Deck Seeded Meets- What are they?

Deck Seeded- What does it mean?

If you’ve ever heard the term "deck seeded" at a swim meet, you might wonder what exactly it entails. A deck-seeded meet means that swimmers aren’t assigned to specific lanes or heats until the day of the event. The host team waits until all scratches are processed to prevent empty lanes, keeping the meet running smoothly and on time. However, this also means swimmers must check in before each race to confirm their participation.

An example of what the check-in sheets look like

How do I “Check-in”?

At a deck-seeded meet, swimmers will need to check in at designated tables as soon as they arrive. There, they’ll find a list of events and swimmers' names. The athlete’s task is to circle their event numbers and initial next to their name. If a swimmer is too late, they might find a line through their event number, meaning they've been scratched from that race. Coaches provide check-in times in advance, so it’s critical to arrive early—not just for warm-up, but to secure your spot in each event.

Heat and Lane at Deck Seeded Swim Meets

One of the biggest challenges of deck-seeded meets is that the heat and lane assignments are posted just 5-15 minutes before an event starts. This requires swimmers to stay alert throughout the meet, as they won’t have the luxury of planning their races in advance. Once the heat sheets are up, the event happens quickly, so staying focused is key to making sure no races are missed. If you download the app “Meet Mobile: Swim Meets”, most meets upload the heats/lanes to the app before the paper copies are printed. This is helpful to have not only to know heats/lanes, but also see results.