Meets

Meets are formal competitions or gatherings where participants in a sport compete across multiple events, often to determine a team champion or earn personal records. The term is widely used in athletics, swimming, gymnastics, and other sports.

In track and field and swimming, meets can be dual (two teams), tri-meet (three teams), or multi-team invitational. They may be open to all entrants or restricted by age, division, or qualification; championships are a subset where advancement is determined by performance or meet standards. Most meets are hosted by a school, club, college, or governing body.

Meets follow a scheduled program of events. Some events may have preliminaries and finals; relays are common in track and swimming. Timing is done with handheld or fully automatic timing; official results rely on precise timing systems and photo finishes. Scoring awards points to finishers; standard formats include 5-4-3-2-1 in some high school meets and 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 in college-level competitions, with variations.

The governance of meets varies by sport and region; rules are set by organizations such as NFHS in the United States or World Athletics internationally, and by the sport’s national or collegiate bodies. Notable examples include well-known track and field meets such as the Penn Relays and the Drake Relays, which have long-running traditions.