Alloa
Amateur Swimming Club
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On this Page - Gala information - Competitions - Nutrition - Directions to Sports facilities
Please also see the forthcoming events page on this site for further details.
The most common cause for under-performing at competitions in the case of youth swimmers (under 16’s) is coldness. A ‘warm-up’ is intended to warm up the body in preparation for strenuous exercise, however if the swimmer is not performing shortly after the warm-up period (as is usually the case) they must preserve muscle warmth by drying, changing and putting on warm clothing on top of their swimwear. This should also be supplemented by a land warm-up (arm swinging etc.) prior to the race. The need for dry swimwear, T-shirts, towels etc. becomes more important as the gala goes on, especially where swimmers have more than one swim and possibly in different sessions. The following is a list of what we would consider the minimum needed to produce the swimmers best performance on the day.
SWIMMING TERMINOLOGY
Galas can be rather confusing for both swimmers and parents until they have got used to the technical terminology which is used. Below are a range of terms with short explanations. Forth Valley League 1st Step-Early External Competition These events are for the development squad and are held in various pools every two months. The event normally lasts two hours, are great fun and quite competitive. They teach the swimmer the basic etiquette of competitions and encourage them to do their best. There are no charges for the swimmer to compete and parents will be notified by the coaches who are taking part, when and where. Please remember to look at the notice board for information. Transfer to and from pools is a matter for parents to organise. Graded Meets 2nd Step These meets are developmental events to allow swimmers an intermediate step between early competition (Forth Valley) and district/national events (West Districts and Scottish Championships) Various swim clubs host them over the year. The Alloa meet normally comprises of 4 sessions and there is a charge for each swim participated in. The swimmers are banded into age groups. Under 10’s 11-12 yrs 13-14 yrs 15 and over A B C D However, the heats are seeded on the basis of submitted times and not by age group. There are also ‘too fast’ cut off times for each age group and any swimmer exceeding these times is given a ‘too fast’ certificate. Medals are awarded to the fastest swimmers within the time bands. Some events are heat declared winners (HDW) and others have finals. Members and their families are asked to donate prizes for the tombola and raffle held at these events. Alloa hosts two of these meets per year and they are currently held at Bellshill (Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre) due to the excellent facilities and spectator area. West District League 3rd Step These meets are held over two days and comprise of four sessions. At this time, there are approximately seven events over the year (see calendar on the board) and charges are made for each swim participated in. These events are for the more advanced swimmers as they must achieve minimum times in order to compete. British and Scottish Championships These are run over three or four days, have qualifying times and are for the very advanced swimmer. Eating on Competition Day What a swimmer eats on competition day can greatly affect their performance. If possible, start the day with a very good breakfast: fruit juice, large bowl of cereal with milk, fresh/dried fruit, thick slices of toast or bread/rolls with low fat spread, jam, marmalade or honey. Where the competition is over two or more sessions, the swimmer should eat sensibly between sessions. Here is a list of DO’s and DON’T’S for eating between sessions: DO’s
DON’T’S
In the case of late afternoon competitions, such as league matches, try to follow the above guidelines at lunchtimes. There used to be the attitude that eating between races was forbidden, but it is now encouraged and is thought to benefit performance BUT we are not talking about a few rolls and four bananas, rather small refuelling: A drink of water after warm-ups and races (and throughout the day as swimming pools can be very warm). A bite of a sandwich/roll/banana/tangerine. A bite of a cereal bar/digestive biscuit. After Competition Only after the swimmers have finished competing for the day comes the time for sweets, coke and fish suppers – assuming parents agree. If a swimmer feels they really need to have a can of coke, a Mars bar or a Big Mac try to encourage them to wait until the gala is over – hopefully they won’t feel like it by then and even if they do, it can no longer affect their performance. Venues and directions to sports facilities Facilities used by Club
Full directions for each of the above venues can be found by clicking on the appropriate venue. Car Sharing Competitions are at weekends therefore you will not be asked to travel all over the place midweek. Car sharing is common practise when attending competitions. This is arranged between competitors when and if the need arises. |
Alloa Amateur Swimming Club takes part in several events
over the year and there are calendars and information on the club notice board
for members and their families to note. 