Competition Tips

An important part of the activities supported by Maxwell Swim Club is the competition programme. In addition to the Clubs own Meets it also supports other competitions throughout the year and these are shown on the Club web site.

This note is intended to be a guide to Meets and Gala’s and although not definitive will help provide an understanding of some of the terminology and the intentions behind the Maxwell approach to competition.

The types of competition

Basically there are two types of competition:

Open Meets

These are competitions where Club swimmers enter individually using their previously achieved personal best time for each stroke and distance. Normally Coaches will select the stroke/distance they want a swimmer to enter to help in their development. These may not necessarily be either the swimmers favourite or best events. The types of Meet vary according to the capabilities of the swimmers expected to attend and are now generally licensed to one of four categories (see below).
 

Gala’s

These are competitions between Clubs and generally take place on a Saturday evening. Swimmers are selected by the Head Coach to swim in either individual races or as part of relay teams. As with Meets, Galas can be aimed at swimmers of differing capabilities so the selection policy will vary accordingly. However competing for Maxwell should be seen as a privilege and so the Club expects swimmers to ensure they are available when selected.
 

Meet Licensing

The ASA have recently introduced a new licensing system designed to broaden the range of competition available to swimmers. As it’s fairly new it still has a few teething problems but in general Clubs are beginning to understand how to interpret the new system.

Briefly the system can be summarised as follows:

License 1

These are the highest grade of open Meet designed for swimmers of National Standard and above. There has to be “lower qualifying times” (no slower than) but there is no “upper qualifying times” (no faster than). Times achieved at these Meets can be used for qualification to Nationals, Regional and County competition.
 

License 2

These Meets have both “lower qualifying times” and “upper qualifying times” although this is usually much faster than a national qualifying time and therefore not normally are restriction to entry. The “lower qualifying times” however can vary considerably from Meet to Meet. Times achieved at these competitions can be used for qualification to Nationals, Regional and County competition.
 

License 3

License 3 Meets have “upper qualifying times” but not necessarily a “lower qualifying time”. The Cut off can be anything up to National standard! Times achieved at these Meets can be used for qualification to County competitions.
 

License 4

These are aimed a novices but seem very rare (never seen advertised) as they are really a glorified time trial.
 

In addition to “upper qualifying time” (no faster than) and “lower qualification time” (no slower than) a third term is now being used – “consideration time”. As this phrase infers this is the slowest time that may be considered for entry but it carries no guarantee! In effect it gives a promoter (the Meet organiser) more latitude to ensure the events are full and so achieve a commercially viable competition. It’s important therefore to make sure when entering, to note the terms being used and the times involved to avoid being disappointed due to an unexpected rejection.

One other method of selection that is also becoming more popular is “first come first served”. This is used in conjunction with a lower qualification or consideration time and has an advantage in that a full Club entry will either be accepted or rejected. This type of Meet may well become more common in the future.

 

Competition do’s and don’ts

Remember - If you want to swim faster, train more and compete less!

Don’t over-compete

The ASA determined some time ago that the swimming culture in the UK was based far too much around competition and not enough around training. So it has issued a guideline which states that a swimmer should compete no more than 12 times a year. When you consider that Counties can comprise of up to four or five of these its important to ensure that appropriate competition is chosen at other times of the year. Your Coach will advise on the best Meets to attend and the events to enter.

Remember that a swimmer is unlikely to swim faster from one weekend to another. For a real improvement to take place at least a month and in many cases up to 3 months of good training is necessary.
 

Do plan ahead

Look at the competition schedule the Club is supporting and anticipate which Meets your are likely to want/need to attend and make sure you keep these weekends free. Check with your Coach be more certain and remember than Counties requires entry times that are verifiable and achieved within a certain period (usually up to 8 months before the entry date).
 

Don’t enter Meets not supported by the Club

The Meets supported by the Club are selected to offer a range of competition for all ages and abilities. Entering Meets as an individual is possible but not encouraged as there will be no Official Coach on poolside. Additionally any incidents/complaints etc will not be supported by the Club and individuals will not be covered by the Club insurance.
 

Do ensure that only legitimate times are entered

It can be tempting to “massage” a swimmers time to try and ensure acceptance to a particular Meet however this practice is not acceptable for a number of reasons.

1, It can mean that swimmers with legitimate times are rejected due to restrictions on numbers.

2, It’s of no benefit for the swimmer, the reason for submitting times is so that each heat will be a “race” that pits each competitor against their peers of similar capabilities.

3, The Club (via an Official) has to confirm that the times are correct and verifiable. If these are subsequently found to be incorrect (and the rankings are on the web site for all to see!) then it could be censured by the ASA.

The only exception when times may not be required is for 9/10 year olds attending a Meet for the first time. The swimmers Coach will advise on such occasions.
 

Don’t forget to fill in and submit the entry form on time

Late entries are too late! Meets are complex operations with many factors to be considered. It’s just not possible for promoter/organisers to make exceptions for late entries.

Also make sure that the entry form itself is properly filled in with legitimate times and that you keep a record of the events entered.

Submit the form to the Open Meet Secretary with a cheque for the correct amount – failure to submit with payment will mean the swimmer is not entered.

On the occasion when more that one competition is being entered at the same time, please use two cheques, one for each competition.
 

Do check that you know the date time and place of the competition

Swimmers need time to prepare if they are to swim well, turning up late and in a rush is not good preparation.
 

Don’t compete with training equipment

When attending a competition don’t take your training equipment, use a small bag for to hold drinks, snacks, a towel and swimming gear.

Make sure that costumes, hats and goggles are in good condition and used just for competition. When the race starts its too late to tighten goggles or change costumes and if they are not perfect then a swimmers result may suffer.
 

Do enjoy competing

Swimming and competing with Maxwell is both serious and fun. Everyone wants to do well but it should never be at the expense of enjoyment. It’s vital that swimmers are supported and encouraged, any critical comment must only be made by the Coach.  No one else, and this particularly applies to parent’s, is qualified to comment. For instance, an unexpectedly slow time may easily be the result of a new race strategy that didn’t quite work out and only the swimmer and Coach would be aware of the change!

Enjoy your Swimming

Maxwell Swim Club