How swim heats and lanes are seeded.
Seed times, which heat the fastest swimmers go in, the lane order and why it looks that way, and how no-time entries get slotted in. All from SW 3.
In short
Swimmers are seeded into heats by their entered seed time, with the fastest swimmers always placed in the last heat (SW 3.1.1). Within each heat, lanes fill in the order 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 1, 8, so the fastest swimmer in that heat swims in the middle lane 4, not lane 1 (SW 3.1.2). No-time (NT) entries are seeded as the slowest in the field, with ties between them broken by a draw.
Why lane 4 gets the fastest swimmer.
Fill order: lane 4 → 5 → 3 → 6 → 2 → 7 → 1 → 8. The fastest swimmer in the heat goes in lane 4, the next fastest in lane 5, and so on outward to the edges.
SW 3.1.2 sets the lane-filling order for an 8-lane pool as 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 1, 8. Read that as: the fastest swimmer in the heat goes in lane 4, the second fastest in lane 5, the third fastest in lane 3, and so on, working outward to lanes 1 and 8 for the slowest two swimmers in that heat. For a 6-lane pool, the fastest swimmer goes in lane 3 or 4 depending on the venue's lane numbering, with the same outward pattern either side.
The middle lanes are considered the fairest, away from any wash off the pool walls and in clear view of the other quick swimmers, which is why the fastest swimmers are seeded there rather than in lane 1.
The fastest heat always goes last.
- 2 heats (SW 3.1.1.2): the fastest group swims in heat 2, the last heat.
- 3 heats (SW 3.1.1.3): the fastest group swims in heat 3, again the last heat.
- 4 or more heats (SW 3.1.1.4): the last three heats are seeded fastest-to-slowest in that order (heat 3-from-last gets the next-fastest group after the final heat, and so on), with any earlier heats taking the remaining, slower swimmers.
- 400m, 800m, 1500m (SW 3.1.1.5): only the last two heats are seeded by time, reflecting the smaller fields these longer events usually draw.
- Minimum heat size (SW 3.1.1.6): where there are two or more heats, each must have at least three swimmers.
No-time (NT) entries
A swimmer entered with no recorded time for that event, an NT entry, is seeded as if they were the slowest swimmer in the field (SW 3.1.1). If several swimmers in the same event all have NT, there's no time to compare them by, so the order between them is settled by a draw rather than any other criteria. In practice this means NT swimmers land in the earliest heats and the outside lanes, alongside the swimmers with the slowest recorded times.
- NT swimmers are seeded as the slowest entrant in the event
- Ties between multiple NT entries are broken by a draw
- This is why novice swimmers often land in heat 1, lane 1 or 8
Where EasyMeet fits in
Building a seeded heat sheet by hand for a meet of any size is slow and easy to get wrong. Import your nominations as a Swim Central HY3 file and EasyMeet seeds every event into heats and lanes automatically, applying this exact logic, fastest swimmers in the last heat, lane 4 outward, NT entries slotted in as the slowest. No HY3 file yet? Our free carnival program template gives you the same layout to fill in by hand.
Heats and seeding questions
Why does the fastest swimmer get the middle lane, not lane 1?
Lane 4 (or lane 3 or 4 in a 6-lane pool) sits closest to the centre of the pool, away from the wash and wake off the pool walls, and in clear sightline of the other fastest swimmers. SW 3.1.2 fills lanes in the order 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 7, 1, 8, fastest swimmer in lane 4, next fastest in lane 5, and so on outward.
Which heat gets the fastest swimmers?
The last heat, always. With 2 heats, the fastest group swims in heat 2 (SW 3.1.1.2). With 3 heats, the fastest group is heat 3 (SW 3.1.1.3). With 4 or more heats, the last three heats are seeded fastest-to-slowest in that order, with earlier heats taking the next-fastest swimmers in turn (SW 3.1.1.4).
Is seeding different for distance events like the 400m or 800m?
Yes. For 400m, 800m and 1500m events, only the last two heats are seeded by time under SW 3.1.1.5, rather than seeding every heat strictly by time. This reflects that long-distance events are run less often and with fewer entries.
How are swimmers with no recorded time (NT) seeded?
An NT (no-time) entry is seeded as if they were the slowest swimmer in the field, per SW 3.1.1. If more than one swimmer in the same event has NT, the order between them is decided by a draw, not by any other factor.
Is there a minimum number of swimmers per heat?
Where an event has two or more heats, SW 3.1.1.6 calls for a minimum of three swimmers in each heat. This stops a program ending up with heats of one or two swimmers when the entries could be more evenly spread.
Does EasyMeet seed heats and lanes automatically?
Yes. Import your Swim Central HY3 nominations and EasyMeet builds the program, seeding every event into heats and lanes using entered times, with NT entries handled correctly. You can also build a program by hand for a club night with no electronic entries.
Sources
- Swimming Australia Swimming Rules V2, 11 Jan 2024, heats and seeding SW 3: hosted copy (PDF)
- World Aquatics Competition Regulations (general reference): worldaquatics.com
Read next: how to run a swim meet, volunteer roles, or timekeeper duties. See Swim Central HY3 import or browse the guides hub.
Import your HY3 file, the program seeds itself.
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