Swimming Galas
Galas are hugely important in a swimmer's development.
They're a great way for them to see how fast they are - and to put into practise what they learn in training. Having a good stroke in training is one thing. Managing to keep it in the heat of a race is another. That's why it's good to be in competitive races to practise keeping a good technique.
There are different types of galas - to cater for every swimmer. Some just involve our club, others we enter as a club and some the swimmer enters as an individual. At the top end there are championships which swimmers can only swim in if they achieve a very high qualifying time.
Here's a run down of galas that swimmers can get involved in:
GSC INTERNAL GALAS
INTER-SQUAD GALAS
Up to four times a year we hold inter-squad galas at the Arches. This is just for swimmers at our club. Everyone is allocated to a team (Beavers, Otters, Dolphins and Penguins) - and all the squads race against one another. These are great fun (especially the last race!) and a trophy is awarded to the winning squad at the end of the year.
CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
These are held every year at Eltham around December and are just for members of our club. Every swimmer in a competitive squad (Sharks - Gold, A - C), who has been at the club for at least 6 months, is expected to take part. The events are arranged in the following age groups - U11, U12, 12/13, U14, Junior(14 to 16 years), Open (over 17) and Masters. Every event has a club trophy and the names of all winners down the years are engraved on it. Each winner gets to keep the trophy for a year.
TIME TRIALS
These are not galas in themselves but are important events which are used to prepare our swimmers to compete in galas and to help the coaches select gala teams. We have time trials at the club every quarter, which show us how swimmers are improving. Swimmers have to start and finish properly and do their strokes correctly.
GALAS AGAINST OTHER CLUBS
As a club, we compete against other clubs in 4 different leagues each of which has a handful of galas during the year. These Leagues have been selected to provide competitive swimming opportunities to all members of GSC.
You'll be invited by the coach or a committee member to swim - by email and on the notice board. It should be an honour to be invited to represent a GSC team in any of these galas. Generally speaking, they should take priority over other internal and external events:
MILLENNIUM LEAGUE - this league provides opportunities for swimmers to represent the club and swim competitively. For the younger age groups, it provides an introduction to the gala environment. The league imposes a time limit for each event. This prevents clubs entering their fastest swimmers and gives swimmers in all age groups an opportunity to swim against others of a similar standard. It can also provide our faster swimmers with the chance to swim strokes which are not their strongest.
TUDOR LEAGUE - like the Millennium League, the Tudor League imposes a time limit for each event, but the limits are faster so the League caters for faster and more experienced swimmers. At present all of the galas take place at The Eltham Centre.
NORTH KENT JUNIOR LEAGUE - this league is for swimmers up to the 13 and under age group. It is one of the toughest leagues we are in. There are no time limits, so each club can picks its fastest available swimmers for each event. Our teams always have a great team spirit - and put in great performances.
ARENA LEAGUE - This is the toughest league for any club in the country. We started competing in it around 2005 and have done really well - finishing mid-table in the 2nd Division every year since.
EXTERNAL - CHAMPIONSHIPS
BOROUGH CHAMPIONSHIPS
This event is held annually at The Eltham Centre. The three clubs in Greenwich (ourselves, Eltham Stingrays and Greenwich Borough Mariners) compete against one another as well as swimmers who live in the borough but are members of other clubs. This is another teriffic gala for our swimmers to be involved in, and we recommend as many of you take part as possible.
KENT COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
This is the highest level that our swimmers can go to locally, and entry is only by reaching a very good qualifying time. We often enter relay teams into this as well.
LONDON REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Held at Crystal Palace this is a high level meeting involving swimmers from all over the region, swimmers can only enter if they have achieved the qualifying time at a licensed meet (see below).
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
This is another step up from the Kents and regionals. Again, entry is only through a very high level of qualifying time. In recent years we've had a couple of swimmers reach this level and it's something we must keep doing.
EXTERNAL - OPEN MEETS
Like the external championships, the Open Meets are events that swimmers enter individually, as guided by the coaches. They help enormously with their development because each meet puts them in with children of a similar ability - which means they often come back with a personal best (PB). Our coaches feel that the Open Meets are very important for our competitive swimmers to take part in.
Open Meets are usually LICENSED at level 1,2,3 or 4. The level of the meet indicates the standard of the meet with level 1 requiring a very fast entry time in order to participate. The times that swimmers record at open meets are logged on the national swimming database which can be accessed via the "Useful Links" page. Some events ,like the Regional Championships, only allow entry if the swimmer has achieved the correct time at level 1,2 or 3 meet so it is important to keep clocking up times at the meetings which come up during the year.
Notices are put on the board telling you which Open Meets are coming up, and application forms are available from the office. Your coach will guide you which Opens to go to and which events to go in for.