What can I expect at the Gala?
The gala details, available on the host clubs website or the Thame Swimming Club Website, will have details for the Warm Up time and start time of each of the sessions. Your swimmer will have been entered into events within a session so you can work out what time you need to get to the gala. You need to arrive in time to sign in / post your cards and get changed in time for warm up. Only post the card for the session that is about to start, you can post your cards for later sessions at the allotted time before they start.
For some galas the organisers will issue cards – one card per event with details of the session and warm up time as well as your name, club, entry time etc. The cards will be sent out by the organising club prior to the event to Thame Swimming Club and will be given to you by your coach. If there are fewer cards than events you were entered for then you have been scratched from the missing events. You will receive a refund for those events in your next quarterly training fees invoice. These have to be posted before the session starts or you will be scratched as a non-attendee. There is usually a card post box near the entry desk or changing area to post your cards. There are also cardless galas, for these you arrive and sign in at the desk to show you have arrived and can swim your events in that session. You will have to sign in again for the later sessions. For cardless galas you will be told by your coach what events you have been accepted for and you can also find out this information from the club website and notice board where we will post the “scratch” list, detailing the events swimmers have and have not been accepted for.
Parents and spectators will normally have to pay a fee to be a spectator at the gala, usually in the order of £2-£4/session and may also be charged for the gala programme. Some galas allow photography but you will have to sign the photography book and provide address and phone contact details to get a pass to take pictures or video. This is to satisfy child protection policy.
Having signed in, the swimmers should proceed to the changing rooms and meet the club coaches poolside. The swimmers should sit with the coaches so that when the gala organisers ask for swimmers in a given event to go to the marshalling area, the club coaches can find them and get them to the right place. Swimmers should attend the warm up to ensure they are warmed up and ready to race. Although at the event, parents are still responsible for their swimmers. Swimmers should let the coach know if they are going to the toilet or leaving poolside at any time.
Once a swimmers event has been called by the gala organisers, the club coach will inform the swimmer to go to the marshalling area, once there, the organisers will get the swimmers into the order that they will swim the race. They ensure the swimmers are in the right heat and lane. If the gala is issuing cards, the card for that event will be given back to you by the marshall. You give this to the time keeper for your lane when you walk out to race. After that, you wait your turn, take your marks, GO!
The swimmers will be swimming against people placed in the event according to their entry time, not age. Hence, it is not uncommon to see 12 year olds racing 14 year olds etc. At the end of the event the times are examined and ordered by age group. Whether you get a medal or not depends on where you came in your age group NOT your heat. Usually the first 3 in a given age group get the medals – Bronze, Silver and Gold. IF you swam faster that the fastest allowable entry time for your age group and event, you will be given a SPEEDING TICKET, whilst you’ll probably be disappointed you didn’t get a medal a Speeding Ticket is a good thing to have, it means you have qualified for the next level up of galas and are a really fast swimmer.
There are several officials around the pool when you go out to race. There is a starter, referee, time keepers on each lane and several judges looking at starts, turns and stroke technique. They are identified by those wearing white shirts. If you breach one of the rules surrounding starts, turns or stroke you may be Disqualified or DQ’d. The trick here is to find out what you did that got you DQ’d and work on it in training with your coach to make sure you don’t do it again.
Printed results are usually posted throughout the gala so if you are swimming in the later sessions it is always worth waiting for the results. These will show your official time for the event and your placing and hence whether you got a medal. If you did win a medal, go and claim it at the medal desk. If you were DQ’d this will also be shown.
So, off you go, enjoy the events, have a great time with your team mates and we’ll look forward to your great results for team Thame! |
