Due to a change in availability of the pool beyond our control, we will no longer be able to run a Club Championships event on the date planned in November or on any Saturday currently.
At this point, we have taken the decision to not run the championships as a gala event as we have traditionally done. Instead we will bring forward December time trials, align them to our traditional distances, and run them in your usual training sessions (in lieu of heats) with a swim-off for the fastest times after half term.
Rather than doing nothing in 2021 we hope this temporary format will allow us to carry on with our decades old tradition of awarding trophies and place medals in each discipline, taking part medals for participants and give all our swimmers a fun objective. And hopefully break some club records!
Please find the following FAQ which will provide more information regarding the approach.
Thank you for your support & understanding. PDSC Committee. Go Dippers!
Q. Will this be the format for all future Club Championships?
No. This is a special one-off approach. We hope to return to normal gala Club Championships in October 2022.
Q. When will the races take place?
The proposed dates for the races are;
- Heats Saturday 9th October to Thursday 21st October
- Finals Saturday 6th November to Saturday 13th November
All heats will take place in existing sessions, so swimmers should just go to their normal session.
All finals will be on fixed dates. Most of these will take place in the session a swimmer normally attends, however it's possible a small number of swimmers maybe asked to attend a session which they would not normally attend as a one-off instance.
Q. Should swimmers do anything different?
No. Just turn up to your normal sessions unless notice is given to you otherwise (e.g. finals).
Swimmers should have a hat, goggles, water bottle, and can also bring a towel/hoodie etc poolside if they wish to use between races.
Q. Which races are taking place?
We will plan to use the existing format which has been in place for many years.
Q. When will heat races take place?
Q. When will finals races take place?
Q. Who is able to take part?
Any member of our Green, Blue, or Yellow squads.
Q. What if my swimmer attends multiple sessions and takes part in the same heat on multiple dates?
We will encourage all swimmers to swim as much as possible. If they take part in the same time trial on multiple dates then only the first recorded time will be used for calculation of finals races.
Q. What happens if my swimmer doesn't want to do a specific race?
Then they don't have to. We will encourage all swimmers to swim as much as possible, but we do realise that sometimes swimmers do not want to race their least favourite stroke.
Q. How are age categories determined?
The age category is based on the age of the swimmer on 31st December 2021.
Q. What are the time penalties mentioned above?
Time penalties will apply for the under 13, under 15, and over 15 categories only.
We will NOT be disqualifying anyone but instead we will apply a 3 second penalty for a small range of the most basic and common faults. Decisions are to be made based on whether a swimmer is deemed to have achieved an advantage from the infringement of the rules. A time penalty will be awarded for each type of fault committed during a race, so it is possible to pick up more than one time penalty, but swimmers will only incur one penalty for each type of fault regardless of the number of time the fault is committed during a race.
Q. Is there any change in risk of COVID transmission?
We have completed multiple risk assessments and there are some minor changes (up & down) of risk however the overall risk rating remains the same as activity is taking place during sessions.
For example, swimmers would normally congregate together in close proximity in swimming lanes during coaching and behind blocks when racing, during heats they will no longer congregate in lanes but sit in groups of four on benches.
Swimmers can also choose to wear face masks if they wish between races.
Our full risk assessment is available to anyone who wishes to have a copy.
All members are expected to follow the PDSC COVID Policy which has been recently updated and published on our website.
Q. Are there any restrictions on spectating?
There are currently no restrictions on spectating as all races are taking place during normal session time. However please ensure you follow the PDSC COVID Policy and exercise common sense regarding masks and distancing.
Q. What should I do if my swimmer still has a trophy from Club Championships 2019?
Please contact a member of the team to return trophies. Ensure engraving is completed and ideally aim to have trophies returned before half term, but no later than the end of October 2021.
Q. Which medals are being awarded?
Every swimmer who takes part will receive a taking part medal in November.
There are place medals available for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
We have 50 trophies available in total which will be handed out to boys and girls winners for each age group and stoke.
There are 2 additional trophies awarded to the top boy and girl who wins the finals which had the most participants during heats.
Q. When are trophies and medals to be presented?
Our final races are spread out across multiple sessions. Therefore we plan to award trophies and medals during the sessions where the final takes place.
Q. What are the current club records?
There are some seriously impressive times here.
