What is Swimming Club?

At Swimming Club, we conduct races of all four strokes over both 25m and 50m, as well as longer distance events (according to age &/or ability) every Friday night.  There are also 15m races each week for beginners.  See our Club Calendar for details of these events.

Once a swimmer has established a PB (Personal Best), they will be seeded in races according to their time.  For our new swimmers, their first swim in each stroke will become their very first PB!  Swimmers earn points (from 1-8) for each swim.  These points and times are recorded each week.  At several times throughout the season, special Bellbowrie towels (with winners’ names embroidered) are presented to the boy and girl who have amassed the most points.

At the end of the season, these points are again tallied, and trophies will be awarded to the Club members who have met the minimum points total for the season.  Every swimmer has the same opportunity to win these awards, especially if they swim all events on offer to the best of their ability every week.

Please note:  All swimmers are to be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult each week.

Who runs Swimming Club?

Club is run by the parents of members.  We have a great committee, with several new and enthusiastic members, balanced with a few ‘old hands’ with plenty of experience.  There are meetings every month, and all parents are invited to attend.

We could not run Club without the assistance of extra volunteers every Friday night.  We need time-keepers, BBQ workers, race marshals, time recorders, help setting up and packing up etc.  Parents are encouraged to help whenever they can.

What happens on Friday Night?

Swimmers must arrive no later than 6:20pm.  Nomination forms need to be filled in and submitted by 6:30pm sharp to allow time for the night’s events to be collated and printed.  Swimmers and parents will then congregate around the area near the canteen where they will be addressed by our President, Steve Martin at 6:30pm. 

After this, swimmers must listen for their events to be marshalled.  These will be announced over the loud-speaker during the course of the evening.  The order of events is listed on our Club Calendar, and will be posted on the notice board. 

Swimmers must report to the marshalling area as soon as their event is announced.  They will then be seeded in a race, according to their PB.  Races will be against other children of similar speed.  Once seeded, swimmers will be taken to the pool to line up behind their assigned blocks.

The starter will blow a whistle and announce the event.  Swimmers will then mount the block (or the edge of the pool).  They will be told to take their marks, and must then assume a starting position.  A beeper gun will signal the start of the race.

At the end of the race, swimmers must wait for a whistle,  then exit the pool from nearest side.  The time-keeper from their lane will give them a sticker with their race details.

Swimmers must immediately report to the time recorders’ desk where their time will be recorded.  If it is a PB, they will receive a green dot on the sticker, and a treat.  Swimmers keep these stickers in log books.  Points will be totalled by computer later that week.

The important thing to stress is that it doesn’t matter where a swimmer places in the race, as the only thing that counts at this stage is their own Personal Best (PB).  Log Books are available from the Merchandise table.

What to bring to Club:

Generally speaking, there are only a few basic items that are an absolute MUST for Swimming Club.  Obviously, togs are a necessity.  They need to be well fitted and non-constricting.  Our Bellbowrie togs are perfect, and although they are not compulsory, it certainly helps the swimmer to feel part of the Club. 

Most swimmers prefer to wear goggles.  There are plenty of great ‘junior profile’ goggles on the market.  Vlad at the pool stocks a good variety.

Swim caps are optional, but great for keeping hair out of eyes, as well as to keep the hair a little dryer.  Our Club caps are silicone, and are very durable.

It’s a good idea to bring two towels, as swimmers tend to get them fairly damp after the first race, and there’s nothing worse than wrapping a soggy towel around you on a cool evening!  Club towels are available.

Make sure swimmers also keep some dry clothes to wear at the conclusion of swimming.  Our Club shirts are extremely striking, and give the swimmers a great sense of Club pride.

As we have limited seating at the pool, and because you will be at Club for a couple of hours, it is wise to bring your own chairs.

25m or 50m?

At the beginning of the season, we are fairly lenient as to whether swimmers should swim 25m or 50m.  Sometimes it is difficult to know when to make the move up to 50m, but the general rule is as follows:

       Those born 1999 or before: 50m ***

       Those born 2000 or after: 25m

       Beginners only: 15m

       These are the distances to be swum at Club Championships.

Graduation to 50m Criteria:

Swimmers will be automatically graduated to 50m if they meet the time and age criteria.  The 25m times to graduate to 50m are:

       Freestyle: 23.00

       Backstroke: 28.00

       Breastroke: 28.00

       Butterfly: 26.00 ***

Those eligible will receive notification by way of a graduation certificate.

*** In the case of butterfly, the graduation to 50m age is one year later, ie. Those born 1999 or later only swim 25m butterfly.

As the season progresses, the Committee reserves the right to disallow points gained by swimmers who do not swim the correct distance for their age/ability.

Club Championships:

Our Club Championships will be held at the end of the season. This is the only time at Club, that swimmers will be competing against other club members in their own age group (year born).  It is at this time only, that swimmers may attempt to break our Club Championship records.  Championships will be followed with a Club Break-up and Presentation Night.

Medals will be presented to the fastest three boys and girls in each age group, for each stroke.  ‘Age Champion’ trophies will be awarded to the swimmers (boy & girl) who achieve the highest points tally in their age groups.  The allocation of points for Age Champions is 7 points for a gold medal, 3 points for a silver, and 1 point for a bronze medal.  Swimmers participating in the Club Championships must swim the correct distance for their age.

Please Note:  To qualify to swim in 25 metre and 50 metre events at Club Championships, a club member must:

       Be nominated and entry fee paid, in every event in which they intend to swim.  Please be aware that nominations close on the 10th March 2006.  No late nominations will be accepted.

       Be fully paid up, ie. BSA/ SQ and Club fees.

       Have swum at carnivals or on club nights at least six times (if joined before Christmas) and at least three times (if joined after Christmas).

Distance Champion (100m & 200m) 

Throughout the season, swimmers are given the option to swim 100m & 200m events.  They will receive points for these swims which will be calculated in the same way as the rest of the points, but totalled separately.   

At the end of the season, a trophy will be awarded to the swimmer with the most points…  Our ‘Distance Champion’.

Training:

Bellbowrie Swimming Club is a non-profit organisation and does not conduct squad training or learn to swim classes.  All our swimmers are encouraged to seek tuition at a well accredited swim school.  Swimming a least once or twice each week will ensure that swimmers are able to improve throughout the season.

Points System:

Each swimmer is awarded between 1 and 8 points for each race, depending on how their time compares to their PB.  These points go towards our towel presentations, encouragement awards, end of season trophies and our overall Club Champion.

This system levels the playing field, and allows each swimmer to have the same opportunity to earn points.

Rewarding Effort

Bellbowrie is different from most other Clubs in that we encourage and reward swimmers of all abilities.  Sure, we have our Regional, State and sometimes even National level swimmers, and they deserve all the accolades we can embrace them with (you should see how hard they have to train).  But our PB reward system ensures that the emphasis is on individual effort.  Quite often, the Age Champions and monthly towel winners are just your average kids who have done lots of great PB’s!  Remember, for most of the season, your only rival is yourself!

Club Gear:

We sell quality Club gear at very little profit.  The togs are ‘Nova’, chlorine resistant and will last for several seasons.  The shirts are durable polos and the caps are silicone.  We also have bucket hats, Club towels and Log Books.  Please see the Merchandise table for sizing and prices.