DEEPINGS OPEN MEET – SUNDAY 6^th JULY 2008

We are primarily a competitive swimming club, and one of the main opportunities to compete against other swimmers is at an Open Meet. We appreciate there are a lot of new swimmers in the club, and so some of you may not know what an Open Meet is, or how you go about entering one. The good news is we have our own Open Meet coming up, and that gives you the ideal opportunity to enter into the big wide world of Open Meets.

What is an Open Meet?

• · A competitive gala;
• · A chance for swimmers to swim in the events they like;
• · To achieve Personal Best (PB) times and prove what all the training is for;
• · To swim against swimmers from other Clubs.

• Deepings Sprint Meet will be held at Deepings Leisure Centre on SUNDAY 6^TH JULY 2008. This is an ideal start point as it is at home, and so on friendly territory (so to speak) and with plenty of familiar faces around to help and support you. The Sprint Meet consists of 50m Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly, 100m Freestyle and 100m Individual Medley.

This is also the first opportunity to obtain qualifying times for the 2009 Lincolnshire County Championships (more about them another time).

A swimmer aged 9 and above by 6^th July 2008 is eligible to enter our Open Meet. A swimmer who is still 8 unfortunately can’t enter according to ASA law. (Under 9’s can enter Club Champs to be held later in the year)

To save printing costs we are not sending out mass produced forms but an entry form is attached, or can be found on our website www.deepingssc.co.uk.

How does an Open Meet work?

· Swimmers pay a fee to enter races (the events) that they want to swim;

· Fill in an entry form with times if applicable (if no time already achieved please mark as “NT”) indicating the required events;

· Return the entry form to the indicated person with the fee payable by the closing date;

· After the closing date of the Open Meet and prior to the date of the Open Meet, you will be informed if you have been successful in your entry. Notification may be by the issuing of cards or by electronic means.

· Swimmers are “seeded” according to times. A swimmer will therefore be swimming in a heat along with swimmers of similar times not necessarily age.

· On the day of the Open Meet each session has a warm up time and a start time. You should arrive in plenty of time for the warm up.

· You should “post” your card(s) for your events in the box at the venue to indicate that you want to swim. If you do not post your card you will probably not be allowed to swim. There is usually a time limit for posting cards. To be on the safe side post them when you arrive before the warm up.

· After the warm up, the swimmers are called up to the competitive stewards to collect their cards for each event in turn.

· It is the swimmers responsibility to listen for announcements and to turn up to the right place at the right time. The coach is on poolside to help swimmers prepare for their race and discuss the race afterwards NOT to find swimmers for their events.

If you have any questions whatsoever about Deepings Open Meet of any other Open Meet, please feel free to speak to any member of the committee or the coaching staff, or contact Martyn Reynolds on 01778 344653.