Gala Summary

Open Meets

It is up to swimmers (or parents!) to enter these events and the club will provide guidance as to suitability in advance of the entries opening, typically swimmers will need to be 9 years old and in the Development Squad or above. Swimmers typically choose which sessions and events (strokes and distances) they wish to target from the programme of events and this should be discussed with their coach. It is important to appreciate that these galas may be long, sometimes from 8am in the morning to 6pm at night and sometimes are over 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and it is important that this is carefully considered. 

These are the galas where swimmers can achieve qualification times for the County/ Regional Championships. There are usually only heats and no finals.  Medals are typically awarded for the top 3 in each age group for each event.

Swimmers must have “Club Compete” Swim England membership to compete in Open Meets

Please look out for instructions on how to enter in the emails, Team Unify App and WhatsApp comms.

Essex County, East Regional Championships & National Championships

Swimmers qualify for these events by achieving official times at open meets or licensed galas. It is up to swimmers to enter these Championships if they have swum faster than the qualification time, though the club will provide reminders and instructions on how to do this. These are for our more competitive swimmers who love the challenge of competing against the best in the County or East Region. There are heats and finals in most events, medals are awarded to the top 3 swimmers in each age group and event, and in some galas, flags are given to finalists. 

Swimmers must have “Club Compete” Swim England membership to compete in these galas and age restrictions also apply.

Essex League/Mini League

Swimmers are selected to take part in these galas by our coaching team. We request that swimmers confirm availability or not prior to the team being selected. In these galas the club fields one swimmer or relay team per event, each race earns points depending on the position of the swimmer/relay team and at the end of the gala the overall position of the club is determined.   Points are then awarded to each club based on their overall position and these points accumulate over the season.

Currently the results of the individual events are NOT officially recorded for the swimmer on the Swim England database and cannot be used to achieve County qualifying times.   This may change next season for the Essex League.

The Mini League has a “standard time” which is set for each event & age group.  Any swimmer who swims faster than this time will not score points.  This is done to ensure that swimmers are competing against those of similar abilities and consequently is suitable for swimmers who are not yet achieving County & Regional times.   We try to ensure that everyone who wants to gets an opportunity to take part in at least some of the mini-league galas during the year.   As noted earlier, the coaching team will select the races for each swimmer depending on several factors including how many swimmers are available in each age group, whether swimmers are faster or slower than the “standard time” and the swimmers ability.  This may lead to some swimmers having only a few races and others having quite a full racing schedule with small gaps between races.   For this reason the race lists are published in advance so swimmers can prepare for their races.   This represents a great opportunity for swimmers to learn strategies to cope with either several races in a short period of time or, conversely, with only a small number of races that are widely spaced.  Each represents a different challenge and the coaching team, team managers and the older swimmers are there to help, guide and support your child as they develop.  Your swimmer will never be put in a position which the coaching team believe is too difficult but they be challenged.  It is important to encourage your swimmer to take up such challenges rather than encourage them to withdraw from races they are nervous about.   In this way they can build character, gain experience and develop confidence; this is especially true when races do not go to plan.

The Essex League has no “standard time” and the emphasis is on selecting the most competitive team.

Swimmers can have either “Club Train” or “Club Compete” Swim England memberships to compete in these galas

Club Championships

The club has 3 Championships per year, Easter, Summer and Winter.   These are an opportunity for everyone in the club to enter, to track progress and to learn to compete in a safe and supported environment.  In addition they can try to win medals and prizes.    Similarly to the mini-league these galas represent an opportunity for swimmers to race in all 4 strokes and we would strongly encourage all swimmers to participate in all the events.  We are aware that some swimmers may be nervous about competing in some events however full participation is encouraged for the vast majority of swimmers so that they can gain experience and learn from successes and mistakes in a safe environment, helping to build their character and confidence.

These are typically held on Sunday afternoons during the normal club training hours.

Swimmers can have either “Club Train” or “Club Compete” Swim England membership to compete in these galas

Masters Galas – for swimmers who are 18 & over

There are a full range of Masters galas available and masters’ swimmers enter these galas individually.  We aim to send as large a team as possible to the County & Regional Championships each year and we also compete in Open Meets, National, European and World Masters Events.   Events from the Nationals & upwards have qualification requirements.

If you are unsure about anything please ask a member of the committee or the coaching team.