SWIMMING MEETS
For competitive swimmers, there are numerous swimming meets to attend throughout the season.
Gympie Gold Fins Swimming Club Inc is a member of the Wide Bay Regional Swimming Association, and many of the Swimming Qld sanctioned meets in the region, enables our swimmers to be eligible for selection in Swimming Queensland Development Programs.
Swimming Queensland Club and Coach Development Officers work closely with the Regional Assion to see that appropriate development opportunities are offered at a local level. They target different ages and levels of ability throughout the season.
The club Race Secretary will send emails to all members throughout the season, advising of the upcoming meets and deadlines for nominations. Some meets have qualifying times, so not all swimmers will be eligible to compete at these meets.
All swimming meets use the online registration process through Swim Central.
All meets are listed in the following locations:-
Gympie Gold Fins Swimming Club Website
Wide Bay Regional Swimming Website
Swimming Queensland Approved Meet Calendar
If you wish to attend a meet, please discuss this with your swimmers coach, as there are 3 different types of meets conducted across the region (Development, Transition and Preparation), not all are suitable for all swimmers.
Competitive Meets
A club member must be registered as a “Competitive Swimmer” to be eligible to compete at swimming meets. If a swimmer joins as a “Recreational Swimmer”, they are able to upgrade their membership if they wish to start competing at meets.
DEVELOPMENT MEETS
The main aim of a Development Meet is to give swimmers, generally aged 11yrs & under, the opportunity to gain experience in a range of strokes and events in a developmental environment. Swimmers should have the basic skills and capacities in all four strokes. In some cases, qualifying times may be gained and used for Transition meets, however the main aim is for swimmers to gain experience.
TRANSITION MEETS
Transition Meets are designed to give swimmers the opportunity to compete and gain racing experience in a wide range of strokes and events. Swimmers should have the necessary skills and capacities gained from competing at Development Meets. Qualifying times can be gained and used for Preparation meets, Regional and State Championships, however the main aim is to gain racing experience.
PREPARATION MEETS
Preparation Meet are designed to give swimmers aged 11yrs & over, the opportunity to gain experience competing in all strokes and events. Swimmers should have advanced skills and capacities in all four strokes developed through participation in Transition meets. Qualifying times can be gained and used for Regional, State and National Championships, with the main aim being to gain competition experience.
SWIMMING QUEENSLAND
JUNIOR RULE TOLERANCE POLICY
Swimming Queensland has a policy that SQ Referees will not disqualify swimmers aged 7 years and under at any meet, under any circumstances.
At all non-qualifying meets, SQ referees will make every effort to avoid disqualifying swimmers aged 8 and 9 years by applying “Junior Rule Tolerances” to the swimming rules.
Restricted Meet indicates that the swimmers are invited to compete (eg 4 way meet) or is restricted to swimmers from a specific area or region.
QUALIFYING TIMES MUST BE MET FOR:-
Times must be achieved at a Swimming Queensland (SQ) designated qualifying meet as outlined above.
Club Night times and Club Championship results are not acceptable.
Qualifying for Wide Bay Long Course Championships – Only LC times will be accepted and must be achieved at a Transition or Preparation meet.
COMPETITION CALENDAR
The Wide Bay Swimming Association produces a calendar of approved meets for the season.
This calendar will be included here to give you an overview of the season’s swimming meets.
It should be noted however, that due to unforeseen circumstances, the calendar may show meets that may not go ahead or not show meets that have been added since the calendar was created.
All upcoming meets will be displayed in the Events section of the website, together with the information flyer. The meets will be added when they have been advertised by the hosting club.
The club race secretary also notifies members by email and our Facebook page when a meet has been advertised.
NOMINATING FOR SWIM MEETS
At the beginning of each season, Gympie Gold Fins Swimming Club compiles a list of “targeted meets” for the season. These are meets we have identified as of benefit to our swimmers and their level of swimming. You are not limited to these meets, and if you see a meet you want to participate in, talk to your coach.
Most, if not all meets use the Online Meet Entry nomination system which is accessed through your account on Swim Central.
Once registered as a swimmer, you will receive your web ID number to log onto “The Swimmers Profile” to find meets. The race secretary is available to assist if required.
To nominate for a swim meet in Swim Central, navigate to “Events” in the menu and use the calendar to select the meet date and select “View Event” to see more information or to nominate for the meet.
Swim Central automatically calculates a swimmer’s eligibility for events at a swim meet and will automatically display the eligible events. Ensure the Nominee in the drop down is the member you wish to nominate.
Add events to the shopping cart using the “+” button and choose the “Make Payment” button to finalise the nomination.
Please note, you do not have enter all the events displayed. You are free to enter as many or as few as you want.
Nominations generally close 1 to 3 weeks before the scheduled date of the meet. Generally, hosting clubs do not accept late nominations or issue refunds for not swimming a nominated event.There maybe exceptions to this, for example, by providing a medical certificate indicating an inability to swim.You need to check with the hosting club in relation to this.
As a guide the cost of nominations can range upwards from $5.00 per event, with championship events starting from $12.00 per event. Clubs set their own nomination fees, so you need to check this cost prior to nominating.
NOMINATION FEES
Payment on line via Swim Central does incur a credit card surcharge. Any nomination fees will be recorded on your account in MYOB and an invoice issued and emailed to you.
For any meet(s) you wish to attend that doesn’t use the online meet entry nomination process, you need to speak to the Race Secretary about the process required to nominate and pay for these meets.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about membership or a general enquiry about the club, let us know by filling in the below form.
