Winter Festival, County Championships and beyond
Dear Swimmers and Parents
This weekend Many of you will be racing at the Winter Festival which is the first long course meet of the season. This is the last competition of the first cycle of work of the 2022-2023 season. After Christmas we will be moving into the long course phase of the season for most squads as we prepare for the Northamptonshire County Championships, British Paraswimming International Meet, Regional Championships, NSC Summer Festival, British Summer Championships and Home Nation Summer Meets. There will be further short course meets available for development squads which will be added to the competition calendar once we have dates. March through to May will be the qualifying window for British Summer Championships and Home Nation Meets for swimmers that are old enough to race at this level. For those swimmers aiming to qualify for British Summer Championships and Home Nation Meets you will need to be racing long course meets to qualify.
For those racing this weekend and at the county championships in early 2023 I wanted to provide some information for swimmers and parents with regards to racing in a long course (50m pool). it is important to note the following -
- Do not compare your long course (50m) performances to your short course performances (25m).
Long course racing is completely different to short course racing. Just as cricketers will have different statistics for T20, 50 over and Test Matches; Swimmers will have long course and short course personal best times. Keep these times separate.
From the table below you can see the differences in short course (SC) and long course (LC) world records. In particular pay attention to the highlighted events where by the long course and short course records are held by the same athlete. You can see the difference in times for LC and SC.
| Event |
Male Short Course WR |
Male Long Course WR |
Female Short Course WR |
Female Long Course WR |
Male Paraswimming Short Course WR |
Male Paraswimming Long Course WR |
Female Paraswimming Short Course WR |
Female Paraswimming Long Course WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 400m Freestyle |
3.32.25 (Yannick Agnel) |
3.40.07 (Paul Biedermann) |
3.51.30 (Li Bingjie) |
3.56.40 (Arianne Titmus) |
4.42.64 (Anders Olson S6) |
4.47.75 (Anders Olson S6) |
5.24.63 (Maisie Summers-Newton S6) |
5.04.57 (Jiang Yuyan S6) |
| 200m IM |
1.49.63 (Ryan Lochte) |
1.54.00 (Ryan Lochte) |
2.01.86 (Katinka Hosszu) |
2.06.12 (Katinka Hosszu) |
2.39.27 (Sacha Kindred S6) |
2.38.12 (Nelson Crispin S6) |
2.41.04 (Lisette Bruinsma S11) |
2.42.14 (Jia MA S11) |
| 200m Backstroke |
1.45.63 (Mitch Larkin) |
1.51.92 (Aaron Piersol) |
1.58.94 (Kaylee McKeown) |
2.03.35 (Regan Smith) |
2.07.02 (Stephen Clegg S12) |
2.18.08 (Stephen Clegg S12) |
2.52.19 (Daniela Schulte S11) |
2.50.88 (Daniela Schulte S11)
|
- Do not use any software to convert times from short to long or vice versa
Some organisations convert times for meet entries but this is for administration purposes as does not produce a true reflection of performance levels. If a world record is set in a SC pool it is never converted to a LC world record! Ignore conversions and do not compare SC to LC.
- Be Realistic
This is the first long course meet of the season and so be realistic of where you are currently at in your cycle of work. Most swimmers will not have raced long course since the end of last season in July / August. The first meets we attend in September / October for the SC season provide a starting point to progress and so the same need to happen for the LC season. For some swimmers the Winter Festival or County Championships might be their first ever long course meet. Do not compare your LC racing this weekend to the last time you raced SC.
- Do your best and have fun
Ultimately every swimmer should have the aim of doing their best and having fun. Listen to your coaches, focus on the process, give it your all and enjoy yourself!
See you at the weekend for those racing at the Winter Festival.
If anyone has any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Andy Sharp
Director of Swimming and Head Coach
