CoStA

(City of St Albans Swimming Club)

At CoStA we strive to be the best that we can be ... while having fun

Everything you need to know for the 2024 Hertfordshire County Championsips

As this years County Championships begin we know you will have lots of questions, there are a million WhatsApp groups and keeping up with the barage of messges can be tough, on top of this the coaching staff will be busier than normal and probably exhausted. Please use this page as your first stop for all information, we will endeavour to keep it updated as new information is requested.

Swim fast!

Changing Rooms

Swim Herts are taking a zero tolerance approach to anyone found with a mobile device in the changing rooms during Counties and they could be removed from the competition. Please make sure your children are aware (and be aware if you’re volunteering). This doesn’t just apply to County Championships but to any training or meet our swimmers attend.

You can view the full WavePower document here: https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/wavepower-updated-version/

Schedule of events

The schedule of all events over the championships can be downloaded here

What to bring

Please remember to bring the following items with you:

CoStA hat
CoStA Zeon T-Shirt (named preferably)
Googles, towels, suits
Water
Food

Please try to pack light as space is going to be very limited poolside this year. There are lockers in the changing areas and these can be secured with a £1 coin, so perhaps plan to lock away any excess bags to keep the seating area as clear as possible.

Venues and times

Please make sure you are poolside and ready for warm-up before the stated start time. Space in the pool is limited and we will have swimmers in specific groups for their dedicated warm-up. If they miss their group's time there will not be any space in subsequent groups to get their warm-up done.

Saturday 27th January (no spectators)

Pool: Borehamwood, The Venue - Elstree Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1JY

Programme: Download here

Warm-up and seating: Seating - 2 Rows. WU Session 6 - lane 5, Session 7 - lanes 2 and 3 (more details)

Sessions: There are 2 sessions, a lunch-time session with finals, and an evening session with finals

Session 6 arrival time: 12.45pm

Session 6 warm-up: 1.15pm

Session 6 team managers: Nishant, Heather C

Session 6 estimated finish time: 5.00pm

Session 7 arrival time: 5.15pm

Session 7 warm-ups: 5.30pm

Session 7 team managers: Heather S, Emily

Session 7 estimated finish time: 9.25pm

Sunday 28th January (no spectators)

Pool: Borehamwood, The Venue - Elstree Way, Borehamwood, WD6 1JY

Programme: Download here

Warm-up and seating: Seating - Changing rooms. WU Session 8 - lane 3, Session 9 - lane 3 (more details)

Sessions: There are 2 sessions, a morning-time session with finals, and an afternoon session with finals

Session 8 arrival time: 8.30am

Session 8 warm-up: 8.45am

Session 8 team managers: Sean, Gillian, Camilla

Session 8 estimated finish time: 12.40pm

Session 9 arrival time: 1.00pm

Session 9 warm-ups: 1:10pm

Session 9 team managers: Heather S, Adam

Session 9 estimated finish time: 4.54pm

Saturday 3rd February (spectators permitted, entry cost: free)

Pool: Westminster Lodge.

Programme: Download here

Warm-up and seating: WU Session 10 - lanes 8 and 9 (more details)

Sessions: There is 1 session with 1 event 1500 Free there are no finals.

Session 10 arrival time: 6pm

Session 10 warm-up: 6.15pm

Session 10 team managers: Lara, Gillian

Session 10 estimated finish time: 9.19pm

Sunday 4th February (spectators permitted, entry cost: £5)

Pool: Westminster Lodge.

Sessions: There is 1 session with all relays.

Session 11 arrival time: 10am.

Session 11 warm-up: 10.15am

Session 11 team managers: TBD

Session 11 estimated finish time: 2.00pm

Warm-up Groups

TBA

Spectating

Unfortunately there is no pool-side spectating once again at the sessions held in Borehamwood. There will be live streaming via the Swim England Hertfordshire YouTube page (here). The pool at Borehamwood are also planning to have the streaming on a large TV in their cafe area should you wish to stay and watch from there. This year there will also be a 'viewing room' in the pool at Borehamwood, this will have a TV with the streaming playing, but please note, this room will be held at a capacity of 50 people, and will have to be emptied between sessions as the officials use it for their break periods.

Hats and Hoodies

If you have ordered County Hats these will be sent to the club, the coaches and team managers then distribute them to the swimmers at the pool. As of writing on the 14th January, we still dont have the hats.

Herts County Championships Hoodies can be ordered online from Fine Designs http://www.finedesignsuk.com

Please note that the names on the website are out of date and they are working on it. To cross check please enter the swimmers name when you pay. Please check colour options carefully as some of the images are misleading.

Orders will be processed from Monday 15th January. The website will remain open for orders until the end of February.

Fine Designs are in the process of updating their website so if you're finding it difficult to order, please try again early next week. Please contact Fine Designs with any queries and not the club.

Withdrawal process

This is an Active Withdrawal meet. If you are not swimming, then you must let us know ASAP. Any withdrawals not made before 17:30 on the Friday before the event are liable for a fine from Swim England Herfordshire. Only medical withdrawals will be accepted after this time and evidence (eg a doctor's note) must be provided.

BEFORE 5.30pm Friday:
Please email Paul Wollaston [email protected] cc-ing [email protected] & your squad coach. Please provide your Swimmer Name and Session & Event you are withdrawing from.

Withdrawing AFTER this time: Please follow the above instruction, cc'ing your coach. Withdrawals on the day must be made by the coach/team manager but only for medical reasons. Please email in plenty of time as coaches are likely to be busy with warmups prior to a session starting and cannot always check emails.

Verbally telling a coach poolside does not guarantee a withdrawal

Any swimmer not present when required to swim will incur a £10 administration fee, unless the promoter had been notified by the deadline, or due to illness/injury.

Finalists and reserves not wishing to swim, shall notify the promoter of their intention to withdraw, within the timescale announced on the day, but usually within ten minutes of the announcement being made, or swimmer list being displayed.

If you need to withdraw for medical reasons, please use the form found here: https://www.swimherts.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-SEH-County-Championships-Medical-Withdrawal-Form-v1.1-10Jan24-1.pdf

Results

Results for all heats and finals of all sessions can be found on here: https://results.swimming.org/counties/seh/2024/countychamps/

Live Streaming

As there are no poolside spectators again this year, sessions 2-10 will be live streamed by Swim Hertfordshire on their dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@SwimEnglandHertfordshire/streams