Swimming - don’t they all just dive into the pool and swim as fast as they can? The fast as they can part is correct to a degree, but what is actually happening in the pool from the point of view of results is actually not that straightforward.
Aquatic disciplines in Ireland, of which swimming is one of many, is run and organised at a national level by Swim Ireland. This feeds out at a local level to the many affiliated clubs around the country where all the hard work happens. At Nenagh Neptune Swimming Club our aim is to facilitate all our swimmers and coaches to develop the internal motivation to reach their desired potential through a strong work ethic, challenging everyone for continuous improvement in an atmosphere of positivity, respect and fun.
For someone considering taking up swimming we understand how confusing it can all be. To cut through all this confusion we offer the following synopsis of what it is all about.
Clubs are normally broken up into Squads, each squad containing swimmers of equal or equivalent ability. At Nenagh Neptune we currently have six squads ranging from Junior Entry through to Senior Advanced. Requirements for moving from squad to squad is a completely transparent process and easy for both swimmers and parents to understand.
There are usually 3 training sessions held at different times throughout the week where the coaching team oversee all training. Squads are split into different lanes in the pool to cater for the different swimming levels.
As part of being a swimmer you get the opportunity to attend swim meets or Galas as they are known by most. In order to enter a Grade you need to achieve the qualifying times for each one of several swimming strokes. These times are calculated by Swim Ireland and apply across the entire country. For example, for a female swimmer to attain Grade B standard they must have a 100M Freestyle time of 1 min 32 secs or under, a 50M Backstroke time of 48 secs or under and a 50M Breaststroke time of 53 sec or under. Each grade has its’ own qualification events and times and they are easy to understand.
Swimming is all about good times – literally. When attending a gala it is all about your PB (personal best) times. At most swim meets all the swimmers in a given event will swim in heats together regardless of age, starting usually with slowest in the first heat and the fastest in the last heat. This does not mean that the 9 year olds are competing against 16 year olds or older. Once all the heats are swum the swimmers times are sorted into the individual age groups and winners decided accordingly.
Some other interesting information about competitions or Galas;
Heats and Finals
Occurs when there are too many swimmers for them all to compete in one race, the event will be split into heats with the fastest swimmer(s) from each heat going forward to the final.Mostly thoughheats are run as Heat Declared Winner
Heat Declared Winner (HDW)
This term is used for events where there is no final. It means that awards will be decided after all the heats for an event have been swum. At galas age groups are mixed together in speed order in each event so results will be split into age groupings before any winners are decided. Confusion sometimes arises with heat declared winner events: it is NOT the winner of each HEAT who wins an award but rather the fastest three (or six) swimmers of each AGE GROUP of each EVENT after all the heats have been swum.
Over the Top Starts
This means that previous heat swimmers stay in the water until the next heat has started to help speed up the race meet. The next heat swimmers dive in over the top of the last heat swimmers.
Touchpad
A board at the end of the pool that acts as a stopwatch. When the swimmer finishes and hits the touchpad, it records the time.
The aim of Nenagh Neptune Swimming Club is to provide a safe environment in which the coaches can develop the swimmers up to a competitive standard.We train at Nenagh Leisure Centre and our 2015/2016 swim season opens for existing members on Monday 31st August this year. If you are interested in joining the club please visit the website at www.nenagahswimclub.com, fill in and return the Intending New Members Form and we will contact you with regards to trials which are currently scheduled for Friday Sept 4th (still to be confirmed). All other information which you may wish to know about the club and all contact information is also available on the website.
We will also be holding an information evening on Thursday Sept 10th in the Abbey Court Hotel – any swimmer or parent of a swimmer who is interested in joining the club is welcome to come along on the night. Please keep an eye on the web site for more up to date details as the night gets closer.
We hope to see you soon. Nenagh Neptune – building swimmers one stroke at a time
Andy Cooney
NNSC PRO
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