GASC
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have additional questions please do send these in by email.
Q. Do I have to be a good swimmer to join the club?
This depends on what age you are. We are a competitive swimming club and as you move up the squads more is expected of you. Children can join at age 5 years and can learn to swim with the club. Once you have learned to swim you move up into a Squad. Swimmers in squads have different requirements.
Q. What are the Joining Costs?
Club membership is due each January. The annual fee currently is:
· £40 For a single member or the first member of the same family
· £30 For the second member of the same family
· £20 For the third member of the same family
Q. What is the SASA membership?
SASA membership is due each February. The cost of this is £43 per swimmer. This fee applies to all swimmers and is an Insurance Fee
Q. When do swimmers move between squads?
This usually occurs up to three times a year and depends on several things: Age, Development, Success in Competition, attitude, attendance, commitment training and at competition.
Q. Can I pay monthly?
You need to pay membership in January and SASA fee’s in February. The squad fees should be paid by monthly standing order.
Any queries can be directed to the club Treasurer.
Q. What equipment will I need?
To get the most out of swimming, swimmers in our Teaching groups need:
· Swimming costume
· Swimming hat
· Goggles
· Towel
Swimmers in our squads will need (in addition to the above):
· Short blade training fins (short flippers)
· Kick board
· Pull buoy
· Hand paddles
· Drinks bottle
GALA’S
Q. What swimming kit do you recommend for competition?
Once your children become club swimmers and are in the water more than twice a week you need to think about what they are wearing in the water.
Training
They will probably have worn a LYCRA suit for swimming lessons which will have lasted perhaps 9 to 12 months. LYCRA is very comfortable to wear, nice and stretchy and, for the girls, usually has very pretty patterns printed on it - the trouble is it degrades in chlorine so the more they swim the quicker the fabric will become see through.
For swimming training they need a good chlorine resistant suit or trunks, some of the more familiar brands are Speedo ENDURANCE or Maru PACER. This material will not degrade at all in chlorine, your children will probably grow out of it before it becomes worn. Leaving a chlorine resistant suit or trunks in the bottom of a swimming bag soaking wet for days on end will not harm the fabric, and you'll probably find this happens occassionally!
But do take note - chlorine resistant fabric doesn't stretch so it can't be worn tight, it must be comfortable. Go up a size from the existing suit/trunks and ensure the child is comfortable in it, particularly the girls, making sure they can put their arms up vertically and not feel the straps cutting their shoulders.
Competition
So they come to their first competition - this is when they will need something LYCRA to wear as it is faster in the water. They don't need to go into the top of the range racing suits that cost a hundred pounds and upwards, all they need is something tight fitting to keep the water out and make them feel they can go faster - for the boys, a pair of lycra jammers, for the girls a lycra suit. If these are kept solely for competitions they should last a year. Lycra stretches so if they go down a size it will still be tight after it has stretched.
A range of costumes are available to order at our club shop.
Goggles
We have a range of goggles at the club shop. It is important that they sit comfortably on the bone around the eye rather than in the eye socket (and they look good!). Proper racing goggles are much smaller and many young swimmers will find them very uncomfortable until they have been wearing goggles for 3 or 4 years.
For the rest of the equipment advice should be sought from the club coach as to which kickboard/pull buoy/hand paddles/fins etc. are generally used by the club. Once they start collecting the necessary equipment a mesh sack to keep it all in is a good investment - this will stop the equipment going mouldy as it allows it to dry after each session.
Q. Can I buy equipment through the club?
Yes, you can buy a variety of swim wear and accessories such as club costumes, hats, sweatshirts, club kit bags and so on through the club shop, which is normally open on a Wednesday evening 6 - 8 pm.
Q. What are the club colours?
Club colours are red and black.
Q. What does Gala Terminology mean?
Most galas that the swimmers enter are chosen by the coaches. These gala’s will be displayed in a folder on club night at our club desk. Prices for each gala are set by the club hosting the Gala and swim’s are paid for on an individual basis.
There are different types of galas that the swimmers can be entered for.
Q. What does age on 31st December mean?
Most galas are run for swimmers of different age groups such as Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Open. If a gala is run on an 'age on 31st December' basis, it refers to how old the swimmer must be on the 31st December in the year of competition. It does not necessarily mean the age of the swimmer on the day of the competition. Thus under 12 on 31st December 2007, means no older than 11 on that date and so the swimmer must be born in or after 1996. Similarly, Under 11 on 31st December 2007 means no older than 10 and so the swimmer must be born in 1997 or later. Some events are 'age on the day' and this is self explanatory.
Q. What does U12, U14 U16, Open mean?
Most galas are run for swimmers of different age groups such as Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and Open though some galas refer to 11/U (11& Under), 13/U (13&Under) 15/U (15&Under) and Open. Both mean the same thing.
Q. How are teams selected for galas?
Most gala’s have a relay at the end of the session. Swimmers are chosen by the coaches to enter the relay event. (The club pay for swimmers to enter the relay).
Q. How do I find out what times I have achieved?
After each gala or club event, individual times and positions of each swimmer will be displayed on the Swim Scotland website. Times are also updated on the club website. These times usually appear 3-4 days after the Gala.
Q. Club Website
The club has its own website. This provides you with information on the Club committee , training times, swimmer of the month, PB times and various events that are currently being organised. The club also have a facebook account where information is updated regularly.
Q. What is a PB?
PB stands for personal best. It is the best time an individual has achieved for a particular stroke at a given distance. The club does its best to record swimmers times and PBs though swimmers are encouraged to keep a log book if they can.
Please remember that swimmers cannot get PBs every time they swim and sometimes they achieve significant PBs one week which they might not be beat for several competitions. This can be down to numerous things but for all swimmers there are troughs and plateaus as well as peaks and certainly the former should not be viewed as a lack of effort either in competition or training.
Some of the more experienced swimmers may be told that the expectation at a certain Meet is PB plus 2%. So if a PB was 50 seconds for a swimmer this would mean the target time is 51 seconds i.e. 102% of the existing PB. This does not mean that the swimmer should try any less hard nor would the Coach expect them to but because for instance they might be in heavy training for another competition a few weeks hence or at a certain point in their training cycle and are therefore tired the Coach may set what he considers a more realistic target for the swimmers. Naturally if they gain PBs at that Meet everyone is delighted.
Q. What do you mean by a logbook?
Some swimmers find it useful to keep individual logbooks to record their own times. This helps swimmers maintain a record of individual progress; encourages personal achievement.
You can keep these in a diary or on a computer spreadsheet. Sometimes it is a good idea to keep a note of your training sessions and what sets you made to record your improvement. Ask your coach!
Q. What Competitions can I enter?
The Fife leagues run four times per year and all squad swimmers who achieve target times are entered into these events. All swimmers are expected to enter our yearly club championships. This is the opportunity for you to compete with your team mates and also achieve an official time for other events you may enter. These times will be very important, as when entering any gala you will be asked to submit times for each event, the Club Championships are the starting block to achieve your first entry times to build on. Your coach will advise you on events you should enter according to your age and ability.
We would advise you to record and update your times after you swim at a gala. Every gala will sort swimmers based on their entry time. Entering an up to date time will place you in a more competitive heat for your ability.
Novice Galas.
These are designed for swimmers new to competition. The criteria is usually that swimmers enter on the basis that either there is a time restriction or they have not been placed first in a swimming gala this is to give all new swimmers the opportunity of experience in competition with similar swimmers and obtaining times to be used in future galas.
Open Galas
Many clubs, hold an open gala. Any swimmer can swim in an open gala, the majority of swimmers that enter these meets are looking to achieve a district/national time, before entering check that you meet:
a) the age requirement;
b) the qualifying time for the events you wish to enter.
There are various levels of galas aimed at different levels of swimmer. This can be indicated by the designated level if the gala is licensed and the qualifying or consideration times. In general:
Level 1 – National standard (requires qualifying times). Aimed at swimmers wanting National qualifying times.
Level 2 – Regional standard (requires qualifying times). Aimed at swimmers wanting Regional qualifying times.
Level 3 – County standard (requires qualifying times and usually has upper limit times)
There are also Level 4 and Grade B & C galas which have upper limit times.
Qualifying times mean you have to have swum faster than this time to apply for entry in that event. You cannot enter an event if your time is faster than the upper limit time. Entry times are required to enter open meets.
Open Meets have different types of events from Sprint (50m and 100m events) to 200m, and 400m events, and at some 800m and 1500m. The youngest age group at these is 9yrs (as laid down by the ASA), but some open meets start at 11yrs and under, depending on who the host club is aiming the Open Meet at. Age is as at the date of the gala.
Graded Open Galas - Age 9+
The difference in a graded open gala and the above, is that graded opens are aimed at swimmers who have not achieved national times There will be an upper time limit, usually a district time, should a swimmer exceed this time they will I be given a speeding ticket!!
Time Trials
This type of gala is designed to enable swimmers to race against swimmers of similar ability. Swimmers swim in either a A, B or C banded race.
Q. What does 'Licensed meet' mean?
Licensed Meets are Open Meets which have been sanctioned by the SASA as being either a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 Meet. To be licensed the Meet organisers have to meet certain criteria imposed by SASA.
The most obvious benefit of licensing is that all times recorded will be shown in the National Rankings. Consequently if a swimmer needs to prove a time for entry into a certain Meet he can do so by reference to the National Rankings which is open to everyone to see. This is particularly important for qualification into Regional or National Events where qualification can only be achieved at certain Levels of Meet e.g. for Regional events only times at Levels 1,2 or 3 Meets are acceptable.
The Criteria include the following:
· Pools used for licensed meets should be a minimum of 25 metres long.
· Electronic timing must be used for Meets at level 1,2 and 3.
· Anti-turbulence lane lines, starting blocks and turning flags must be provided.
· Adequate provision must be made for swimmers to warm up.
· Ages shall be at the last day of the meet/series of meets.
· A maximum of 7½ hours swimming can take place in any competition day.
· The minimum requirements for officials at each Level of Meet.
So far as the events be included in any Licensed Meet are concerned 100m events for 9 year old swimmers are not permitted, except 4x25m Individual Medley.
Level 1 and 2 Meets must have a minimum set of qualifying standards which is set down by the ASA. No upper limit time is required. Level 1 and 2 Meets are generally aimed the higher level of swimmer such as National and Regional qualifiers.
Level 3 Meets require Upper limit times and qualifying times whilst in Level 4 Meets Upper limit times are required (except for Club Championships.) and no lower qualifying time is required. Level 3 Meets can attract a wide spectrum of swimmers. The upper limits are usually set at or about the national qualifying Time for each age and event so that faster swimmers are generally excluded. The qualifying times can vary widely, which can enable inexperienced swimmers to compete. Level 4 Meets are intended for either Novice events or Club Championships to enable those Meets or Championships to proceed as Licensed events with the minimum of red tape.