Gala Guide

What are the benefits for children taking part in competitions?

Children from the age of five compare skills they have with others and, when they get to age eight or nine, start to understand competitive play.

The benefits of children taking part in competitions are:

• Children become competitive, as they refine and practice their skills, developing co-ordination and cognitive abilities

• It helps to develop healthy attitudes about winning and losing

• Children learn about their abilities and limitations

• Children learn to participate in team events as well as individually

• Children learn about rules of sport

• It can encourage growth and push children to excel

What are the types of gala that RSC is involved with?

Royston does not hold its own meets, so we rely on attending other people’s organised meets.

Novice / Fun Galas

These allow swimmers new to competitive swimming to have an insight into the sport and are normally restricted to members of Transitions and Skills squads.  For RSC this includes the Mini Meets with City of Cambridge Swimming Club.

Club Championships

Where possible, each year we link up with City of Cambridge for this. Swimmers of all ages are eligible and are strongly encouraged to participate, where they will compete against swimmers of similar ages and abilities.

League and Cup Galas

The club enters Herts Majors League and Peanuts League.  This requires maximum support from all swimmers if we are to be successful in this competition.  And is coach selected.  No official times are recorded at these meets.  They are great fun! And often enable swimmers to swim races they would not usually swim to gain experience.

What age do I need to be?

Swim England, Leagues and the promoters of championships and open meets use a variety of rules and regulations to set ages at which swimmers may compete - these must always be checked carefully prior to making any entries.

For events restricted to members of one club there is no minimum age, for example our own Club Championships and novice / fun galas – the bottom age is normally 8 years and under, but this may be changed to suit the requirements of the club / organiser of the event.

For Majors League it's 12 and over and Peanuts is under 12s, the minimum age is normally 9 years.

For open meets and championships (including County Championships) the minimum age is 9 years, with the exception of Regional and National Championships for which the minimum ages are 10 and 11 years respectively.

Different rules apply to swimmers competing in relay events for Regional and National Championships.

How is age determined?

There are several ways in which this is done:

• Age of the swimmer as at 31 December

• Age of the swimmer on the day of the event, except where a competition runs over more than one day where the age will usually be as at the last day of competition

• For events that are swum over multiple rounds rounds several weeks or maybe months apart, the age will usually be as at the date of the second round of competition

Details on determination of age will form part of the promoter's ‘meet conditions’ for every meet, gala and championships, so should always be checked carefully.

How do I get to a gala?

Parents and swimmers should make their own travel arrangements, arriving at the venue no less than 15 minutes prior to the start of the warm up. This information will be emailed to all parents a day or two before the meet.

What is an Open Meet?

An open meet is a competition that is not limited to members of any one club; in other words, it is open to all swimmers who are members of a Swim England affiliated club. They allow swimmers to swim events of their choice, although the coaches may ask a swimmer to enter specific events.  Royston enters 3-4 open meets a year.

Why should I enter?

It gives the swimmer the opportunity to compete against those of a similar standard. Swimmers are entered in order of their entry time and therefore you should not ordinarily be swimming against anyone much faster or slower than yourself.

Which Open Meets should I enter?

Open Meets are licensed by Swim England and the license level gives an indication of the expected standard of swimmers who will be entering them. As a guide, the levels and the squads who would be expected to enter are as follows:

• Level 1 is aimed at National qualifiers – all swimmers that are close to achieving a National Time and/or are already of Regional Standard

• Level 2 is aimed at Regional qualifiers or those working towards Regional qualification– the more experienced swimmers from all Squads.

• Level 3 is aimed at all Club swimmers

• Level 4 is a lower level competition for the less experienced swimmers from all squads, subject to the entry times

Inevitably the levels above will overlap and some squad swimmers may be able to compete in levels different to those recommended. Most Open Meets will have entry time restrictions that swimmers must achieve to be able to compete.

All Open Meets and championships are governed by certain restrictions, entry times etc. These are in the ‘Promoters Conditions’ and MUST be read by all (boring or not)!!

The club will support numerous open meets through the swimming season, with details being provided by the coaching team, on the website, via email to all parents, and on the Club Facebook Page from time-to-time. Parents are responsible for saying yes to entering galas and for which races so please keep an eye out for these so you can submit any entries in a timely manner to avoid disappointment. 

Additionally, if qualifying times are achieved, swimmers may be able to enter the following championships that are held every year:

• Hertfordshire County Championships: Usually held in January and February in 25m pools. You must achieve the qualifying times. If you have a qualifying time, you should enter even if it is only for one event.

• East Regional Championships: Usually held in April and May, these are the next step up from the County Championships and follow a similar format but 50m pools

• National Summer Championships: Held at Sheffield in a 50m pool during July and August. This event follows a similar format to the Regional Championships.

Many of these meets have swimming entry time restrictions to ensure that the standard of the event falls within the aims of Swim England to provide opportunities for swimmers of all abilities to compete. There are sometimes a ‘Consideration Time’ for each event and a Qualifying Time. To enable your swimmer to compete, their personal best time must fall somewhere between these times. 

If you enter a time outside these limits you will almost certainly not be allowed to compete. Sometimes if the meet is oversubscribed then even if your time is between the limits you may be rejected if it is very near the slowest time.  Sometimes you need to meet the Qualifying Time, or be faster than it to enter.  All of this is in the Meet Conditions.

How many Open Meets should I enter?

You should aim to enter at least two and up to 3/4 open meets per year. This may differ from swimmer to swimmer and squad to squad. Entry is via email to the Gala Secretary who will make you aware of when these are happening and the closing dates..

Your Coach may advise you on what events they would like you to enter. If you want to enter additional events / meets you may do so. This will help you to enjoy your swimming and help your coach with team selection etc. Ask your coach if you need advice. 

All your Official Times recorded at galas are on the Swim England page: https://www.swimmingresults.org/individualbest/ 

What if I don't have an official time to enter?

The results from time trials in training provide coaches with information on times and if you have no times, are a good indication of what to enter as otherwise you will be entered as NT (not time) 

Another guide is;

• For a 50m time double your 25m time and add 4 seconds

• For a 100m time double your 50m time and add 12 seconds

• For a 200m time double your 100m time and add 20 seconds

This may not be very accurate, especially for breaststroke and butterfly, or if you are very young so ask your coach for advice. Also ask for help in working out 400m, 800m or 1,500m times. If you have any doubts please ask your coach.

If you do not fill in an entry time you will swim in the slowest heat and may also not be accepted due to your time being too slow.

Once I have entered will I definitely be swimming?

If you have entered County, Regional or National Championships then the answer is 'yes', providing you have completed the entry form correctly and times are within the limits and have been accepted, as per the entry conditions.

For all other competitions, you will have to wait to see if you are accepted for all the events you have entered. If a meet is oversubscribed those with the slowest times, or the latest entries received, will be refused. Sometimes you will be refused for some events but accepted for others. A few weeks before the meet, you will be informed of your accepted entry or the events for which you have been accepted. If your entry (or some events) are refused, your money will be refunded in due course.

Can I enter a gala on my own?

In theory yes, and some older and more experienced swimmers do if they are seeking a time for a particular race before a particular deadline, but be aware there won’t be an RSC Coach or a Team Manager poolside to support swimmers unless it’s on the RSC calendar, and if more than a few swimmers attend the Club often has to be involved. So we would not advise doing this or if you do please let the club know.

What happens if I have to withdraw from a gala/race, will I get a refund?

This comes down to the time you withdraw, the reason you withdraw, and what is stated in the gala meet conditions. Sometimes you will not get a refund whenever you withdraw. Even if you withdraw for medical reasons, for which you will need a doctor's note.   

If you have to withdraw, in the first instance contact the club gala secretary via email secretary@roystonswimmingclub.co.uk .  

It's likely that if the race entries have already been published, the club will still get charged so we will pass this on to you. If you leave it too late to let us know, often we can no longer get a refund so email us as soon as you know.  

If you are already at the gala and need to withdraw on the day. Let the Team Manager know as soon as possible using the club gala phone number provided for that specific gala. This will be in the email you will have received detailing the staffing and arrangements for the gala.

How do I get selected for team meets?

The coaching staff will select a team suitable for the level of expected competition and take account of current times, attendance and performance at training. Swimmers will be expected to swim any event they are selected for, this will not always be the swimmers best or favourite stroke. 

On some occasions, it will be necessary to select some swimmers to swim in relays only - the coach will always try to ensure that all swimmers swim an individual event and one relay, this will not always be possible.

Sometimes swimmers will be competing against swimmers that will be older. Again, the coach will try to keep this to a minimum but it is not always possible.

Open Meets

These are swimming competitions in which individuals enter through the club’s entry process. These competitions are licensed - which means that times achieved at these meets will appear on swimmers Rankings on the Swim England database.

There is an entry fee charged per event. This is likely to range from £6 to £10, although can be more for 800m/1500m events. Different meets are aimed at different levels of swimmers, and most will have upper and / or lower limit times to ensure they get the right range of swimmer ability attending. You can find the list of open meets the club is planning to attend on the competition calendar, along with guidance as to who should be going to each meet, by squad. Swimmers should generally discuss with their lead coach which events to enter, PRIOR to submitting their entry.

The best way to do this is to print off the schedule for the meet - highlight the races/events you have qualified for - and circle the races/events you would like to enter. The coach can then discuss and advise. This advice will depend on many factors (time of the season, what your short and long term goals are, what qualifying competitions are coming up, etc), therefore this advice and discussion with the swimmer is not only imperative but also educational for the swimmer.

For open meets, ages can either be as of 31st of December of the year of competition OR Age as of the date the Open meet finishes. The details of this will be in the conditions and entry forms for each competition.

Open meet levels

Open meets may be one of four levels:

LEVEL 4

Generally a single-club competition, or an inter-club competition of no more than 8 invited clubs. Results can be used for entry to the Hertfordshire County Championships and other licensed meets.

Mini Meets we attend at City of Cambridge Swimming Club are level 4 meets.

LEVEL 3

A multi-club meet with upper limit and (sometimes) lower limit entry times. Upper limit times are the times that swimmers cannot be faster than to enter the meet. Lower limit times are the times that swimmers cannot be slower than to enter the meet. Can be Short or Long course.

LEVEL 2

A higher level of competition, held Short Course or Long Course pool for which minimum entry times are required (i.e. swimmers need to be faster than the minimum entry times to enter the meet).

LEVEL 1

The highest level of open Meet you can compete in domestically. These meets are swam Long Course (in a 50m pool). Results can be used for entry to all of the National Championships. Again these meets have minimum entry times (i.e. swimmers need to be faster than the minimum qualifying time to enter) and rules regarding entering with official licensed times are enforced strictly.  

Championship Meets

Championship meets are the target competitions for the different levels of swimmers. These Championships can only be entered if the relevant qualifying times/criteria have been achieved in a designated time period. These are the meets that most competitive swimmers will be working towards qualifying for and, once qualified, competing well in.

Hertfordshire County Championships "Counties"

These are the championships for all of the swimmers in the county of Hertfordshire.

• Take place in late January/early February each year.

• Held over 3 weekends, split according to age groups. 

• Minimum qualifying times for the competition based on age groups.

• The age groups for these Championships are: 10/11 years, 12 years, 13 years, 14 years, 15 years, 16 years and 17/Over. Age of entrey taken at 31st of December in the year of competition.

• Swimmers will be able to qualify for this event with times achieved in licensed level 1, 2, 3 and 4 meets. These times must be achieved since a specified date.

• There will be CONSIDERATION qualifying times for this competition. A pre-determined number of swimmers meeting these times in each event will then qualify.

• There are Finals for some of the age groups/events at County Championships.

• There are also team relay events at Counties. Relay swimmers will be selected by the club’s coaching team and the swimmers/parents will be notified prior to the meet.

• All ages are as of 31st December of the year of the competition.

East Regional Championships "Regionals"

These are the Championships for all of the swimmers in  all the Counties in the whole East Region of England.

• Take place in April / May each year. All sessions are swum as Long Course.

• Held over three weekends, split into 15/Over Championships and 14/Under Championships. 

• Qualifying times for the competition based on age groups: 11/12 years, 13 years, 14 years, 15 years, 16 years, 17/Over.

• Swimmers qualify for this event with times achieved in licensed level 1, 2, 3 meets. These times must be achieved between 2 specific dates.

• There are only qualifying times for this competition. A pre-determined number of swimmers meeting these times in each event will then qualify. 

• There are Finals for most events.

• There are also some team relay events. Relay swimmers will be selected by the club’s coaching team and the swimmers/parents will be notified prior to the meet.

• All ages are as of 31st December of the year of the competition.

East Regional Open / Junior Championships "Winter Regionals" 

There is also another Regional Championships event in early November - this is the Winter Short Course Regional Championships which are typically Short Course, and have Open and Junior events only. Short Course Championships only have one qualifying time for each event male/female and it is a very fast meet for that reason.

• Held in Luton

• All ages are as of 31st December of the year of the competition.

National Championships

Swim England Winter National Championships

• Typically in early to mid December, and Short Course.

• Open and Junior Age categories. 

• One Qualifying time for each event to meet.

British Championships and Olympic / World / Commonwealth Games trials

• Held in March/April each year for 4-8 days. These Championships are similar to the Winter Nationals in that they have Open and Junior Qualifying times.

• These championships double as the qualifying trials for the major games of the year - which are either the Olympics, World Championships or Commonwealth Games. In addition these are also the trials for Great Britain Junior Team events also (European Juniors, European Youth Olympics, World Juniors and Commonwealth Youth Games, etc).

• There are typically Open and Junior Finals at these championships. 

• Invite only and based on Aquatics Points gained in competition.

British Summer Championships

• The Top 24 British Swimmers (top 18 swimmers in distance events) in each event in each age group qualify for the British Summer Championships.

• These championships are held at the end of July with the following age groups: 12/13 (girls), 13/14 years (boys), 14 years (girls), 15 years, 16 years, 17/18 years and 19/Over.

• The qualifying period for these championships varies every year, but is typically between March and May of the year of competition, in which swimmers have to post Level 1 licensed times.

Home Nations Summer Championships (English, Scottish, Welsh)

• Following the Top 24 British Swimmers ranked, the NEXT number of qualifiers from each home nation English (20 swimmers) Scottish (numbers vary) and Welsh (20 swimmers) qualify for the respective home nations national summer meet.

• These championships are held in England - Early August, Scotland - Early July. Wales - Early August with age groups ranging from 12 years to 19/Over.

• The qualifying period for these championships varies every year, but is typically between March and May of the year of competition, in which swimmers have to post Level 1 licensed times.

• To ensure you are eligible for the correct home nation - you have to provide the relevant information to Swim England, Scottish Swimming or Swim Wales by April of the year of competition. If you do not declare yourself, your “home nation” will be that of your ranked swimming club - In the case of Royston - England.  

• If your swimmer has Scottish or Welsh heritage and can prove this under the individual Home Nation Meet Conditions (parent or sometimes grandparent birth certificate is needed) your swimmer can be eligible for a different home nation to where the local club is.  So an RSC swimmer can join Swim Scotland or Swim Wales, pay the joining fees and choose to be ranked as Scottish, for example. If fast enough, and has swam in the qualifying window, can also be included on the relevant Home Nations Summer Championships invite list as per above.   Swimmers still need to be in the fastest swimmers in the relevant nation.  More info is here (SS) https://www.scottishswimming.com/clubs/membership/scottish-non-residents OR  here (SW) https://www.swimwales.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Swim-Wales-Rules-revised-January_2022.pdf 

Other Nations National Swimming

If your swimmers has other heritage, i.e Irish, they may be able to undertake other competitions for that nation.  Different rules apply.  An Irish passport is usually needed for Ireland.  But it's worth checking your country of origin's relevant swimming body, if this applies to you.

• Take plenty to drink; preferably squash but, if not, water. DO NOT TAKE FIZZY DRINKS! Make sure you drink throughout the day. Usually you will be able to refill your bottles at the pool.

• Take plenty to eat and keep it with you - don’t leave it with your parents! You will need to snack / eat regularly throughout the day.

• The rule is: high carbohydrate, low fat. You also need a certain amount of sugar. Pasta, sandwiches, buns, bananas, cereal bars are ideal. Fruit is fine but avoid apples which are hard to digest. DO NOT BRING CRISPS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT IS VERY SALTY.

• Eat just after you have swum, not just before.

• Keep your food in a container. There is often very limited room on poolside and bags have to be piled on top of each other. People then climb over them, move them, sit on them, etc. Food that is not in a container will inevitably get squashed.

What else do I need to take?

At least one costume. You may want a dry one for each session if you do not want to put on a wet one. You can wear any costume – not necessarily black. You should have at least one racing costume, do not wear this for warm up, but change into it after the warm up.

A club hat. This is helpful (though not compulsory) for boys as well as girls. If you do not wear a club hat, the coach may not see you swim and not get your time and most important of all will not be able to tell you about your race.

Goggles. Make sure they are properly adjusted; you should also take a spare pair.

Track suit or Club top.  You are representing the club, should be proud to do so and look smart at the same time. Wearing a club top/tracksuit will prevent you from getting cold on poolside.

Two towels. Make sure you use these. Do not put your tracksuit/top on without drying yourself!

Pool shoes / flip flops. You will not be allowed off pool side without these.

Things to do. It is often a long day and you may have to wait a long time between swims. Card games like Top Trumps are good, or a book to read. You may bring MP3 players, iPods etc. but at your own risk. (Do not bring these types of items to league meets).

Swimmers should be aware that these items are your responsibility to look after; the club, coaches etc. will not be held responsible for any loss or damage however caused.

What will happen when I get there?

Make sure you arrive in good time. There will probably be a lot of people about so find out if the swimmers have already gone in. Don’t stand in a queue of spectators. The first thing you need to do is sign in or let the organisers know of events you do not wish to swim but have entered, unless this is a meet with neither of these systems in operation. Make sure your coach knows you are there too. Royston provides trained Team Managers for galas to look after your child poolside.  For safeguarding reasons, no parents without an official role are allowed poolside during a gala.

What about Mum, Dad, Uncle, Auntie and anyone else that comes to watch me?

Don’t worry, they’ll be fine!! Usually you will not be able to sit with them but you can go to see them for a few minutes so long as you are dry, wearing shoes and a top and you return to poolside as soon as possible.

Once you have finished your races for the session you can get dressed and go. You do not need to stay until the end unless you have a final to swim or a medal to collect. Tell your coach/team manager before you leave and ensure that you have a parent or nominated adult to collect you. Please return to the team manager and let them know if you cannot find them.

Parents or a nominated adult must be present at the end of each session to look after children between sessions or to be responsible for them if they have finished racing for the day. It is not the responsibility of the coach or team managers to look after children between sessions as they also need to have a break.

When do I swim/warm up?

Each session begins with a warm up. Your coach will tell you when and where to go. Never dive at the start of warm up and make sure you are going the right way round the lane. You may be in a lane with swimmers from other clubs. Make sure you keep swimming. Always begin with front crawl unless your coach tells you otherwise. After about 10 minutes there will be an announcement that some lanes are now ‘Sprint lanes’.

If you are swimming in one of these lanes you need to move out as quickly as possible. The people in this lane will be swimming one length of any stroke as fast as possible. You may now dive. Your coach may tell you which lanes to use and assist you by starting and possibly timing you.

Indicate to him/her that you are ready and then go. There are lots of things to do at an open meet so the coach may not be able to do this. In this case you can still use the sprint lane to practice. There is only a short time allowed for sprints so don’t hold things up by waiting a long time on the blocks.

The other lanes will continue with normal warm up. You can swim in any of these lanes if you prefer unless your coach tells you differently. If you are young and swimming in the first event your coach may tell you to get out early.

Swimmers should not waste valuable warm up time by queuing to do a couple of sprints unless told to do so by the coach or Team Manager. 

When it is time for you to swim you will be told to go to the marshalling area. Make sure you know where this is the Team Manager can help you. In the marshalling area it is usually chaotic! Somebody will be reading out the names of the swimmers in your event. Listen carefully and speak up when your name is read out. You will then be told your heat and lane number and told where to stand or sit.

Stay there until told to move. You will gradually move towards the front. When it is your turn you will be told to go to your lane, there is not a club lane like at a gala.

After your swim

After your race go and speak to your coach. When you get out make sure you dry yourself well before putting on your Club top. You will get very cold sitting in a soaking wet top...

What happens between sessions?

Please do not leave poolside until you have asked your coach/team manager. Your parents will need to make arrangements for you between sessions. There may be a change of coaches/team manager or the coach/team manager may go to lunch so you will be unsupervised. If your parents are not there they will need to make arrangements for you to be with someone else.

Hopefully this has covered most things and you will be able to arrive at Open Meets well prepared. Swim well and enjoy it!

Backstroke ledge

A horizontal bar which sits against the timing pad and gives swimmers something to support their feet on for backstroke starts. Swimmers must still have their toes in contact with the timing pad. Use of these ledges is optional when they are offered. They won’t be available at all levels of Meet.

Closing date

An important one! The date by which our open meets team needs your entry. We need this time interval to process everything, check queries, send summary forms and calculate and submit payment. (very occasionally we may be able to take an entry sent to us after the closing date. 

Disqualification (DQ)

When a swimmer during a race does, or doesn’t do, something specified in FINA rules, as observed by an Official. No time will be recorded in the results. Coaches are able to find out, if necessary, what the error was.

Did Not Finish (DNF)

DNF - a code on the results when a swimmer did not complete a race.

Did Not Start (DNS)

A code on the results when a swimmer did not start a race.

Event

A race - a specific distance / stroke - eg. the 200m backstroke.

Freestyle

An event where each swimmer is free to choose the stroke of their choice. As the fastest stroke is front-crawl this is the stroke normally chosen.

Heat Declared Winners (HDW)

All swimmers swim in order according to their entry times, slowest first to fastest last. This is irrespective of age. The top places in each age band are then announced when all swimmers have swum that particular event.

Heats

Where an event has more than 6 - 10 swimmers, the competitors are divided into heats. Following which HDWs are announced or finals are swum.

Individual Medley (IM)

A race comprising all four strokes in a set order - butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, front-crawl. Under the FINA programme IM races are 100m/200m/400m.

Short Course (SC) and Long Course (LC)

Short Course pool is 25m. A Long Course pool is 50m. Some competitions will be SC and some LC. If you enter a LC competition you will need LC times. These can be worked out by converting SC times using a time converter tool. The tool you need to use is here: http://www.pullbuoy.co.uk/times. Once on this use “ASA tables”. You can also convert LC times to SC.  

Medley Relay

Where four swimmers are selected to swim a set distance divided by four and all four strokes are swum by one of the four swimmers in the following order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and front-crawl (this differs from the Individual Medley order of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Front-Crawl).

Meet fee

When the club enters a meet we have to buy poolside passes for coaches and team managers and also cover coaching expenses such as travel. So in addition to the fee per event, swimmers pay a small admin fee to us which contributes to this expense. 

Officials

These are the people wearing white that you see poolside at galas and meets. They are all qualified (or training) and registered officials who are there to make sure that swimmers abide by the official rules. Open meets are dependent on having a certain number of officials to comply with their license so if you want to support the club’s activities this is a great way to get involved

One Start Rule

Under FINA and ASA Technical Rules swimmers are not allowed to move from the starter saying 'take your marks' to 'go'. The referee allows the race to proceed and afterwards the offending swimmer is announced as a DQ.

Over the Top Starts

At the end of a race the swimmers remain in the water while the lead referee starts the next race. This assists in quickening and streamlining the pace of the meet. Obviously this is not used for backstroke events!

Personal Best (PB)

This is the fastest time a swimmer records for a particular stroke and distance.

Qualification Time (QT)

Often the conditions of a meet will require you to have swum a minimum (and occasionally maximum) time at a licensed meet in order to qualify

Starts and false starts

At the start of the race the referee blows a whistle three times followed by one long blow. This tells the swimmers to mount the starting blocks/enter the water for backstroke. The starter then starts the race. The race is only stopped if the false start is as a result of an electronic error.

Team Manager (TM)

A trained volunteer from the Club, who remains poolside with the swimmers during a gala or a meet session. They help to organise and keep an eye on the swimmers. Swimmers are expected to listen to and respect their team managers.

Touchpad / Timing Pad

Part of the electronic timing equipment. Touchpads are placed at the end of the pool and are sensitive to a hand/foot touch at the turns and finish. They act as a stopwatch.