Welcome Welcome to all new swimmers and, of course, their parents! The following information is given as a guide to help you pick your way through the minefield of swimming jargon. A committee elected at the Annual General meeting (held in December) runs NAASC. If you have any problems or queries please speak to a committee member. The current committee members are listed on your pool notice board. North Ayshire Amatuer Swimming Club NAASC was formed in 1985 to bring together all the clubs in the district together as Cunninghame Swimming Club, and was renamed in January 1997 as North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club. Each of the local teaching clubs feed into the Club, as do the Councils lesson program. Swimmers are given a months free trial before being invited to join the 'Bronze' squad, which trains 2 sessions a week at local pools. They may then progress to 'Silver' 'Gold' and 'Platinum' squads, who have 2 afternoon core training sessions of 2 hours at Garnock Pool, with various early morning sessions at Auchenharvie, Largs and Garnock. The Club also holds a 'Club Night' at Auchenharvie on Sunday Evening. Membership Fee The membership fee is set each year at the Clubs AGM and is payable in January. This covers the swimmers West District Capitation fee, the Scottish Amateur Swimming Capitation fee, and the Annual Competitive Fee (ACF). Any remaining money goes to the running of the Club. Squad Fees Squad fees are set each year at the AGM and are paid in twelve monthly instalments, preferably by monthly standing orders. Squad fees cover the costs of pool hire for Squad training sessions from the Council. Scottish Amateur Swimming Association (SASA) SASA is the governing body of swimming in Scotland West District SASA is split into four districts, North, East, Midland, and West. NAASC is in the West District, and this is our governing body. Annual Competitive Fee (ACF) The club pays these fees, for every competitive swimmer, and the governing body issues a number to each swimmer. (2003 figures) West District - £2.50 Scottish - £5.50 swimmers 7 years and under £11.75 swimmer 10 years and under £13.75 non swimming adult member £19.50 swimming member these amounts are paid out of the membership money. Accreditation of Meets Meets are accredited when two or more clubs compete, and the referee is satisfied that the procedures set out in the SASA handbook are adhered to. Swimmers can only be entered in National meets with times recorded at accredited meets. Types of Meets A) Open meets Many clubs, including our own, hold open meets during the season. Age groups for these meets are usually from 11 years and upwards. A swimmers age is normally taken as the age on day of meet. The Clubs hosting the meet will normally publish consideration times for all events in each age group, and NAASC will submit entries for swimmers based on the swimmers personal best times (PBs), based on the current Speed Ladders. The coaches have the final say as to which swimmers should be entered for any particular events, and may decide that, in certain circumstances, an entry may not be beneficial for a particular swimmer. B)Mini Meets These are similar to Open Meets, but are for swimmers in the younger age groups, often from 8 and under to 12 years. Age groups for these meets are often based on 'age on the day', C)Graded Meets These are meets, used to encourage swimmers of moderate ability, by ensuring that the standards of entry are similar. This is achieved by publishing time bands - swimmers entered must achieve times between the published maximum and minimum times for each event. Any entrant who swims more than 5% faster than the minimum time will be disqualified. D)Development Meets These could be run in the same way as graded meets, but are generally to help swimmers improve in a competitive situation. Entries The Club receives details of meets from other clubs and the coaches will decide whether the Club will attend. Entry forms and gala details are issued to each swimmer to be returned to gala secretary by a specific date. . The host club will accept not all entries submitted. Accepted entries will be posted to swimmer and put on the notice boards. It can take up to three or four weeks for this information to get back to the Club. Entry Fees For most invitational galas the entry fee is currently £3.00 per swim. It could cost up to £12.00 if a swimmer is accepted for four events at a meet. The treasurer should be paid before the meet. It is very important that anyone not available for a meet should inform the secretary as soon as possible. Fines If a swimmer fails to attend a gala without informing the coach in charge a fine of £5.00 is imposed. Remember that non-attendance for relay events means that other swimmers may be unable to compete. Age Mostly a Swimmers age is taken as the age on the day of the meet Speed Ladder A list of all swimmers current PB's is maintained and updated monthly during the season, using times recorded at meets in which the club participates. Swimmers and parents should be aware of these times and discuss any discrepancies with the records convenor. Consideration Time This is the maximum time for an event that will be considered by the organisers of a gala. However, achieving the consideration time does not guarantee acceptance of the entry. The number and quality of other entries will determine this. West District Age Group Championships These are held over several weekends between March and May at various pools in the District - usually Ayr, Bellshill, Larkhall and Cumbernauld. The organisation of the Championships may vary from year to year. The Club makes entries for all swimmers making the consideration times for each event. consideration times for that event. For the distance events the number of accepted entries may be reduced. The fastest 36 entries for each event will be accepted direct to the Championships, so swimmers who have made consideration times may not have their entries accepted. The Championship rules may change from year to year, as above. Swimmers should watch the notice boards for published consideration times. If they wish to ensure that they are entered (or not entered!) for a particular event, they should discuss it with their coach. Otherwise, the Club will make entries based on the coach's estimate of the swimmers abilities. The entry fees for the championships are normally £3.50 per event. If a swimmer is not on poolside when the 'posting box' for entries closes, his/her entry card will not be posted. If a card is posted and the swimmer does not swim, the Club is fined £10.00 and this fine will be passed on to the swimmer. The club is also fined if a swimmer does not make the consideration time in his/her event, but the Club pays this since the coaches are responsible for the entries. Scottish Age Group Championship This is normally swum over four days, from the last Thursday in June. It is a long course meet and age groups are from 12 years to Open (16 and over). Consideration times are published at the end of the preceding calendar year. Achieving these times should be the goal of every swimmer, but the times are hard and 'qualifying for the Scottish' is an achievement in itself. Please note that adjustments have to be made to times swum in 25 metre pools to give long course equivalent times. This is done using tables, and the long course times are slightly slower. The Club pays part of all Scottish entry fees. The Club does not normally organise transport to any of the above invitation/individual meets. League Galas There are three leagues, the Clyde Coast Winter League, Intermediate League and Mini League. The Club enters teams in each of these leagues each year. The leagues are of varying standard and cover an assortment of age groups. Team selection is based on the standard required for each league. Most swimmers will be selected for at least one team during the year. Each league team will normally swim four matches in a season, one home and three away. Team selection, and venue will be posted on notice boards for each meet, as will the results. For home matches parents are asked to provide cakes and sandwiches for the parents, officials and coaches of visiting clubs. Swimmers are served juice and crisps, provided by the Club. A bus is provided for away matches, unless they are swum in local pools such as Johnstone. Swimmers are encouraged to use the bus, so that they travel and arrive as a team. Parents are welcome to travel on all buses provided by the Club. If a swimmer fails to notify his/her coach that they will not attend a league match he/she will be fined £5.00. If this occurs frequently, he/she will not be allowed to swim for the Club. Club Championships These are normally held over 5 days (March, June, August, September and November, and are open to all squad swimmers. Events are 'heat declared winner'. Training Swimmers should attend appropriate training sessions as designated by their coaches. They should arrive on poolside 15 minutes before the start of the session, to start flexibility exercises prior to swimming. Appropriate kit, such as floats, pull buoys and flippers should be brought, as advised by the squad coach. Kit Swimmers taking part in any gala should arrive on poolside in club kit, including costume, cap and T-shirt. When taking part in a gala that lasts all day, swimmers should arrive in club kit. If a change is required because clothing is wet, club kit is preferred, but other clothing is permitted. It is important to keep warm and dry between swims - sitting about in cold wet clothing will stiffen muscles, and affect performance. Club kit can be obtained from the kit convenor, who will take orders for costumes clothing and training equipment. It is hoped to run a 'seconds shop' for buying/selling outgrown kit. Fund raising The Club organises and hosts several meets a year to raise funds. Help is needed at these events even if your child is not swimming. As well as helping on the day, parents will be asked to provide food, home baking, and tombola and raffle prizes Parents' support The club need parents help in many ways - please volunteer to help where you can. Help is needed to marshal swimmers at galas, and the Club must provide timekeepers, recorders, and officials for every meet. The West District holds examinations for Judges, Recorders, Starters and Referees in May and November. If any parent is interested in becoming an 'official official', please contact the gala convenor. Notice Board ALWAYS READ THE NOTICE BOARD. It is the Clubs way of communicating with every member. League teams, invitation galas, details of forthcoming events, speed ladders and results are displayed on the boards. The committee try to publish details of events well in advance, but sometimes accepted entries may only arrive a short time before a meet, so the notice board is the only way of informing members of last minute arrangements. Web site The club has a web site: www.naasc.co.uk, which is regularly kept up to date. Social events As the Club is so spread out, the committee tries to organise social events to allow swimmers and parents to meet members from other areas. Please support these events. Commonly Used Terms PB - a swimmers personal best time for a given event. Entry time - the time submitted by the club for a swimmer being entered in a gala. If entries are made well in advance, the entry time may not be the swimmers current PB Consideration time - the maximum entry time for a particular event that the organisers of a gala will consider. Time cards - entry cards for a meet, which the swimmers will hand to the timekeeper in their lane. Posting box - where the coach's post time cards for each session so that entries can be sorted into heats, and seeded. Flyer - a false start or early take-over in a race I.M. - individual medley. The competitor swims all four strokes in the following order: - butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Medley relay - four swimmers each swim a different stroke. The order is always backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Declared winner - when no final is swum and the winner is declared on the times swum in the heats Long course - events held in a 50 metre pool Short course - events held in a 25 metre pool Advanced training scheme (ATS) - the squad training at all local pools Flexibility - exercises done to loosen muscles prior to starting swimming Land training - training sessions in the gym for older swimmers Lactate testing - checking the amount of lactate acid in a swimmer's blood after a particular training session. The result is used to assess the swimmer's progress, and to modify the sessions for the swimmer. Very small samples are taken. T30 - the number of lengths a swimmer can complete in 30 minutes in a training session. Coaches use this to assess progress in training. DQ'd and disq. - abbreviation for disqualified on result sheets and time cards DNF - did not finish - seen on result sheets and time cards DNS - did not swim - seen on result sheets and time cards W/NA - clubs identity letters on time cards and programs Time trial - internal meet held to establish times for entry to galas and team selection Guidelines for swimmers at trainning and galas 1. You must arrive on poolside 15 minutes before the official warm-up time. 2. You must find out what strokes you are swimming and carry out a correct warm-up. If you are not sure what you should be doing, ask the coach in charge. 3. You must wear your North Ayrshire kit with pride. If you wear a cap it must be a Club cap. You must wear a Club shirt to collect your medals. 4. You must sit or stand where you are instructed to. Do not leave poolside without your coach's permission. Stay with the team - do not go to the spectators area 5. You must be QUIET once the whistle has gone to signal the start of a race. Once the race has started you may shout a loud as you like! 6. You MUST NOT misbehave on poolside. Do not run. Do not push other swimmers. If you misbehave, the coach will ask you to leave, and you will take no further part in the training or gala. 7. You must prepare yourself mentally and physically for your race by a. thinking about how you will swim b. doing some flexibility exercises before your race 8. You must be aware of how the gala is progressing. Know when your next swim is due. Make sure you are at the start in plenty of time for your race. 9. You must let your coach know as soon as possible if you are unable to swim in an event for which you have been selected. The coach has to organise the swimmers for each event, and if you do not advise them that you are not available in good time last minute changes have to be made. This takes up time the coach should be using to advise others. 10. YOU MUST NOT LEAVE POOLSIDE UNTIL AFTER THE LAST RACE IS OVER AND THE TEAM HAS GIVEN A CHEER. Swim well -- enjoy yourselves -- aim for a PB in every race Disiplinary Code 1. VERBAL WARNING AND DISCUSSION WITH PARENT - can be done on poolside and committee informed later. 2. WRITTEN WARNING SENT TO PARENTS 3. SUSPENSION FOR 1 MONTH 2 and 3 above must come to the committee before action is taken. Members shall be notified in writing of the committee's decision and shall have the right of appeal. Squad Guideline The club swimmers are divided into four squads - Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. The following guidelines have been set to inform swimmers and parents of the standards expected of each squad. Swimmers who are moved into a higher squad are expected to achieve the times expected of that squad, and may be moved down if they do no meet the expected times. Bronze Squad swimmers attend 2 to 4 sessions a week. The Bronze squad coach will advise each swimmer on how many sessions they may attend. Bronze squad swimmers are aiming at West District times for their age group. To move to Silver Squad, the swimmers should have achieved West District qualifying times in three of the four strokes. The times required for each age group will be displayed on the pool notice boards. A minimum of 4 - 6 training sessions should be attended per week. Swimmers in the Silver squad are aiming at achieving national times in the following three months. Gold squad swimmers have achieved 2 national qualifying times. These swimmers are expected to attend at least 6 - 8 training sessions, and are aiming at achieving UK qualifying times. Platinum Squad swimmers are those who have achieved UK qualifying times in two strokes. A high standard of discipline and commitment is expected from all squad swimmers at all times. All squads are part of a team, which will work together to compete in league matches, mini meets, graded meets and galas. If you have any other questions please ask your coach who will be happy to advise you. Please Note ALL SQUAD MOVES ARE AT THE COACHES DISCRETION, AND THE COACHES DECISIONS ARE FINAL. Updated 30.06.03