Equipment:  Equipment needed during training sessions comprises: kick-board, flippers, pull-buoy, goggles, water bottles and hand-paddles.  However, before you purchase any of this equipment, consult your child’s coach.

The Club requests that swimmers compete in the Club Swim Cap.  Swimmers swimming at District level and above must compete in the Club Swim Cap at all times.  Click here for details of the Club Swim Cap and how to purchase one.

Carnival Entries

How to choose carnivals:  NSW Swimming publishes a magazine each month that contains details of Swim Meets available throughout NSW.  To ensure you stay in touch with what is happening in the swimming world, the Club encourages you to subscribe to this magazine.  See the Publicity Officer for details.

Consult the Club’s Newsletter, Notice Board and Website Club Calender for flyers of forthcoming meets.  See the Race Secretary for extra copies. If you are unsure whether a meet is suitable, discuss with your coach. 

Please do not remove any flyer from the Notice board, others will want to read the details too.

Meet flyers:  The meet flyer should contain the following details about the swim meet, which you will need for completion of your entries:

• Meet name and program of events 

• Type of meet (Development, Qualifying etc.) and qualifying times 

• Date of meet 

• Venue entry conditions 

• The type of entry card to be used (ie single entry or multi entry cards)

• Start time, age determination, warm-up time and cost per event. 

Entry conditions:  Check the entry conditions carefully - some meets have restrictions on how many and which events competitors may enter.   Remember, qualifying times are times you must have already achieved or bettered.  They are not merely an estimate.

Cost:  Entry fees are charged on a per event basis.  Consult individual Meet flyers for race entry, pool entry and any other associated costs.  

Closing Date:  Our Club’s closing dates are earlier than those stated in NSW Swimmer.  The weekly Newsletter states the CLOSING DATE (for selected carnivals) for submission of entries to the Race Secretary. Closing dates are set as late as possible in order to allow swimmers to use their latest times as entry times, hence NO EXTENSIONS OF CLOSING TIME can be given. When ever possible we will give closing dates for entries on the home page of this site.

If no closing time has been given, first check with the Race Secretary.   Generally entries need to be lodged with the Club no later than one week prior to the date stated in the NSW Swimmer.  The Race Secretary does need time to verify entry times and then send entries by post.  More time is needed for Metropolitan level and above.

Some meets are marked POST Entries, which means that all entries are submitted on the day of the meet, fees are paid directly to the meet organiser with entries.

How to fill Entry Cards: Obtain meet entry cards from the Gear Steward at Club Night. 

Click here to view samples of completed cards.

Complete these sections carefully and legibly:

• Date of Carnival entered

• Name of meet

• Name - Competitor’s first and last names as you wish them to appear in the meet program

• Club – Blacktown City Swimming Club

• ASA Number - as shown on NSW Swimming registration card issued by the Registrar

• Date of birth - make sure you put the correct year, e.g. 1988 and not the current year (e.g. 2002)!

• Age in years - age as per age determination specified on the meet flyer. Usually age, as on first day of the meet, but may be age as on first day of a series of meets, e.g. Speedo Sprint or NSW Age

• EVENT No. - from meet flyer

• Entry time. Your previous best time achieved, noting that:

                 i.  Entry time may need to have been achieved since a specified date.

                Check entry conditions on meet flyer.

              ii.  Date and place of achieving that time is necessary for Multi Entry cards

             iii.  Unless otherwise indicated in the entry conditions on the meet flyer, 

                 Club Night times are acceptable as entry times.

Remember to add or subtract constants.     Schedule of Constants

Where the date and place of Entry time is required by the Meet Organiser to be verified (usually District, Metropolitan State and above), incomplete cards will not be accepted by the Race Secretary.

Submission of entry Cards:  Place completed entry cards plus entry fees in an envelope.  Write clearly on the envelope the name of the swimmer, the name and date of the Swim Meet and the amount included.  Completed cards may be handed to the Race Secretary or placed in the yellow Club Box at the Pool Entry desk on or before the Club’s closing date.

You are required to submit ALL entries for any swim meet though the Race Secretary.  

Click here to see the Club’s Race Rules.  This ensures that others attending the same Swim Meet can be made aware that you are attending and it also ensures that the results of the swim meet are returned to the Club for future reference.  Discuss with the Race Secretary any UNUSUAL circumstances that affect you being able to submit cards in this manner.

The Race Secretary submits a single Club cheque to cover the total of the Club’s entry fees and Club Summary Sheet to the meet organiser.  This assists the meet organiser to manage their time efficiently.

Note that no refunds on entry fees can be given after these have been submitted to the Club except under extenuating circumstances. Further, no refunds at all can be given once the Club has paid entry fees to the meet organiser.

Meet Procedure: The procedures for entering meets are not really as daunting as they may seem - you will find it more daunting entering a meet without knowing the rules.  Check relevant programmes etc.

Warm Up:  Arrive at the meet at warm-up time (as shown on the meet flyer) and report to the coach for warm-up. This is normally 15 to 20 minutes prior to the official commencement of warm-up.

Programme:  Obtain a programme and check your name against your entered events. If your name is missing from an event you have entered, report the omission to the Officials desk.

Withdrawals:  To withdraw from a particular event go to the Withdrawals Official at least 15 minutes before the start of the first event for the first three (3) events, and for subsequent events at least three (3) events (or more - actual number specified in Meet Rules and Conditions) prior to the start of the event from which you intend to withdraw.

If you are unable to attend the meet, notify the Race Secretary in advance so that you can be withdrawn. Failure to withdraw or late withdrawals can cause problems for the meet officials. In particular, knowledge of withdrawals permits races to be re-seeded, often reducing the length of races and permitting swimmers of similar standard to swim against each other.

Marshalling:  Swimmers are marshalled for each event several events ahead of their event via the Claims procedure. The procedure is:

• The event currently being marshalled is known as the claimed event. The claimed event is generally between two (2) and four (4) events ahead of the event currently being swum. Event numbers of the claimed event and the event currently being swum are displayed on the Event Claims Board. The board is typically displayed near the Marshalling area.

• When the event immediately before your event is ‘claimed’ report to your coach for pre-race advice. After talking to the coach proceed to the Claims Table.

• Follow the instructions of the Check-Starter and take your place in line behind the timekeepers. Do not stand in front of the timekeepers.

Starting:  Procedures vary - study the Competitors Starting Procedures in the front of the meet program. The FINA one-start rule (i.e. automatic disqualification when the referee determines that a false start has been made by a swimmer) generally applies except in some novice events. 

Record Keeping

Keeping record of events entered:   Keep a record of which carnivals / events you have entered, as swimmers are not reminded of which meets they have entered. However, should you need to check whether you have entered a particular carnival, the Race Secretary keeps a copy of the meet Summary Sheet which shows details of the Club’s entries for each individual carnival.

A simple method of keeping a record of meets/events you have entered is to obtain a copy of the meet flyer and use a highlighter pen to mark the swims entered.

Schedule of constants Most winter meets are Short-Course (swum in 25m pools), whereas most summer meets are Long-Course (swum in 50m pools). In principle therefore, times achieved at a short-course may be adjusted for use as entry times for long course meets and vice versa. 

If a swimmer has not swum an event previously, he or she should use the abbreviation NT (No Time)

Keeping a record of results: Swim meets generally have all their results managed by computer, usually via the software package ‘Meet Manager’. The official times will usually be posted at the meet as they become available, generally several events later. Note down all your times, if possible, before leaving the meet. Times will also be forwarded to the Club. Be advised, however, that there may be a delay of a week or more, during which time you may need entry times for another meet! 

The Club endeavours to give publicity to our swimmers who achieve medals or who achieve qualifying times for Nationals (Age & Open) for the first time at swim meets in our weekly Newsletter.  However, not everyone attends every swim meet.  It is therefore important that those attending a swim meet decide who will record results and forward them (no later than Monday pm after the Meet) to the Publicity Officer.  Click here to contact the Publicity Officer.

Achievements Record:  You will need to keep a record of all your personal best swim times together with full details of date, meet, whether short or long-course, etc so that you can celebrate your improvement and accurately complete swim entry cards.

What you can do as a parent  

• If children are interested, encourage them to train and compete. However, if children are not willing to do either, do not force them.

• Focus upon children’s efforts and performance rather than the overall outcome of the event. This assists children in setting realistic goals related to their ability by reducing the emphasis on winning.

• Teach children that an honest effort is as important as a victory, so that the result of each contest is accepted without undue disappointment. Emphasise the positive rather than the negative aspects of a performance.

• Encourage children to learn the rules of swimming.

• Do not berate children for mistakes or competition losses.

• Remember it is the coaches who critique a performance.

• Remember children are involved in sport for their enjoyment, not their parents’.

• Encourage good sportsmanship and remember that children learn best from example.

• Applaud good swims by other swimmers.

• Support the Club coaches.

• Do not interfere in training sessions or criticise the coaches in front of children and/or other parents. The coaches must make decisions they feel will best serve the interests of the squad and the program. Concerns about any aspect of the training program or competition should be discussed with the coaches outside of training sessions.