BECKENHAM SWIMMING CLUB

Affiliated to the A.S.A, A.S.A London Region and K.C.A.S.A

Founded 1893

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have additional questions please do send these in by email and where appropriate we will post the answers here for all.

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. Swimmers in Tadpoles 4 - 6 years need to be confident in the water and swim a width on their front and back. Swimmers in other squads have different requirements (See Squad aims). Unfortunately as we cannot get the pool time, we cannot teach non-swimmers and we can at times be full!

Q. When do swimmers move between squads?

This usually occurs up to three times a year and depends on several things: Age, Maturity, Success in Competition, attitude, attendance, commitment training and at competition.

Q. Can I pay monthly?

You need to pay membership and ASA fees in one lump sum and the squad fee can be paid by monthly standing order.

Any queries can be directed to the Beckenham SC Treasurer.

Q. What equipment will I need?

To get the most out of swimming, swimmers in our Tadpoles and Development groups need:

• Swimming costume
• Swimming hat
• Goggles
• Towel

Swimmers in all other groups will need (in addition to the above):

• Short blade training fins (short flippers) - Gold Squad upwards.
• Kick board
• Pull buoy - Bronze Squad upwards.
• Hand paddles - Top Squad upwards.
• Drinks bottle

Please note club costumes, club hats and club 'T-bags' must be worn at all events in which the club takes part. Tracksuits are optional. It helps to wear club colours at galas as spectators can see which lane you're in more easily. Swimming hats are compulsory for girls and for boys with long hair.

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, either 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 £12 pair of lycra jammers, for the girls a £16 or £17 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. If they start with a basic suit, as they progress through to obtaining County times, Regional times and National times they can have better, faster suits that will give them that extra confidence boost.

Goggles

We have always found a pair of Speedo Futura Junior with split headstrap are the best goggles to start with as they have good suction and will hopefully stay in place as they learn to dive competitively. As they progress and will probably want mirror goggles (like the top swimmers in the club!) Maru Pulse mirror and Speedo Opals are the best to go on to as they are still quite large and 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.

More good advice on swimming kit can be found on the swim stop website.

Q. Can I buy equipment through the club?

Yes, you can buy a variety of swim wear and accessories such as club costumes, hats, tracksuits, sweatshirts, club kit bags and so on through the club shop, which is normally open on Monday evening 6 - 8 pm at Beckenham Spa.

The club also has affiliations with swim shop and mail sports, which means that when click on the links from this website and purchase swimming kit at normal or discount prices you will create funds for Beckenham Swimming Club.

Q. What are the club colours?

Club colours are navy and sky blue.

Q. What are BAGCATS?

The BAGCATs stand for the British Age Group CATegories, which introduce a points system to measure and compare swimmers' performance. The latest thinking is that swimmers at an early stage of their development should compete to win an overall category award rather than specialising in a particular event. The BAGCATs therefore define four different categories, sprint, form, distance and medley. The BAG Points are calculated from a set of age-related tables for each of the above categories as follows:

• Sprint - best 50m-sprint performance (i.e. 50m back, breast, butterfly and freestyle)
• Form - best form stroke performance (i.e. form strokes are those with a defined form according to ASA Law) thus best performance at 200m back, breast or butterfly)
• Distance - best performance at 200m, 400m or 1500m Freestyle)
• Medley - best performance at 100m, 200m or 400 Individual Medley)

To work out the BAGCAT points for an individual swimmer, you must complete at least one swim from each of the categories and the points for the best performance in each are totalled to give a single score. A useful BAGCAT points calculator can be found on PullBouy.com.

Comparative performance tables are produced for senior swimmers with the maximum score of 1000 points corresponding to the average of the world all-time top eight performances. Age correction factors are applied to provide a points calculator for each event for the age group and recognize that some events are relatively more difficult for the younger swimmers. The Age group correction factors are based totally on observations of British swimming performance levels. For each age group the reference times used are the average of the ten all time top British performances in each event.

Click Here to view the ASA Technical Swimming Committee statement on BAGCAT point scoring for 2010. The ASA Swimming Committee has agreed that from 1st January 2010 all ASA events will use the FINA Points tables for scoring purposes in competitions in place of the GB points system.

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?

Coaches select the teams for inter-club galas, for example White Horse League, National Arena Swimming League and Kent Junior League.

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 Results section of this web site and can be downloaded IF PEOPLE SEND THEM TO THE WEB MASTER! Please do send swimming gala results and reports to the webmaster.

Q. Can I have a password?

Yes of course if you are a club member. To get a username (ID) and password please email the Membership Secretary, and a username and password will be emailed to you. Also see your joining letter! If you subsequently leave the club, your username and password will be deleted.

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 (see below).

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 and also helps the club with entries to the Kent Age Group Championships as well as borough and open events. 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?

All Beckenham swimmers, from Blue squad up, 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. The events take place over a series of Mondays normally starting in September see the Fixtures Page for entry forms. 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.

Low level, grade C, 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. Beckenham normally take part in the Orpington Ojays Novice gala, hosted in March.

Open Galas - Age 9+

Many clubs, including Beckenham, hold an annual Open Meet. 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!!

Elementary Galas

Beckenham Swimming Club run these annually during the summer, they are ideal first time galas for swimmers new to competition. Usually they are for swimmers in Blue, Bronze, White, Silver and Club squads.

Borough Championships

Every year most boroughs host a swimming competition. Beckenham take part in the Bromley Borough Championships which are normally hosted in Beckenham Spa in October. All our swimmers are eligible and your coach will advise individual swimmers on events. You may also represent your home borough i.e. if you live or go to school in Croydon you could take part in the Croydon Borough Championships as an individual. Generally a phone call to the relevant council will point you in the direction of the organiser.

Kent County Championships. Age group: 9+

These are held yearly, normally February through to March, they consist of individual events and team relays. They are hosted over several weekends. Swimmers have to achieve a Kent qualifying time to participate in these championships. These times are updated yearly and published on the Kent County website, towards the end of each year to give swimmers a chance to obtain times before the championship.

London Regional Championships

This is the next level of Championships and are held May/June. Clubs from the London Region are eligible to enter swimmers for this event who have achieved regional qualification times (these are published on the London Region website). This is a high level of competition and the club would expect swimmers obtaining these times to compete.

National Championships

This is the top level of “age group” swimming for swimmers aged 11-13 (girls) and 11-14 (boys) followed by the National Youth Championship for girls 14+ and boys 15+. It is held in July and is open to all swimmers who achieve a national qualifying time. These are available from the British ASA website.

Q. What does 'Licensed meet' mean?

These are the only meets via which you can qualify for national competitions.

Q. What does 'Short course' mean?

Events held in a 25m pool.

Q. What is a Squadron relay ?

Usually the last race of a gala. A freestyle relay consisting of one swimmer from each age group or one swimmer of each sex from each age group.

Q. What does HDW mean?

If a gala states HDW, (Heat Declared Winner) this means there are no finals, Therefore if you have 30 swimmers competing in a 50 metre freestyle race the winner will be the swimmer with the fastest time regardless if the swimmer swam in the first or last heat.

Q. What does 'sign in' mean?

The majority of galas require the swimmer to sign in once you have arrived at the pool. On arriving the swimmer should ask where the signing in desk is, check their name against the lists on the desk and sign, if your name is not on the list and should be see your coach immediately. If a swimmer does not sign in they will not be able to compete.

Q. My name is on a result list but has DQ by the side, what does this mean?

Unfortunately many competitive swimmers are DQ'd sometimes, this means disqualified. At the end of a pool will be time keepers, recording a final time achieved by the swimmer, by the side of the pool walking up and down are Judges. If a Judge feels that the swimmer has not touched properly performed a stroke incorrectly or false start i.e. entered the water before the starter gun/whistle this will result in a DQ.

The club results reports note cases where a swimmer has been disqualified and, where possible, includes details of the reason for disqualification. The fact of disqualification is usually indicated on results pages by annotating the result with 'DQ' or with a more specific disqualification code.

The disqualification codes used in results represent the best effort of the person encoding the infraction reported by the judge or other official. Sometimes this requires the use of a code which doesn't exactly match the infraction, but has been chosen as being in some sense 'near'.

The SportsSystems SQ codes are more complex than the other disqualification codes; in addition to encoding the infraction they also tell us on which length the infraction occurred and details of any appeal.

Apparently these codes have been adopted by European Swimming Writers.

The code is made up of three parts:

• The disqualification reason. This can be one of T (turn), FI (finish), S (stroke), ST (start), O (takeover), FO (fouling), L (wrong lane), M (midconduct) or E (equipment). Reason S has variants SA, SH and SL for faults in arms, head and legs respectively, while reason O has variant OM for an error in stroke change.
• The appeal status. This is usually blank, but may be A for appeal made and X for appeal disallowed.
• The length code. This is the number of the length on which the infraction occurred, followed by "L". In theory code "1L" should be used where the length is not known, but the length code is often omitted.

A detailed graphical explanation of the SportsSystems SQ codes can be found here. Some examples of the more common SSSQ reason codes for being disqualified are listed below.

Other Disqualification codes of practice commonly used in swimming competitions include:

• ASA DQ codes.
• FINA Codes from the Federation International de Natation.
• HYTK. Built into Hy-Tek meet Manager, these codes are used in many open competitions.
• SportsSystems SQ codes (above) used by Beckenham SC.

Q. What does DNC or DNF mean?

A swimmers name at the bottom of a result sheet with DNC or DNF next to to it, this will mean that the swimmer DNC (Did Not Compete) or DNF (Did Not Finish).

Q. Swim 21: What is it?

Swim 21 is the ASA's Club Development model - a planning tool, based on the principles of Long Term Athlete Development, enabling clubs to help athletes, teachers, coaches and administrators to achieve their full potential. It focuses particularly on the needs of athletes - striving to provide them with the best possible support and environment.

Swim 21 Accreditation is a 'Quality mark'. It recognises nationally and regionally the clubs that are committed to providing safe, effective and quality services for the benefit of their members.

Clubs work steadily towards the attainment of a series of outcomes all of which are seen as essential if the right level of support is to be provided at each stage of an athlete's development.

Click here to download an eight page book that explains everything about the swim21 accreditation process, from which swimming clubs can apply through to how to reaccredit. Or visit the ASA website for more information.

Q. Why have qualified Officials?

At the fundamental level, the officials are there to ensure that a competition between swimmers is safe and fair. Health & Safety as with all aspects of life is fundamentally important. The promoter of a swimming event has the overall responsibility for Health & Safety, but due to it's importance, all officials on pool side must also keep their eyes peeled to try to prevent any accidents occurring. Fair play is achieved by following the laws and technical rules of the various swimming bodies, which leads to consistency not only within a single event, but also across all events in a league or championship.

Q. What types of Officials are there?

There are 5 basic levels of qualification for a technical swimming official:

• Timekeeper: Competent with a stop watch and able to act as a Chief Timekeeper at an event.
• Judge: Knows the laws of the various strokes and is able to place the finishing order of an event.
• Starter: Nice loud clear voice with the ability to settle the swimmers and start them fairly.
• Race Results: Knows how to determine the result of a race using electronic timing. Qualified to act as a Deputy Referee.
• Referee: Responsible for running the event safely and fairly.

There are also other "non-technical" officials such as recorders and announcers. These do not require any particular qualification, but are still vital for the successful running of an event and include:

• Announcer: Reads out safety announcements prior to gala and theen announces each race and any other information as directed by the referee. Poolside Job.
• Recorders: Record results of each race from slips provided by judges. Normally two recorders required, with both writing down results and cross-checking them throughout the evening. Poolside Job.
• Runners: Throughout the gala getting results sheets from the Recorders and displaying them in the gallery, behind the spectators.
• Door Money and Programme: Man a table in reception area to give out programmes and collect fee per adult spectator. For some galas there may also be raffle tickets to sell.
• Door Sign In/Registration: For certain Galas, including Club Champs, swimmers need to register that they have turned up to swim. Minimum of two people required, one to sign in boy swimmers and another the girls.
• Marshals/Whips/Stewards: To make sure swimmers know what and when they are swimming (from lists provided) and guide them towards the starting blocks at the appropriate time.

Q. How do I go about becoming an Official?

Each level of technical official consists of some training, a short examination and a practical evaluation of the skills required. Examples of the examinations and other helpful material can be found on the British Swimming Web site. If you are interested, have a look at the British Swimming site and speak to other members of your club about it. Most of the officials at an event are also approachable, so why not ask them about their experiences.

Remember, the officials are all volunteers and give up their time freely so that swimmers can enjoy their competition. Without them there would be no competitions.

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