Competitions Information

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WHEN CAN MY CHILD COMPETE?
Swimmers compete in our Club Galas from the age of four years, but the A.S.A. only permits competition outside the club for swimmers who will be at least nine years old by 31st December in that year. Our nine year olds compete in the Micro-League, and good ten year olds have been known to find a place in the Speedo-League or even the North-Lancs League team. Competing as an individual outside the club in ‘Open Meets’ (see later), the starting age may be 9, 10 or 11 years, depending on the competition. We currently compete in three leagues: Micro league, North Lancs League and Speedo league. In 2001 we were promoted to the top division in all three leagues and remain in the top divisions in 2005, a considerable achievement in the case of the high quality premier division of the Speedo league. A few changes may be made to teams as the season progresses and the Team manager will approach each individual swimmer before a competition. Swimmers and Parents must read the notice boards for team fixtures and let us know in good time if they are going to be unavailable. WE EXPECT OUR SWIMMERS TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BE AVAILABLE TO COMPETE IN OUR TEAMS, IF SELECTED, FROM THE AGE OF 9YRS. Absence of a single swimmer can render the efforts of team mates pointless in more than one sense. If that swimmer would form part of a relay, for example, in order that the remaining swimmers can compete, we may have to enter a swimmer of the wrong age group and declare the change, so the relay would not gain any points; it can make a difference between success and failure for the entire team.

MICRO LEAGUE
We compete in the Micro League of the North West against Lancashire clubs from as far south as Chorley. There is a rule of 4’s: 4 age groups (9-12 yr.) competing in 4 galas, with 4 teams in each Gala. As in all team competitions there is a combination of individual and relay races. In the Micro-League the relays are 25m legs and individuals races are 50m, except for the 9 year olds who swim 25m individual events. The galas take place between February and July following which, depending on the points total and upon which division they are already in, teams may be involved in a promotion/relegation ‘swim off’ or grand final in early autumn, to determine the Champion Team. The champions then go on to represent our area in the Northern Final of the Junior Speedo League, from which the top one or two teams progress to the National Junior Speedo League Final. The Micro-League galas are well supported and hence exciting and can be very noisy; parents will find that ear plugs for the final event of each gala, the ‘cannon’ in which the best free-styler of each age group form a relay, are an essential piece of equipment!

NORTH LANCS LEAGUE
This is a league containing many of the clubs that we meet in the Micro league but the age grouping is wider (12 and under, 14 and under and Open age). There are four galas between February and June with 4 teams in each gala. A Trophy is presented at the North Lancs Championships in September to the winning club, but the NLL is not part of a National competition and goes no further.

SPEEDO LEAGUE
This is a highly organised Nation-wide inter-club competition, involving over 500 clubs competing in three divisions. There are three galas, which take place on the same dates between October and December in each region, with four age categories, 11 and under, 13 and under, 15 and under and Open age, and with six teams competing in each gala. Our region extends from Carlisle in the north to North Staffordshire and North Wales in the south. Individual swims for the two older age groups are 100m but for the younger ones they are 50m as are the relay legs. For the final gala the division is split into a top and bottom half depending on aggregated points scored in the first two galas, which sets up a relegation/promotion battle and determines the premier division champions for each area. These champions go on to compete in a prestigious National Speedo League final from which, effectively, the top club in Britain emerges victorious.

INVITATION GALAS
Some clubs organise an annual or one-off gala themselves to which they invite teams from other clubs to compete. The only club whose invitation we have accepted in the past few years has been Kendal, where the Presidents gala has become a regular September fixture for us.

NORTH LANCS CHAMPIONSHIPS AND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Formerly known as the Squadron Championships this gala, also in September, completes the list of team competitions. It is really a combination of two events, an individual one to decide the (open age) North Lancs Champion in each event (just as we have a County Champion and Northern Counties Champion) and the team competition, which consists entirely of relays. Our better relay squads are usually entered, so we do not necessarily have a team competing in each age group.

WHAT ARE ‘THE AGE GROUPS?’
These are the North Lancs Age Groups competition now held, conveniently for us, at Salt Ayre on two weekends, usually in the first two months of the year. Each area of the country has it’s own ‘Age Groups’ competition and the events are standard throughout. This is a competition for individuals ages 9 yrs to Open, but it doubles as a trial to determine the North Lancs Team, the first three in each event in the 11-15yrs age group being selected, and receiving a black badge. The Club supplies caps and ‘T’ shirts when these swimmers compete for the North-Lancs team against other areas from Cumbria to North-Midlands in a big annual ‘Inter-Association’ competition in May.

OPEN MEETS
Open meets are for swimmers to compete in as individuals though at some you may find team (relay) events. The term ‘open’ does not denote the age group, but simply means there is no restriction as to who may enter, so long as they are registered with the ASA or an approved similar organisation abroad. Open meets are organised by individual swimming clubs and there is considerable variety in events offered. For example some may be sprint meets (50m races) and some distance meets (200m to 1500m), but a programme of 100m, 200m and 400m events, with 50m for selected age groups, is the most usual format. Age groups may be anything from 9yrs to open age and meets may last from one to 3 days. All open meets now have the entry age as age on the last day of the competition. Medals are usually awarded but sometimes trophies or even money (vouchers). There is often a ‘top boy’ and ‘top girl’ prize too and, though they are not team competitions, a ‘top competing club’. Open meets are now ‘licensed’ for competition at one of four levels. Levels1, 2 and 3 have qualifying times for entry and levels 2 and 3 also have upper limit ‘cut off’ times, which must not be exceeded by the entry times (PBs) of any of the competing swimmers; level 4 meets have an upper limit time, but no qualifying time.

NATIONAL AGE GROUPS:
Level 1 and 2 licensed meets are designated for entry into the National Age Groups competition, which takes place at Ponds Forge, Sheffield in August. That is to say, only times that are achieved in a level 1 or 2 licensed meet will be accepted as a qualification to compete. The lowest entry age for National Age Groups is 11(age on the day of competition) and qualifying times are extremely hard to achieve. In fact, to put it in perspective, most of the 1600 or so ASA registered clubs in Britain will never have had a NAG qualifying swimmer, and many others will only have one every few years. In 2004, our most successful year to date for NAG entries, we had 4 Otters competing, as well as one in the National Youth Champs (15-16 for girls, 16-17 for boys), one in the National Championships, and a seventh – ‘The Magnificent Seven’ – in the Junior National Disability Championships.

WHICH COMPETITIONS SHOULD MY CHILD ENTER
You won’t know how fast you are compared with swimmers from other clubs until you compete against them. If you will be at least 9yrs old on the day of the last Age Groups gala (usually a date in February), and especially if you are good enough to be in our Micro League team, then enter the Age Groups. Whilst submitted entry times are required, these do not have to be ones recorded at another competition, and can simply be your PB from a club gala or even a time trial. It is important that submitted times are as accurate or, if they have to be estimated, as realistic as possible, so if you don’t know a time, ask the your coach-in most cases your time will have been recorded. If you haven’t made the Micro league team, you may well still be good enough to enter the Age Groups, especially in your best events; again, ask the coach. If you miss the Age Groups but would like to enter an open meet, you may have to wait until the summer, as meets in the first half of the year tend to be qualifying ones for National Age Groups (levels 1 and 2) for which you need to submit a competitive time from a qualifying competition .Ask the competition secretary, who will advise you on this.

CLUB GALAS
No matter what your ability, you are advised to enter the club galas. These are held three times a year, usually in March, July and November. All four strokes and individual medley are covered over the year, with two events for each age group per gala. You will register times that are helpful to the Chief Coach in selecting teams, and the galas are a traditional part of the club. We experimented with organising the galas as a team competition in 2003 and, as it was a great success, we have continued to run them this way, with each swimmer being assigned to the red, white or blue team .A trophy is awarded to the winning team.

February Fixtures

Sat 4th February	BLACKPOOL AGE GROUPS
Sun 5th February	BLACKPOOL AGE GROUPS
Sat 18th February	Otters Home Gala
Sat 25th February	Micro A Gala

Otters Notices

Lancashire County Age Group championships 2012 3/4 March & 17/18 March 2012 Consideration times have been published See Tina Bellamy for details

If you want to enquire or order any of the items from the shop you can contact: Janet Timpany on 07753168689. Or see her at Salt Ayre Link: SHOP

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