Costs and Fees

Galas and other Events

A notice containing the selected team, date, venue, warm up time and start time, for the gala is posted on the notice board. All swimmers and parents should keep an eye on the notice board to see if there are any details relevant to them. All swimmers selected to swim should confirm with their parents/guardians if they are available, tick if available or cross if they are unable to swim, and make a note of the selector’s name and telephone number.

Galas should be marked as soon as possible, to allow selectors to review availability of replacements. If you have previously ticked and then find you are not available, or, if you are ill on the night prior to the gala, you must speak to the selector for the gala – selectors phone numbers are shown on the gala team sheets. Any swimmer who simply fails to turn up risks not being selected for future galas and jeopardises his/her position in their training squad.

Most competitions against other clubs take place on Saturday between 4.30 pm and 9.30 pm. There are very occasional Sunday galas and exceptionally mid-week galas.

A fixtures list for the whole year is available at the desk on request and is posted on the notice board.

Leagues and Regular Galas

Swimmers of ASA age (ie age as at 31st December in the year of the swim) 8 and under are not allowed to compete against other Clubs under any circumstance. However all swimmers, no matter what age, may compete in galas organised solely for Grantham Swimming Club members (ie Club Championships, Club Sprints, time trials etc). Swimmers aged ASA 9 are allowed to swim against other Clubs. However they are only allowed to swim relay events in league galas. At one-off, friendly or trophy galas, 9 year olds are allowed to swim individual events. Once a swimmer reaches ASA 10 or over, these restrictions are lifted. The aim of this is to prevent young swimmers being pushed too hard, too young.

The regular galas are:-

** Premier galas held throughout the year for swimmers aged ASA10 – Open. Some 9 year olds may be asked to swim in relays.

* Galas held with cut-off times - swimmers must not be faster than pre-set times for each stroke and distance.

*All have pre-set minimum qualifying times and swimmers must be ASA registered.

Team Selection

GSC enter a number of galas (competitions) and it the current Club policy for the Chief Coach to assist in selection, using an up to date pb list and by consultation with coaching assistants and the Club Captains where appropriate, to ensure that as many swimmers as possible are given the opportunity to represent the Club. The Chief Coach has highlighted a number of premier galas for which the strongest possible team will be selected. For the other galas, the Chief Coach will endeavour to ensure that as many swimmers as possible are given the opportunity to represent the Club and have the chance to sample the atmosphere of a competition. Some of the galas GSC enters are restricted by cut-off-times (i.e Fenland Junior League); this only allows swimmers to compete who have not equalled or swum faster than the stated cut-off-time. These types of galas require a constant turnover of swimmers as they improve and break the cut-off-times.

A list of swimmers selected to represent the Club will be displayed on the notice board a minimum of two weeks before the event if possible. Swimmers will be requested to tick (if available) or place a cross (not available) next to their name. Swimmers who do not tick or cross will be taken as unavailable and will not be selected to swim. Replacements required for those not able to swim will be notified as the earliest opportunity. Swimmers should make a note of the warm-up time, the start time, the bus time (for away galas where a bus is provided) and a note of the selector’s phone number (in case of problems).

Swimmers taking part in a gala must keep warm when not swimming, otherwise muscles will become cold and performance will be reduced. Swimmers must have some warm poolside clothing for their body, shoes and socks for their feet and spare clothes as they get extremely wet if competing in a number of races.

Therefore they should take the following to galas for poolside:

• Club hat (and one spare hat)
• Costume (one spare one for warm up/emergencies)
• Two towels
• Goggles (at least two pairs)
• Club t-shirt (and spare t-shirt)
• Poolside shoes
• Warm spare clothing to travel back in
• Bag to place wet clothing in
• Drinks bottle minimum 500ml – no glass bottles or fizzy drinks
• Hat and gloves (to travel home on cold nights)

Swimmer’s name on all garments please!

Club Discipline

At Grantham Swimming Club the stand of behaviour of the swimmers is generally very high and discipline is not seen as a problem. However the Club has a simple code of discipline to cope with unacceptable behaviour should this be needed. Bullying – physical or verbal – bad language, consistent unpunctuality, or rudeness towards lane minders and other swimmers, are examples of unacceptable behaviour. The stages of discipline start with a verbal warning to the swimmer, progress through a verbal warning to the swimmer in the presence of the parent, then a written warning to the parent. The last resort is for a child to be asked to leave the Club.

Responsibility for discipline remains with the Chief Coach. Formal verbal warnings are generally given by the Chief Coach and are always given with another member of the Committee present. All disciplinary incidents are reported to the Committee and documented.

Poolside Discipline at Galas

To ensure the safety of all swimmers taking part in a gala, some basic discipline is required. Swimmers are looked after by team managers, usually Club officials or volunteer parents. Team managers take charge of all swimmers on poolside and are responsible for ensuring that swimmers are in the right place at the right time. To do this, it is important that swimmers stay with the team and do not wander off to sit with parents, disappear into the changing rooms, or go off poolside, unless they have asked permission. Swimmers are asked to stay with the team at all times unless competing or cheering their team mates on.

The basic rules are:

• Never run on poolside
• Quiet for the start of every race
• After a race, stay in the water until the referee says to climb out
• Ask the team manager before you leave the team (ie to go to the loo)

Training

The club uses the swimming pool at The Meres on Trent Road as its base and the pool is hired on a number of occasions each week. All sessions train length-wise. The majority of swimmers swim on Thursday and Sunday evenings. We regularly train at times when the public are using the pool at the same time. It is important to impress upon all our members that they remember they are not the only ones using the facility.

The Club does not teach non-swimmers/beginners; however we do teach the Competitive Starts programme for new members.

All swimmers should be changed and on poolside, ready to start at the beginning of their session. Late arrivals often disturb those already swimming, and if they do not warm up properly, risk injury. Therefore late arrivals are only allowed into training at the discretion of the lane minder or coach in charge, and if more than a few minutes late, may be turned away.

Lane Set up

Swimmers accepted to train with GSC are placed into four different squads in accordance with the standard of their s trokes and training ability. Each squad is then subdivided into lanes by training ability (not necessarily of like age and size). The lane set up is determined from the results of tests carried out on a regular basis throughout the training cycle (T20 minutes / T15 /T10- these measure the distance a swimmer covers in that time). This ensures all swimmers receive the best benefits from the training sessions. Assessment of lanes and squads is ongoing, and is assessed and discussed with lane minders on a regular basis. Regular attendance, availability for competition, and attitude, are also taken into account, as well as stroke techniques and ability. Swimmers may move down lanes/sessions, as well as up. This should not be taken as demotion or lack of ability. Swimmers learn in spurts and can improve rapidly at some times, and then apparently hit a slow patch – this is quite normal.

Any swimmer or parent wishing to discuss any problems concerning training can approach the Chief Coach who is normally on poolside for all sessions. In his absence one of the other coaching staff will gladly be of assistance. Please use this facility freely, as an early explanation will often stop a problem arising due to uncertainty on the part of the swimmer or parent.

Clothing and Equipment

Swimmers are to wear the correct swimwear for training. No beach shorts or shorts of any other nature will be allowed. Female swimmers should not wear bikinis or costumes that may or have become see-through. Although the Club does hold a number of floats, pull buoys, fins and hand paddles, these will not be replaced as they wear out. All swimmers are encouraged to obtain their own floats, pull buoys, fins and hand paddles . All swimmers are given a hat on joining which should be worn. The Club does not have a ‘uniform’ but swimmers representing the Club should wear black trunks/costume and the Club hat whenever possible. Please ensure that all clothing and equipment is labeled with the swimmer’s name so that this can be quickly returned if ‘lost’. A small number of Club polo shirts is kept in stock and available for purchase.