Borough of Southend Swimming Club
Southend's Premier Competitive Swimming Club
Your coach will hand you entry forms if you are eligible for inclusion in to any gala, if you feel you should be included and have not recieved an entry pack for any of the listed meets, please speak with your coach.
Entering a Gala? Please read!
Get yourselves prepared before you go to the gala
The night before the gala is the time to pack YOUR OWN bag, not your mother or father. If you get to the pool to find something missing and you haven't packed your own bag, then more fool you. Get all that you need together, warm up costumes/trunks enough for a whole day.
What you need!
Racing costumes/trunks should fit you like a second skin, which means for the girls, you should not be able to pull up the straps two or three inches above the shoulders and watch those gaps around the waist on very cut away backs i.e. Olympic backs, find a style to suit your shape. Olympic style backs suit girls with a small bust and a slender shape, girls with a small waist and a hour glass shape will find these baggy at the back around the waist, If you stand upright and can put your fingers into the back at waist level then this is not a well fitting racing costume. Boys’ trunks should be small at the sides and tight fitting, No baggy bottoms, as these will cause drag which will slow you down.
Club tracksuit and T-shirt should be worn, these are white and royal blue for those of you who think the poolside is for making a fashion statement. You will not be allowed to wear some of the "in wear" that has been creeping onto the poolside in recent times, keep them for wearing to and from the pool. If you get into a final then you MUST wear your club tracksuit to the rostrum. You will not be allowed to wear jeans and tops with a token tracksuit top.
Poolside shoes should be worn, some poolside floors can get cool on at certain times of the day so poolside shoes are essential, if you ran a cross country event in them the week before, wash them! We do not want muddy footprints all over the place, do not leave poolside without shoes on your feet. Spare T-shirts, if you don’t have enough club ones you may wear predominantly white or royal blue ones, not black, orange or luminous green.
Poolside
Game-boys. Walkman's etc. are NOT allowed at galas. Try cheering on your team-mates instead, likewise for disappearing, stay and cheer on your team-mates! The coaches do not mind you having a quick gossip with your friends from other clubs but save chatting up the opposite sex for after the gala in your own/parents time. You have come to a gala to compete and as such you are expected to sit with your own team, not someone else's.
What to eat
Carbohydrates are needed for long galas, Bread, Pasta, Pizza etc. all low fat, fat is hard to digest and therefore best avoided on race day. We all know a top swimmer or athlete who eats two burgers and chips, three chocolate nut sundaes and drinks 5 cokes before beating the world record, but believe me it is despite of what they have eaten, not because of it.
Take plenty of water and fruit juice. Fizzy drinks should not be drunk and chocolate should not be eaten until you have finished swimming for the day.
When you go down to the start for your race take a spare pair of racing goggles, so if the unthinkable happens, you will not be running around the side of the pool screaming like a demented banshee that your goggles have broken and has anyone got a spare pair!
Check list:-
1. Enough warm up and racing costumes/trunks.
2. Club Track suit.
3. Club T -Shirt plus spares(predominantly white or royal blue).
4. Towels, Lots off.
5. Poolside shoes & socks.
6. Goggles at least two pairs.
7. Entry Cards.
8. Food and drink to last the whole day.
9. Leave early to get to the pool on time.
10 Positive attitude
Remember, when you get on the block the most important things to have with you are a positive attitude, and the confidence that you are going to do a good swim. Think negatively and you have lost before you have dived in!
DENISE BANKS
BOSS is a competitive swimming club and swimmers can begin competing for the club when they have ASA registration. There is a variety of different types of competition - Open Meets, including Designated and Graded Meets.
Entry ages may be calculated as at the 31st December, or the age on the last day of the Meet. This is made clear in the entry details.
Open Meets may be "Graded" or "Designated". Graded Meets can be Level 1, 2, 3 and now there is a level 4 (see ASA introduce new level), depending on the entry times required. Designated meets are usually so called because they are designated by the ASA as meets where times recorded may be used for entry into other high level competitions such as National and Age Group Competitions. "1" grade meets are normally those with a minimum entry time. 2 and 3 grade meets usually have a maximum entry time. The coaches will attend the majority of the meets.The club coaches will advice swimmers about which meets and events to enter.
Details of all competitions will be found on the club notice board or at Meets 2006
New level of Licensed Meets
The ASA has announced that an additional level of licensed meet will be introduced with immediate effect. Level Four meets are intended for club swimmers and those beginning to enter individual open competitions.
Level 1
Intended for National Qualification. (Times also accepted for Regional Qualification) A minimum standard of entry must be published. This will vary from meet to meet and will be influenced by many matters including the length of the pool, time of year, standard of swimmer normally attracted to the meet and the number of meets within the immediate area. These meets are intended to be the 'Premier' Meets within the calendar and are expected to provide 'Swim Down' Facilities and results sheets should show splits.
All officials must be registered for the duty in which they are used, and be offered expenses. A levy of 25p per accepted entry shall be paid to the Region Licensing the meet. Pool must be either 25m or 50m long.
Level 2
Intended for Regional Qualification) (Times swum can be used for entry into National Competitions). These meets must have an advertised upper and lower qualifying time for each event. These times will also be influenced by many of the factors above.
All officials must be registered, and offered expenses, with at least one official acting as a referee holding a refereeing qualification. A levy of 25p per accepted entry shall be paid to the Region Licensing the meet. (Swimmers who achieve a National Qualifying Time at a level two meet may use that time for entry into National Championships.) Pool must be 25m or 50m long.
Level 3
'B' & 'C' Grade Meets. These meets must have an advertised upper and lower qualifying time and are intended for those swimmers wishing to achieve a county qualifying time, and not catered for at Levels One & Two. Times achieved at these meets will be accepted for Regional Qualification.
All officials must be registered, with the minimum qualification of Judge being held by the official acting as a referee. A levy of 10p per accepted entry shall be paid to the Region Licensing the meet. Pools must be of a length which can be interpreted through the use of ASA Equivalent Performance Tables.
Level 4
Intended for club swimmers and those beginning to enter individual open competition. These meets must have an advertised upper qualifying time. Electronic timing is not compulsory, although preferred. Times achieved at these meets may be used for entry into meets at level’s two and three and into County Championships.
All officials must be registered, with the minimum qualification of Judge being held by the official acting as a referee. A levy of £25 per year shall be paid to the Region Licensing the meet. Pools must be of a length which can be interpreted through the use of ASA Equivalent Performance Tables.
