Gala Procedures

Gear

Ø      Warm up togs and racing togs.

Ø      Tracksuit, T-shirt, shorts, flipflops or runners.

Ø      2 pairs of goggles, to be on your person at all times, in case one pair snaps.

Ø      Two towels.

Ø      Club hat to be worn during warm-up and race, to enable the Coach to get all times.

Warming Up

Ø      Climb into the pool at the start of the warm up.

Ø      Make sure to swim continuously and not get in the way of other swimmers.

Ø      Become familiar with your surroundings, e.g. practise turns, especially backcrawl.

Ø      Try to complete at least 1,000 metres at a medium pace.

Ø      When doing a sprint, raise your hand to get the attention of the Coach, and always leave a gap between you and the swimmer in front. Remember the Coach can only get one split at a time. Report back to the Coach after each sprint, for feedback.

Ø      After the warm up, get changed quickly and report back to poolside.

Food/Drink

Ø      Eat a normal breakfast in the morning, i.e. cereal, toast, tea etc.

Ø      Bring some wholemeal sandwiches, and do not eat directly before a race.

Ø      Avoid sweets and fizzy drinks.

Ø      Make sure to drink plenty of water or sports drink throughout the day.

Race Rules

Ø      Most of our Galas require pink and blue cards. These cards will be given to each swimmer prior to their race. The swimmer then hands the card to the timekeeper just before their race.

Ø      The starter will blow three short whistles to get the timekeepers attention, and then one long whistle to signal the swimmers to climb onto the blocks and prepare to start.

Ø      If, after starting, the referee blows the whistle continuously, this signals a false start and swimmers must stop and return to the blocks to restart the race.

Ø      On a Back crawl start swimmers may put their toes over the surface of the water.

Ø      On Butterfly and Breaststroke turns, swimmers must touch with 2 hands, and the same applies at the finish. A one hand touch will lead to disqualification.

General

Ø      Stay in the Pool Complex at all times.

Ø      Obey the Pool rules.

Ø      Report to the Coach after each race, for splits and corrections.

Ø      Do not leave money, or valuables such as mobile phones, unattended in the dressing rooms – they can be given to Team Manager for safekeeping.

Glossary of Swimming Terms
A Gala - For swimmers who have achieved a time faster than the B Grade cut off
CRSI - Connacht Region Swim Ireland
DNF - Did not finish
DNS - Did not start
NS - No show
DQ - Disqualified. A swimmer should be notified by the gala referee with a reason
                                  No time is given
FTR - Freestyle Team Relay (4 swimmers swim Freestyle)
Graded Gala - for swimmers who have not achieved a time faster than the B Grade cut off
Green Book - Handbook available from Swim Ireland with details of competitive swimming at
NL -    National Level
HDW - Heat Declared Winners (No finals will be held in this event.   The fastest times in heats are winners)
IAG - Irish Age Groups
IM - Individual Medley - swimmer does a set length of each stroke (Order fly, back, breast free)                   
LC - Long Course (each length of the pool = 50 metres)
MTR - Medley Team Relay (Order backcrawl, breaststroke, fly, freestyle)
PB - Personal best
QT - Qualifying Time
NQT - No Qualifying Time required
SC - Short Course (each length of the pool = 25 metres)
SI  - Swim Ireland
Straight Finals - No heats will be held in this event - normally less entrants than lanes in the pool
Swim U - To swim in the age group above swimmers actual age group
TBD - To be decided
Age Group - Division of swimmers according to age
FINA  - The international governing body for the sport of swimming
Scratch - To withdraw a swimmer from an event before the start of the competition
Heat Sheet - A printed order of events by session with swimmers listed by heat and lane (with team and entry time) 
Swim Off - A race after the scheduled event to break a tie. The only circumstance that warrants a Swim-off is to determine which swimmer makes finals.
Starter - The official in charge of signalling the beginning of a race and insuring that all swimmers have a fair take-off                 
Split - A swimmer’s intermediate time in a race. Splits are registered every 50 metres (or 25 metres depending on the pool and the equipment on hand)   
Referee - The head official at a swim meet