Swim Meet Snacks: Fuel for the Pool
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If you are a competitive swimmer, you know how intense a full-day swim meet can be. Having the right swim meet snacks available can keep you fueled to perform at your best through your final event.
Let’s explore the best swim meet snacks to keep you going strong all day long.
Plan Your Swim Meet Snacks Ahead of Time
As you prepare for your swim meet, it is important to take time to plan what snacks you will take with you.
Don’t count on being able to purchase the foods and beverages you need to support your sports nutrition needs from the concession stand alone.
If your team packs snacks for the group, share ideas for snack items to include on the list. If you are unsure if your favorite snacks will be provided, it is always a good idea to pack your own snacks for the swim meet.
High-Carb Snacks for Energy During the Swim Meet
Carbohydrates provide swimmers with the energy needed to perform at their best. When planning swim meet snacks, swimmers should make sure to focus on including high-carbohydrate snack items.
Some easy carbohydrate-rich snacks to throw into your swim bag before the meet include:
- Fresh fruit: Bananas, oranges, apple slices, grapes
- Applesauce squeeze pouches
- Fruit cups in natural juices
- Dried fruit, fruit leather, fruit snacks
- Granola bars, fig bars, breakfast bars
- Mini bagels, dry breakfast cereal, animal crackers, graham crackers
Swim Meet Snacks: Mini-Meals for Between Events
In addition to carbohydrates, swimmers should plan for snacks that can serve as mini-meals during the day.
When swimmers have longer periods of time between events, they can include a source of protein with their snack.
Protein-rich snack items to pack for the day include:
- Beef or turkey jerky
- Nuts, nut butter
- Deli meat: Turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef
- String cheese, cheese sticks
- Tuna pouches
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Individual containers of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt drinks
- Chocolate milk
Make sure you pack napkins and any utensils you might need to eat your snack with, such as a spoon for your yogurt.
Pro Tip: A sandwich or wrap can be a great balanced snack option for a swim meet. Consider packing a turkey and cheese wrap or peanut butter and jelly sandwich to help keep you fueled during the day.
What’s the Best Swim Meet Snack When There is Limited Time Between Events?
If swimmers have limited time between events, they should focus on refueling with carbohydrates and replacing fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat.
As swimmers exercise, they use up their carbohydrate stores. Thus, refilling their energy stores between events is important.
Grabbing a quick carbohydrate-rich snack between events, such as a granola bar, banana, applesauce, or bagel, can help ensure they start their next event with a full tank of energy.
Consuming a sports drink between events can help swimmers replace both fluid and electrolytes. Sports drinks also contain carbohydrates, which can help provide additional energy to support their activity.
Don’t Forget About Hydration During the Swim Meet
Even minimal dehydration can impact a swimmer’s strength, power, and speed. Therefore, maintaining hydration is critical for optimal sports performance.
Hydration Tips for Swimmers
During activity, the body sweats in order to dissipate heat. When athletes sweat, they lose both fluid and electrolytes (mainly sodium).
Thus, replacing both fluid and electrolyte losses throughout the swim meet is important.
Even though swimmers are in the water, their bodies still sweat. Therefore, the goal during activity is to minimize the amount of dehydration that occurs due to sweat losses (1).
Since swimmers are less likely to notice sweat losses in the pool, having an individualized hydration plan in place can be to their performance advantage.
Rehydrating During Swim Meets
Make sure to pack extra water and sports drinks in your cooler for a full-day swim meet.
If space is limited in your cooler, consider purchasing individual packets of sports drink mix that can be added to your bottle of water. Keeping several packets of your favorite sports drink mix in your swim bag can definitely come in handy.
In addition to fluid, eating salty snacks between events, such as pretzels and pita chips, can also help with replacing the sodium lost in sweat.
Swim Meet Snacks: Don’t Forget About Food Safety
Don’t neglect the importance of food safety when planning swim meet snacks. Here are two easy ways athletes can stay on top of food safety at their next swim meet.
Wash Your Hands Before Eating
The first step to food safety is washing your hands. When athletes do not have access to soap and water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Choose a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. To apply the hand sanitizer, rub the gel all over your hands and fingers. Continue rubbing your hands together until they are dry.
Throw a hand sanitizer gel into your swim bag to ensure you have it available when needed.
Swim Meet Snacks – Maintain Temperature Control
Another key aspect of food safety is temperature control. It is important for food be stored at the appropriate temperatures to prevent bacterial growth. To ensure food safety, cold food should be held below 40°F.
At the swim meet, it is essential to make sure all perishable foods are held cold. Pack items such as deli meat, cheese, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, chocolate milk, and cut fruit, in an ice chest.
When athletes grab their snack from the cooler, they should remove only the quantity of food that they plan to eat at that time. Packing snacks in individual size serving bags can help with this.
Temperature Control Guidelines for Swim Meet Snacks
Any food items that are held without temperature control for two hours or more should be thrown away. This time frame decreases to 1 hour if the temperature exceeds 90 °F, which can easily occur at an outdoor summer swim meet (2).
If food is left out over these time limits, throw it away – it is not worth the risk of getting a foodborne illness.
If swimmers are looking for a great way to keep their snacks and drinks cold at a swim meet, the YETI Hopper Flip Cooler (available on Amazon) is a great option.
This durable cooler has a waterproof shell. It is the perfect size for a swimmer to pack all of their swim meet snacks.
Practice Your Swim Meet Snacks Before Competition
During practice, athletes should try out different types of snacks so they can determine which they feel most comfortable competing on.
Just as athletes practice their swim strokes and starts off the block, they should practice their sports nutrition fueling plan.
Knowing they have a sports nutrition plan in place for their swim meet can help provide them with confidence that they are fueled to perform at their best.
Swim Meet Snacks: Fuel for the Pool
You are now ready to plan and pack your snacks for your next swim meet. If you desire an individualized sports nutrition plan, consider meeting with a sports dietitian nutritionist.
For additional sports nutrition tips for swimmers, check out my blog with ideas for what to eat before swim practice.
Join the Nutrition By Mandy Email List & Get a Free Swim Meet Snacks List
Click HERE to join the Nutrition By Mandy e-mail list. When you join you will receive a free swim meet snacks list to help you prepare for your next competition.
About the Author
Mandy Tyler is a Sports Dietitian Nutritionist in the San Antonio, TX area. She is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Licensed Athletic Trainer, and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. Mandy has experience working with athletes at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. She believes the key to reaching one’s full potential, both in everyday life and in sports performance, relies on a healthy nutritional foundation.
If you are looking to take your performance to the next level, make sure to check out my new Sports Nutrition Game Day Guide. This downloadable guide is written to help athletes develop an individualized plan to achieve peak performance on game day.
