Guide to Competitions
Staines Swimming Club organises its own club level competitions, and also participates in a number of external ones.
Club Events
SQUAD / FUN GALAS / TIME TRIALS
These are held several times a year. Swimmers are invited to swim in these galas which are held at Spelthorne Leisure Centre in place of normal training sessions. They are an opportunity for swimmers (especially the younger and newer members) to get valuable experience of competitive swimming conditions. Please attend if at all possible.
NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS
These are held annually, the date will be published on the website and notice board. All eligible Club members (All swimmers who have been members of Staines Swimming Club for at least 3 months are eligible to enter), can enter any event for which they have not previously won a Gold medal at any level. Medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are presented immediately after the Gala.
 CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
These are also held annually, the dates of which will be published on the website and notice board. All swimmers who have been members of Staines Swimming Club for at least 3 months are eligible to enter. Medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place are presented during the Championships. Trophies for the winners are presented at a later date.
External Events
OPEN GALAS
Clubs around the country hold “Open Galas” of varying entry standard. These are advertised in the ASA magazine and the Head Coach will select those galas which fit in with both the training plans and the Club’s existing fixtures and agree the year’s calendar with the Clubs Fixtures Secretary. These are published in the Calendar on the Club website, and as they come up for entry, the forms will be emailed out to appropriate members (depending on the grade of the competition) and are also made available in the web site in the competitions section. Those swimmers wishing to enter will need to complete the necessary entry forms which must be returned with the appropriate entry fees by the deadline stated on the entry form; late entries will unfortunately be rejected. Qualifying times tend to apply, and beginners to the Club are actively encouraged to enter the Club Championships/Novices Championship as a means of having a time to enter. Estimated times are not acceptable. The Fixtures secretary will collate all the submissions and check them against our own databases to ensure the times are not fictitious. The Club owes a duty of care to the organisers of such events to validate entry times, as false times often lead to other swimmers missing out who have genuinely faster recorded times, when entries are over subscribed.
MIDDLESEX CHAMPIONSHIPS
Whilst we are registered in the Surrey sub-region of the ASA South East Region, we are able, and indeed currently choose, to elect as our County Championships, the Middlesex Championships. In normally offering 2 County championships and 2 Development events, compared to Surrey’s 1 County event, we believe this offers more to the development of our swimmers. Whilst this remains under Annual review, any such change would need to be agreed on by the membership at either an AGM or a Special General Meeting.
Again eligibility to these Championships is subject to qualifying entry times, but this event for the Club is the cornerstone of our calendar.
It is the first large competitive event(s) where Swimmers know where they stand in the bigger pond.
 REGIONAL & NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
As they suggest, these are even bigger ponds ! To reach these levels of competition is a major achievement. These are annual events, with the Regionals being located either at Crawley or Aldershot 50m Pools, whilst the Nationals are held up in Sheffield.
Inter Club Events
LEAGUE EVENTS
The Club takes part in several Leagues, the most relevants are the National Arena Swimming League in which Staines participates in the Premier Division in the South region, and the Milton Keynes Junior League (commonly referred as Diddy League). Swimmers are selected to swim by the Team Manager and Head Coach and are notified (by email) that they have been selected approximately two weeks prior to the event. They must confirm back to the Team Manager whether they will or not be able to participate. On occasions (e.g. due to illness of another swimmer) a swimmer may be called as a reserve at short notice to take part.
See also: Representing the Club | Entering External Events | Other Considerations