Heat Sheets
What's A Heat Sheet
Heat Sheets
For those that are beginners to the sport of swimming, Heat Sheets are a bit overwhelming. With that in mind, we want to put you at ease. Reading a heat sheet is not as bad as you think. So... let’s dive in. (pun intended)
First, we need to address the question... What is a Heat Sheet?
A heat sheet is the program for a swim meet. It lists all the events that will be swam. It lists the swimmers in each race (or event). It tells us the heat and lane that the swimmer will need to be in for their race (or event).
Did we just throw out too many terms? Let’s define our terms to make it easier to understand.
When we talk about the pool area, we use the term deck. The pool deck is the area surrounding the pool.
The pool itself is divided into lanes. Each lane is designated by a number. Typically lanes 1-6. The lanes are separated by lane lines (floaty ropes connected to each end of the pool).
Let’s talk about events. Events are listed by a #. The official will call for swimmers to line up for “Event # xx”, whatever the event number is. The official name of the event is spelled out beside the event number on the heat sheet. Ex. Event #xx boys 9-10 25-yard freestyle.
Next lets talk about heats. Depending on the number of swimmers in an event, an event might have multiple heats. A “heat” is a group of swimmers swimming in the pool at the same time. If there are more swimmers than lanes in an event, we need to create multiple heats (or groups) for that event. Ex.: an event might have 10 swimmers in total, combined from each team. Only 6 can swim at one time due to only having 6 lanes. 2 heats would need to be swam, with 6 in heat 1 and 4 in heat 2, to complete the full event.
Now that we have some terms down, let’s move on. Back to the heat sheet...
When you look at a heat sheet, you realize how much information there is. The good news is that most of that info is in just 3 or 4 parts that we really need to know.
The Event #, heat #, and the lane# to swim in.
Heat Sheet Sample
Below is a sample heat sheet. In the next section, Example, we will use event #13 to learn how to read a heat sheet. Click here to download this sample heat sheet
Example
In the picture above, let’s use Laniyah as our example. (She is highlighted in yellow)
She is swimming in the Event Name “Girls 8 & Under 25 Yard Freestyle”
and the “event” is #13.
The “heat” is #2
The “lane” is #6
The Event Name provides the event description.
"Girls or Boys / Age Group / Distance to swim / Type of stroke being swam."
One length of the pool is measured as 25 yards (or sometimes 25 meters)
Grids for Swimmers
Now that you know how to read the heat sheet, let’s talk about how to keep your swimmer ready for their events.
This is really easy. Simply draw a grid (like a tic-tac-toe board) on your swimmer's arm.
(usually with a sharpie pen) With the 3 numbers we talked about above, we write those numbers in the grid, and ta-da!!! Your swimmer now knows exactly when and where they need to be for their events.
