Types of Swimming Competition

League galas are team events where the whole team competes against other clubs, gaining points for each race. League galas are usually made up of individual races and team/relay races for the different age groups.

Open Meets are advertised by the club and are licensed meets for anyone who is eligible to take part. These events are individual races with the fastest swimmers gaining medals/ trophies.

Long Course  Events are swum in a 50m pool (e.g. Plymouth Life Centre).

Short Course  Events are swum in a 25m pool (e.g. Trinity School Pool).

The Swimming Competition Structure

Unlicensed meets

These are run by different swimming clubs and are open for other swimmers from different clubs to compete. These meets often give opportunities for swimmers taking part in their first competitions.

Licensed meets

Licensed meets are swimming galas that comply with a standard set of Swim England licensing requirements. All times achieved at licensed meets are official and get published on a rankings database.

The level of the meet can be used to identify the purpose of the competition:

Level 4 is for those beginning to enter individual competitions. These competitions are generally hosted by a local club. Usually with upper limit/cut off times.

Level 3 is for entry level swimmers. Entries generally have cut-off/upper limit times. Can be short course or long course. Times achieved here can be used for entry to Level 1 meets, regional and county championships.

Level 2 is aimed at Regional qualifiers and swimmers close to Regional qualification. They require qualifying times to enter.

Level 1 is the highest level of competitive swimming aimed at National qualifiers and swimmers close to National qualification. Opportunity to achieve international qualifying times. Always long course.

Competitive Swimming – County / Regional / National levels

Devon County Sprints – June / July

Devon County Developments – June / July

These meets were introduced to give swimmers who are close to County standard the opportunity to achieve County qualifying times by competing against Swimmers of a similar standard. Swimmers with a regional qualifying time are not eligible to compete.

Sprints – All events 50m.

Developments – 100m – 800m.

These are Level 3 Licensed Meets, ran by Devon County ASA (www.devonswimming.org.uk), held at Plymouth Life Centre (Short Course).

Devon County Championships – January This standard ensures that the best swimmers in the county compete against each other. Entry to these Championships is subject to achieving qualifying times (‘County Times’) which are set each year by Devon County ASA. The qualifying times for 2023 are available here - https://www.devonswimming.org.uk/?p=3496.

This is a Level 1 Licensed Meet, ran by Devon County ASA, held at Plymouth Life Centre (Long Course).

South West Regional Summer Championships – April / May

South West Regional Winter Championships – November

The best swimmers from the south west compete against each other, and have qualifying times which swimmers must achieve to be allowed to compete.

These are Level 1 / Level 2 Licensed Meets, ran by Swim England South West, held at Millfield School, Somerset Hengrove Pool, Bristol and Plymouth Life Centre.

Swim England National Summer Meet – July / August

British Swimming Summer Championships – July

Swim England National Winter Championships - December

This is where the top swimmers in the country come together to compete for national honours. Entry is by invitation based on meeting the qualifying times, published in advance of the meets.

Qualifying Times / Upper Limit Times / Cut off Times

A qualifying time is the time that the swimmer must have already achieved in order to enter an event at the competition.

Upper limit/cut off times are times set by a competition organiser that a swimmer must be slower than to be able to swim at the competition.

Qualifying times or cut off times will be included in the competition meet pack so please look out for these and check before submitting an entry for your swimmer(s).

Swimmers’ Entry Times

Whenever possible Dawlish SC records and retains the times achieved by our swimmers. This will include not only times achieved at licensed competitions, but all events we take part in (club, friendly and team events).

Which times can be used?

The meet pack for a given competition usually states whether (1) times need to have been achieved at licensed meet and appear on rankings and (2) how recently the times need to have been swum.

If this is ever unclear, please ask your coach or contact our competition secretary – [email protected] .

As a general rule, most L3, L4, and friendly competitions will accept club recorded times regardless of whether they appear on the rankings database.

L1, L2, County, Regional, and National events will always require times to have been achieved at licensed competitions and appear on the rankings database.

Swimmers’ times achieved at licensed competitions can be found here: https://www.swimmingresults.org/individualbest (simply enter the swimmer surname or membership number to locate their times).

The database is a great tool to take a look at. It records every swim and provides graphs and other useful performance data. Event rankings can also be accessed on this site.

Time Conversions

This is particularly relevant when you wish to enter a long course meet but only have short course times. At the majority of swim meets, time conversions are permitted from short course to long course or vice versa. The following website has a tool which can convert these times: http://www.pullbuoy.co.uk/times

Entering Swimming Competitions

The Competition Secretary will send out entry details for all competitions that the Club is taking part in.

Please read through all documents (not just the entry form). Ensure you check age groups, what events your child can enter, and when they are.

Determine whether a swimmer is eligible to enter the competition by checking the level and qualifying/ cut-off times associated with the competition – please ask your coach or the competition secretary if you are unsure.

Complete the entry form and ensure the appropriate payment is made via your normal club Direct Debit.

Swim England Membership

Dawlish SC is affiliated to Swim England and all our swimmers, coaches, officials, and helpers need to be registered Swim England members.

There are three categories of membership – Club Train, Club Compete and Club Support. More information is available on the Swim England website - https://www.swimming.org/swimengland/membership-for-clubs/Swim England membership fees are to be paid annually in January.

Club Train (£15.85/yr) This is for members who are learning to swim or are swimming at any level within the club network. It is not for people who take part in galas and team competitions, unless the event has an exemption under Swim England Law or is designated as Low Level Competition. Previously known as Category 1.

Club Compete (£39.20/yr) Most club members will be Club Compete members. This is for all members who want to take part in galas and team events. This category of membership provides access to the swimming rankings system and offers insurance to swimmers at training, club events and competitions. Previously known as Category 2.

Club Support (£9.80/yr) Club Support membership is for everyone involved in the club who isn’t covered by Club Train or Club Compete, such as coaches, teachers and volunteers. Previously known as Category 3.


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