Your first day at Swim Club can be as daunting as your first day at school!
Don’t worry – everyone is very friendly and you’ll soon get the hang of it!
To get you started, follow these simple steps:
- Pack your swimmers and goggles before you leave home!
- Racing starts at 7.30am sharp. Try to be at the pool by 7.15am as parking can be scarce and there can be a queue to get in.
- Pay your pool entry fees or purchase a season pass at the front desk.
- Walk down the stairs and follow the signs into our Club Room on the first floor, just above the pool deck.
- Introduce yourself and register each swimmer in your family in our computer system. We’ll explain how everything works and introduce you to the people who can point you in the right direction.
- Pick which races you would like to swim a “Time Trial” for (see below).
- Check the race order on the program sheet and listen for your name to be called out by our Marshall, who will direct you to your start lane. Note that Time Trials for each stroke and distance will be held after the Handicap Races for that event.
- Wait in your start lane until the Race Starter blows his whistle before climbing onto your dive block (you can dive off the side of the pool if you prefer).
- Once everyone is ready to go, the Race Starter will call out “On Your Marks..Get Set…Go” and sound the hooter.
- Dive in and swim.
- Congratulations, you’ve finished your first race!
- Repeat step 7 for the other Time Trials you’ve entered.
You can swim in three races each week: Sprint, Form Stroke (Breaststroke, Backstroke or Butterfly) and Long Distance. Check our season calendar to see which strokes and distances we will swim each week.
For our first meet on Saturday 6th October 2018 you can choose one race in each of the following three event categories:
- Sprint – 20m, 30m or 50m Freestyle
- Form Stroke – 20m, 30m or 50m Breaststroke
- Long Distance – 4x20m, 4x30m or 200m (4x50m) Freestyle
The first time you swim a particular stroke and distance we will put you in a “Time Trial”, where we will measure and record your race time in our computer system. The next time you swim that same stroke and distance we will use your time to match you up with swimmers of similar ability and give you a handicap start time relative to the other swimmers in your race.
For example, if you swim a Time Trial for 50m Freestyle in a time of 40 seconds in your first week, the next week we will put you in a race against swimmers with similar times. If you race against a swimmer who has a current time of 38 seconds, the computer will give you a two second head start (handicap) over that swimmer. The slowest swimmer in the race will start in Lane 1 (on the Bay side of the pool) and will start off “Go”. The faster swimmers will dive in afterwards when their handicap time is called out (eg. 2 seconds after “Go”).
For your first few weeks at the Club you will mainly be completing Time Trials for the new strokes and distances being held that week. Before long you’ll be a fully-fledged member of the Club competing for the many prized trophies on offer throughout the season.
If you would like more information, click here to read more about our handicap racing format and other events during the year.
Don’t forget to bring your friends along too. The more the merrier at the best place to spend Saturday mornings in Sydney!