How to do the bullpen

Running the Bullpen:




The primary purpose of the bullpen is to ensure that the right swimmers get to the right lanes at the right time. A well-run bullpen is key to ensuring that the meet runs smoothly and swimmers don’t miss their races. The bullpen typically consists of six rows of six chairs arranged like this:





Seats (Lanes): 1 2 3 4 5 6



Rows (Heats/Events):



Row 1: X X X X X X



Row 2: X X X X X X



Row 3: X X X X X X



Row 4: X X X X X X



Row 5: X X X X X X



Row 6: X X X X X X



It will help to have someone from the bullpen announce to spectators and swimmers which events should report to the bullpen.



Single Swimmer Events:

Using a Heat Sheet, as swimmers arrive, seat swimmers in the chairs which correspond to the lanes in which they will be swimming, with all swimmers for an event/heat seated along one row. For instance, if Sally is swimming in Heat 1, Lane 1, she will sit in Row 1, Seat 1. If Nancy is swimming in Heat 1, Lane 2, she will sit next to Sally in Row 1, Seat 2. If Carol is swimming in Heat 2, Lane 4, she will sit in Row 2, Seat 4. Note: Not all events will have more than one heat; in this case, each event will use only one row.



You will need to double check the swimmers’ names and lanes and tell them not to switch seats. Sometimes you will have an empty lane and therefore an empty seat.



Once you have a few rows filled, you may start walking the swimmers over to their lanes, one row at a time. Have the younger swimmers hold hands so they stay in the correct order. Assuming that the bullpen is near the parking lot at O’Neil Pool, Lane 1 will be closest to the bullpen. Walk the swimmers over to the lanes and drop off the first swimmer (from Seat 1) at Lane 1, the second swimmer at Lane 2, and so on.



Some people prefer to have the seated swimmers move forward each time the row in front of them moves over to the blocks. Others prefer that the swimmers stay where they are and just seat the next events in the most logical empty row. How you choose to manage the rows and their events is entirely up to you.



Multiple Swimmer Relays:

Seating relays for swimmers ten and under presents a unique challenge because the swimmers are only swimming 25 meters/yards, so ½ of the relay team will need to be at the far end of the pool and the other half will need to be at the starting end of the pool. Most people seat the relay event using four rows like this (with T1 representing relay team 1, T2 representing relay team 2, and so on):





1 2 3 4 5 6



Row 1: T1 T2 T3 T4 X X (Backstroke)



Row 2: T1 T2 T3 T4 X X (Breast or Fly)*



Row 3: T1 T2 T3 T4 X X (Fly or Breast)*



Row 4: T1 T2 T3 T4 X X (Freestyle)



Row 5: X X X X X X



Row 6: X X X X X X



For the Medley Relay, you will need to ensure that you know which strokes swimmers are supposed to swim and seat them according to which stroke they will be swimming and from which end of the pool they will start. The order of the Medley Relay is Back, Breast, Fly, and Free, so swimmers who are doing Back and Fly start at the starting end of the pool, and swimmers who are doing Fly and Free start from the far end of the pool. Therefore, seat swimmers who will swim Back in Row 1, swimmers who will swim Breast in Row 2, and so on. Once swimmers are seated, take Rows 1 and 3 to the starting end of the pool, and Rows 2 and 4 to the far end of the pool.



*If it makes more sense, you could seat the swimmers who start at the starting end of the pool in Rows 1 and 2, and the swimmers who start at the far end of the pool in Rows 3 and 4. How you seat the swimmers is entirely up to you.



For relays of swimmers over 10, start all swimmers at the starting end of the pool because they will swim