SAL Meet Information and Procedures

Chase Gibson

RAC Families, 

We are excited to get started with our SAL season in less than 2 weeks. This season will include 4 division dual meets, 2 playoff meets, and Divisional/League Champs. As a team I think we are in a great position to win our division and make a run for the league championship again!  Please see below for an overview of SAL procedures and expectations. 

 

SAL Overview

RAC is a member of the Suburban Aquatic League ( SAL ). We compete against other local aquatic clubs in a dual meet format, and the season concludes with divisional and league champs. This follows a similar model to summer swim leagues. SAL meets are team competitions, and the success of our team is dependent on full participation from our membership. 

 

Dual Meet Dates:

  • RAC vs CCA- Saturday 11/2 (Girls Home; Boys Away) **Deadline Monday 10/28**

  • RAC vs NAC  Saturday 11/16  (Girls Home; Boys Away)

  • RAC vs UMAC Saturday 11/23  (Girls Away; Boys Home)

  • RAC vs LMAC Saturday 12/7  (Girls Away; Boys Home; Senior Day)

  • Playoff Meet #1: Saturday 12/14 (Opponent TBD)

To view times, locations, etc, for each meet click on the event name on our events page.

Please note: In order to be eligible for the Championship meets listed below, swimmers must participate in a minimum of 2 of the above dual meets. 

 

Championship Meet Dates:

  • Playoff Meet #2: Saturday 1/4 (Opponent TBD)

  • Divisional Championships- Saturday 1/25 at TBD location

  • League Championships- Sunday 1/26 at TBD location

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Meet Commitment Expectations

As a member of RAC, it is our expectation that all swimmers participate in our SAL meets. Dual meets provide the opportunity for swimmers to compete in relays, individual events, and with swimmers in different varsity groups. It also provides the unique experience of competitive swimming where we have swimmers of all ages on deck together. 

 

All families must declare their swimmer’s availability for SAL meets on our event page here . You can do this by clicking attend/decline next to the meet name, then committing your swimmer. We will not assume your swimmer is attending unless they are committed to the meet. We ask that you please sign up for meets by the Monday prior to each Saturday dual meet. 

 

Eligible Swimmers

SAL meets are for swimmers in our Varsity groups: Mini, White, Red, Bronze, and Blue.

 

SAL Meet Events

The coaching staff will create the lineup for SAL meets.  SAL meets are TEAM events, and swimmers are placed in individual events and relays that will best support the team. Event selection for SAL meets are at the discretion of the coaches; we will not respond to event change requests. Events vary depending on the age, but generally consist of medley relays, 25s/50s/100s of all 4 strokes, IM, and freestyle relays. Like summer swimming, swimmers compete in age groups. Their age on 10/31/24 determines their age group for the season.  Your swimmer will find out which events they will be swimming when they arrive at the meet. 

 

SAL & USA Meet Conflicts

We occasionally will have SAL and USA meets on the same day. This year, this happens on 2 dates: 12/7 and 12/14. This is not ideal, but in some cases it is unavoidable.  

 

For this year’s LMAC Dual Meet on 12/7, we are asking families to prioritize the team dual meet instead of the morning session at MSA. Swimmers 13 & Over are able to do both the dual meet and the MSA session that afternoon. 

 

For this year’s playoff meet on 12/14, we will support swimmers wishing to attend the RMSC invitational instead of the playoff dual meet. At RAC one of our goals as a club is to elevate our swimmer’s competition experience and support them attending qualifying meets as they progress throughout their swimming career. For our high school swimmers, this means attending multi-day prelims/finals events to mimic the high school and college championship meet experience. For our age groupers, this means exposing swimmers to a higher tier of competition and multi-day prelims/finals meets. 

 

SAL Invitational Meets

In addition to our dual meets and championship meets, we also attend the NPAC Trophy Meet, which is an SAL invitational that also counts towards USA swimming. At this point, we are not accepting any more entries for this year’s trophy meet. 

 

To learn more about the types of SAL meets, and the differences between SAL and USA meets, please click here . 

 

Volunteering

We are not able to run a successful SAL meet without your help! You should have already received an email from our SAL reps (Dan Pijawka and Tatiana Garcia-Bates)  about how to sign up for volunteer positions.  Volunteering is a great way to get involved, meet your swimmer’s teammates, and meet new RAC families! Volunteering at SAL meets fulfills RAC’s volunteer requirement . 

 

If you have questions about volunteering or general SAL questions, please reach out to your swimmer’s group coach or our parent board of directors. You can find their contact information on our website here . 

 

-Katie