How would you arrange your relay team?

1) If you've got someone without much relay start experience, put that person first. 2) Put your best racer last.

See if anyone really wants an official split. They should lead off.

I would first let them decide among themselves. It's masters, we're all adults, and I cannot recall the coach ever deciding for us. We seemed to know for each relay what to do. If someone wants a split, they should lead. Times alone should not dicate order. Some people are better relays swimmers than others. I personally like to go 2nd or 3rd IF I am not getting a split. I don't like going 4th, because I swim really fast as 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, and I don't need the extra umph of anchoring RELATIVE to other relay swimmers. Or how about if it was a MIXED relay? That could also determine how you want to stack your swimmers. Or how about trying to anticipate a race with another team in particular, so you'd line up your order according to how they line up theirs. Last, you could always do the "draw the name out of a hat", which is really fun for medley relays.

Fastest. 2nd Fastest. 3rd Fastest. 4th Fastest. (I don't believe in slowness...) After all, then your fastest swimmers are there to psych up, coach and/or calm down your less fast swimmer. It puts the team out in front early, possibly taking the heart out of other team's slowbies who see how far behind they are!

The club coach here almost always shotguns his freestyle relays (fastest followed by second fastest). I believe your best racer might not necessarily be your "fastest" swimmer, but actually the person who thrives the most off the thrill of anchoring a relay. That person should go last.

If you have someone with a quick reaction time, you might consider putting them first. Or perhaps if you have someone that chronically jumps early on relay exchanges. As mentioned before, offer the first slot to anyone looking for a split. My team did that for me once and I greatly appreciated it. The anchor leg is the only other one I'd worry about. Depending upon how important the race is, this leg can have some pressure associated with it. Some people thrive off it. Others hate it. This person doesn't need to be the fastest but you don't want someone who is going to turn into a basket case if they think they might lose it for the team.

Sometimes the situation enters into the decision, such as dual meets.

How I've seen most success if your mixing very fast swimmers with one slow swimmer or just a younger swimmer is: Second Fastest Fastest Third Fastest Slowest This gives you such a big lead that for the slowest its easier to hold them off :D It was a great counter for the usual stack cause the fastest goes against their slowest.

1) If you've got someone without much relay start experience, put that person first. 2) Put your best racer last. THIS... or, the weakest relay starter goes first. I had plenty of experience, but still very poor relay starts. Led off almost every free relay I was ever on back in college because my flat start was pretty good back then.

As an age grouper and in Master's we always went: 2nd fastest slowest 2nd slowest fastest I don't think strategy ever came into it!