As a parent or new member, you may have no experience of the different types of swimming competitions, which can seem quite daunting, so we hope this provides a useful resource.

 

GALAS

 

As a club we compete in galas against local clubs called Moonraker Leagues; there is a winter league and a summer league. Swimmers are chosen for our A and B teams and are notified if they are selected to swim for the teams. We expect all swimmers to attend if they are asked to take part.

 

We also have three Southern Junior League galas (also known as ‘Diddies’) during the year for our younger swimmers (9-12 years), so that they can experience the gala format and competitive swimming in a light hearted, friendly and relaxed team atmosphere. Swimmers are chosen from the Crocodiles, Bronze, Silver, Gold and TeamBath AS Squads. If swimmers are chosen, we expect all to attend.

 

 

OPEN MEETS – Supported

 

Open meets are events which are open to all swimmers who meet the relevant age and time qualifications for the event. Each swimmer competes for him or herself for improved times and medals.

 

The club attends various open meets throughout the year, at different levels, so that all our swimmers have a chance to compete at the right level for them. We would like to see swimmers in the Crocodiles, Bronze, Silver, Gold and TeamBath AS Squads take part in suitable open meets throughout the year. All times achieved are recorded on the ASA rankings database -http://www.swimming.org/asa/results-and-rankings/rankings/. Times achieved at open meets provide the swimmer with a reference point to monitor progress and promote a sense of achievement, only offered through competing.

 

TASC sends out an email when a supported open meet is coming up. There is usually an entry form attachment or a link for you to follow to download and print the relevant forms. Entry forms should be read and completed carefully to avoid mistakes and missing closing dates. All entry forms should be given to our competitions secretary, Claire Knight with the correct payment. In addition, £2.50 should always be added to entries to cover the cost of Coaches passes. Please note that we set our own closing dates for supported meets, so that Claire has enough time to process our entries, to meet the closing date of the organising club – if you miss the deadline or fail to pay, entries will not be accepted.

 

Note: The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) licenses meets at levels 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest). A Level 1 meet will have minimum qualifying times and is broadly aimed at swimmers aiming for National Qualifying Times (NQTs). Level 2 meets have minimum qualifying times and upper limit times; these are aimed at those looking for Regional and good County qualifying times (QTs). Level 3 meets typically have upper limit QTs (swimmers may not enter if their times are faster than the specified QTs) and are aimed at County and Club swimmers. Level 4 meets may have QTs in the same way as Level 3 meets, but they have more freedom in terms of using electronic timing and qualified officials.

 

OPEN MEETS – Unsupported

 

TASC chooses not to support some events during the year for various reasons; clashes with other competitions, too many galas/meets in the calendar, and poor timing in relation to the annual training plan. Therefore, there are events on the calendar which are ‘unsupported’. 

 

Occasionally during the year, some TASC swimmers voluntarily attend open meets which TASC has chosen not to support. Some swimmers choose to do this to gain experience, or to try to improve their county/regional times by a qualifying cut-off date. Although this is not actively encouraged by TASC, swimmers wishing to take part in these events should inform their coach and enter independently via the club holding the event.

 

Masters events are popular with some of our older swimmers, but they are not supported by a coach; attendance is arranged amongst the swimmer themselves.

 

WILTSHIRE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Youths & Age Groups) & REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

These are highly anticipated events in our annual calendar. Swimmers must achieve qualifying times within a qualifying window to participate in these events (qualifying windows are usually June-Dec for Counties, Jan-May for Regionals). Qualifying times can only be achieved at the correct level of licensed open meet (Level 3 and above for Regional entries). Specific dates, qualifying criteria and entry information are made available to our members as soon as it is available. Our own Club Championships and TASC Level 3 Open Meets are the perfect opportunity to qualify in familiar surroundings.

 

NATIONALS

 

The natural progression for our talented swimmers is to join the TeamBath AS Performance Swimming Club at Bath University, whilst remaining a member of TASC. Any entries to Nationals will be made via TeamBath AS.

 

 

We respectfully ask that all parents show an interest in their child’s swimming by carefully reading any information we provide and to be organised and engaged in the competition process.