering relay events:

Building a Relay Team

Required information

To create a relay team:

Navigate to the meet's Relay Teams section
Click "Create Relay Team"
Select your team (yours or opponent)
Choose a relay letter (A, B, C, etc.)
Select four swimmers in order:
- Swimmer 1 (Lead-off)
- Swimmer 2
- Swimmer 3
- Swimmer 4 (Anchor)
Save the relay team

Relay Naming

Relay teams are designated by letter (A relay, B relay, C relay). The A relay is typically your fastest lineup.

Swimmer Order

Strategic positioning for optimal performance:

Position Strategy

Freestyle Relay:

Position 1 (Lead-off): Solid starter, good reaction time
Position 2: Steady swimmer, maintains position
Position 3: Strong middle leg, can make up ground
Position 4 (Anchor): Fastest swimmer, closes strong

Medley Relay:

Position 1: Best backstroker
Position 2: Best breaststroker (often slowest leg)
Position 3: Best butterflyer
Position 4: Best freestyler (usually fastest)

Flexibility

You can create multiple relay teams (A, B, C) with different lineups and enter them in different events based on meet strategy.

Entering Relays in Events

Add relay teams to relay events:

Creating Relay Entries

After creating relay teams:

Navigate to a relay event
Click "Add Entry"
Select a relay team (A, B, or C)
Enter seed time (optional but recommended)
Save the entry

Important Notes:

Must create relay team before entering events
Each relay team can swim in multiple events
Different relay teams (A vs B) can swim same events
Swimmer order matters for medley relays

Managing Relay Teams

Edit and organize your relay lineups:

Editing Lineups

Make changes to relay teams:

Change swimmer positions
Swap swimmers in/out
Update relay letter
Adjust for scratches

Active Status

Control relay availability:

Mark inactive if not using
Prevent accidental entries
Keep for future meets
Reactivate anytime

Relay Seed Times

Calculating and using relay seed times:

Seed Time Calculation

Relay seed times can be determined several ways:

Best Method:

Use actual relay time from previous meet with same swimmers

Estimated Method:

Sum of individual best times for each swimmer at that distance:

Example: 200 Free Relay = Swimmer1(25.0) + Swimmer2(24.5) + Swimmer3(24.8) + Swimmer4(24.2) = 1:38.5

Adjustment:

Relay starts (except lead-off) are faster due to push starts. Actual relay times are typically 0.6-0.8 seconds per leg faster than flat start estimates.

Seeding Impact

Accurate seed times are crucial for relays as they're often the most exciting races. Good seeding ensures competitive heats.

Best Practices

✓Create relay teams early in meet preparation
✓Have backup swimmers ready for scratches
✓Verify all relay teams are entered before generating heats
✓Keep relay teams active across multiple meets if lineup stays same