The ADSC guide to galas, club championships and open meets

Novice / Mini Galas

These 'closed competitions' are fun events aimed at giving members who do not regularly compete in other competitions a chance to race. The events are not held under the strict ASA rules followed at other competitions so you will not be disqualified (even if you are asked to swim butterfly).

• 25m/50m races
• 7-12yrs

League & Trophy Galas (Team)

ADSC may take part in a number of leagues throughout the year including the highly prestigious Arena National Swimming League plus some single round team galas. These galas offer the chance to compete in individual sprint events and relays as part of a team. Events take place at a variety of pools throughout the South.

Swimmers are selected for team galas by the Head coach based on the fastest times held on our database, or the coaching team may select swimmers as part of their development planning.

• 25m – 100m races inc. relays
• 9/Over
• By selection on times
• The club may enter various leagues throughout the year

Club Championships

These are ‘closed competitions’ as only members of our club can enter them. We would expect the majority of our swimmers to enter these galas, details of which are given nearer the time.  We will generally run three championships each year at Alton – a 25m club championship, a main championship covering all stroke events up to 400m, and a distance championship for the 800m and 1500m distances.

A guide to who should be expected to enter each of the club championships is given below.

Open Meets

These are swimming competitions in which individuals enter through the clubs entry process, available on the club web site.  The competitions are licenced and therefore times achieved will appear on the swimmers rankings on the Swim England database.

These events offer the opportunity for swimmers to select events to swim and compete at a higher level and against a wider pool of swimmers than would be available within the club. Swimmers must have achieved published qualifying times to enter. Events may be at Level 4, 3, 2 or 1.

There will be an entry fee charged for each event.  This is likely to be in the range of £6 to £10, although it can be more for 800m or 1500m events.  In addition, ADSC charge a £5 fee per meet entry to cover the clubs administration costs plus the provision of a Coach and Team Manager.  Different meets are aimed at different levels of swimmer, and most will have upper and / or lower limit times to ensure that they get the right range of swimmer ability attending.  The list of open meets that ADSC is planning to attend will be placed on the club web site, along with guidance as to who should be expected to attend each meet by squad.  Swimmers should discuss with their Coach which events to enter before they actually submit their entry.

The best way to plan your meet entry is to print off the meet schedule, highlighting which events you are qualified for and those events you would like to enter.  Your Coach can then discuss with you and provide advice.  Such advice will depend on a variety of factors (such as the time in the season, your individual swimming goals and what qualifying competitions are imminent.

Licenced meets may be at Level 4, 3, 2 or 1:

Level 4:  This is generally a single-club competition, or an inter-club competition of no more than a few clubs.  Results from these meets can be used for entry to the Hampshire County Championships and other higher level licenced meets.

Level 3:  These meets can be swum in Long Course (50m) or Short Course (25m) pools and will be a multi-club competition. They are generally for all but the fastest club swimmers. Promoters Conditions will state Upper Limit Times, which swimmers entry times cannot be faster than. Often there are also Minimum Qualifying Times, stating times that swimmers must have achieved to enter the event.

Level 2:  A higher level of competition. These meets are swum in Short Course (SC) 25m pools and are also aimed at National, Regional and County level swimmers. Again, these will have Minimum Qualifying Times, which swimmers must have achieved to gain entry.

Level 1:  These meets are swum in Long Course (50m) pools and are generally aimed at National and Regional level swimmers. Swimmers will have to swim faster than the minimum entry times.

Some of these events can be very competitive to get accepted for as entries may be restricted in order to keep the session and meet times within ASA rules for competitive meets. Speak to your coach if you are having difficulties.

County Competitions

 Regional & National Competitions