Cumbria Age Groups 

Below are answers to some of the questions that people may have, which will be of benefit to new participants and experienced swimmers due to the changes implemented this year.

The age groups are a series of competitions where swimmers from each club compete on both an individual level and at a team level against all the other swimmers in the county. Swimmers in the top positions are then invited to swim for the county at regional events where they can swim for qualifying times for higher ranked events

For 2004, Cumbria ASA have changed the format of the gala's. Previously they have been held on individual Saturdays throughout the month of March. In 2004, Cumbria A.S.A. decided to hold the galas on consecutive days over 2 weekends, plus a final Saturday for the relay galas. Dates for 2005 will be set shortly.

3. Who can Enter?

Any swimmer from 9 years onward is eligible to swim. They must be 9 or over on the last day of the competition. All swimmers must have achieved a qualifying time. The age group that swimmers enter is the age they are at the 20th March 2004

This year, Cumbria A.S.A. have decided to impose qualifying times that the swimmers must achieve in order to qualify for the championships. Details of the qualifying times are on the club noticeboard and the club website at www.barrowasc.co.uk. In all cases, the Qualifying Time must be gained using the correct legal stroke.

In the past, all championships have been an open entry system which meant that all swimmers who entered the competition were guaranteed acceptance into the competition. This lead to competitions overrunning the allotted 3.5 hours per gala that is stipulated in the A.S.A. rules. Last year in an attempt to keep the championships open, Cumbria A.S.A. dispensed with many of the finals and used a Heat Declared Winner system ( similar to the club gala format). The no finals rules was not very popular with swimmers or clubs alike. To accommodate the finals and the fact that they have to stay within the time limit, Cumbria ASA decided that they had to limit the entries, and this could only be done by limiting the numbers.

Cumbria ASA have adopted the National Qualifying time that is required to enter the National Age Groups competition and then adding a percentage. In 2004 this was 20%

This website has details of all swimmers current personal best times. For parents who do not have access to the Internet, please contact a swimming coach who will be able to find out the times recorded for a swimmer.

Swimmers should keep a record of their times in their log book.

Any swimmer who does not have the qualifying time or wants to improve their current time has to do so in a formal gala. Club Championship times are no longer sufficiaent. Cumbria ASA are running a series of "qualifier" galas where swimmers may compete to set qualifying times.

As the club have to prove to Cumbria A.S.A. that the times are genuine and have been achieved in formal competition, only times that have been entered onto the clubs personal best database will be acceptable. Shortly, forms will be made available for interested swimmers to complete giving details of which events they want to enter and details of their best times for those events. We will be asked to prove that the times are genuine on a random basis by Cumbria A.S.A., so only genuine times will be accepted when the club actually fill in the final entry forms. Entries need to be returned to the club before Christmas.

The fee is set by Cumbria A.S.A. (in 2004 this was £3 per event) which is payable when the entry forms are handed back to the club. A further change introduced  by Cumbria A.S.A. is that once a swimmer has entered the competition, they have until 3 days prior to the event to withdraw if they so wish to. Withdrawal after this time including not turning up on the day without a reasonable excuse will lead to a  levy being charged by Cumbria A.S.A (£5 in 2004). Unfortunately, the club will have no alternative but to pass this levy back to the parents if no reasonable excuse had been given. The entry forms that the club issue will contain a statement asking parents to agree to this levy as part of the entry criteria.

At each session, the swimmers and parents are expected to make their own way to the venue. Once at the gala, the club will provide Team Managers who will assist the swimmers on the poolside. If parents wish to learn more about team management t the age groups, please sign up on the volunteers list which will go on the board in January and arrangements will be made to include them as part of the management team where ever possible. Please note that it can be a long day, and swimmers should come prepared with food, extra towels, club Costume (Black) and Hat.

The club normally enter teams into several different age groups. Preference is given to swimmers who have performed well in the individual events or swimmers who have regularly competed for the club in Sprint, Speedo or Diddy League competitions. Normally teams are picked 2 weeks before the relay event and displayed on the notice board

If you would like further information on the Age Groups or require clarification on any of the above points, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned or any other member of the Coaching Staff or Committee.

Details on this page are subject to changes made by Cumbria ASA.