Open Meets
This is where a swimmer competes for themselves, in their age group, against other individuals in the club and from other clubs. Swimmers can compete from the age of 9 (usually taken as their age on the last day of the Open Meet, or 31st December) and their times will be entered into Swim England rankings. Times for NBSC members will be retained in Swim Manager (under the swimmer’s name, select ‘PBs’) and provide a reference against which to measure improvement over time.
All events, except for individual medley, begin with a 50m distance. Swimmers should only enter 100m and 200m events when their coach has confirmed this is suitable. 400m and above events (if available to that age) should only be entered once lower distances in the same stroke have been acheived and the coach agrees to their entry for the event concerned.
Each swimmer must be able to complete the relevant distance in accordance with FINA rules, which includes stroke technique, dives, turns and finishes.
Before entering your swimmer for an Open Meet, especially for the first time, you must speak with your swimmer’s coach to discuss their capability to complete specified distances. They will also provide an entry time (if a personal best does not already exist in Swim Manager).
NBSC Open Meets are usually run across both days of a single weekend. Other Open Meets may span two weekends. Each day will have two or even three sessions, with a warmup to start each. Events are peppered across all sessions to allow for recovery time between races. Each event will be swum in heats with swimmers seeded, based on their entry time and not their age, slowest to fastest with up to 8 swimmers per heat. At the end of the event, all results are combined. The top swimmers in each age group will usually be awarded medals.
Galas
A gala is a team event, where the swimmers compete together for points against other teams. One or two teams may be selected to compete.
Various criteria apply to different galas, including age criteria, meaning your child may or may not be selected each time. Selection will usually take place through Swim Manager (under ‘Teams’ in the menu).
You will be required to respond quickly to any requests made. If you do not receive a request, then your swimmer has not been selected for the gala.
In the week running-up to galas, swimmers will be refreshed on skills such as dives, turns and relay take-overs. Races are mostly 25m or 50m individual events and 4 x 25m relays, increasing to 100m individual events and 4 x 50m relays for older swimmers in the club.
All selected swimmers must remain on poolside throughout and until the end of the whole gala. Club kit and hats must be worn.
Nuneaton & Bedworth Swimming Club 