Page 12 - 4SSC Handbook 2018

The most efficient / quickest method of entry, where applicable, is email; you should send the
following details to openmeets@4ssc.co.uk:

 Meet Name

 Swimmers name
 The event number(s) they want to enter
 Total entry value

The typical cost of a L3 or L4 entry is £5, L2 and above can be a little more expensive, please

check carefully in the entry email for details. Payment should ideally be made via BACS payment,
although we also accept cheques - made payable to 4SSC Gala Account (please put the
swimmers name and meet details on the reverse of the cheques), and cash.

Where we have not been able to supply an eligibility report you will need to review the entry

requirements and your swimmers best times, which can be found under the Galas section of the
4SSC website.

Where hard copy entry forms are required [always for Oxford] these should be signed, scanned
and emailed to openmeets@4sssc.co.uk or handed to any committee member for onward
passage – please always put in an envelope with the meet details on the front.

What are Long Course & Short Course times?

Long course times are the times achieved in a 50m pool. Short course times are those achieved
in a 25m pool. The times are different (LC times are slower than SC times) and therefore need to

be converted to work out qualifying times or PBs.

Often an open meet that is being held in a 50m pool will use short course times for entry and
therefore do not need to be converted beforehand. But check the qualifying times before
entering; there are numerous iOS Apps and websites that will provide a useful ‘approximation’

including www.pullbuoy.co.uk, whereby you enter your existing long or short course time
according to the event and it does the conversion for you.

How open meets work

Swimmers enter an open meet according to their age, this is being standardised to 31st December,
as we use, but most clubs use “age on the last day of the meet”, until the above rule becomes
mandatory. Swimmers ability, through entry times, is also an entry criteria. Age groups are used,

these may be single ages, e.g. 9 year old boys / 9 year old girls or combined e.g. 9/10 year old
boys, 11/12 year old girls. An ‘open’ age group means that you are being ranked against swimmers
varying ages.

All the entry times for each event are then placed in time order – slowest to fastest to work out

the heats, irrespective of age. Swimmers therefore compete in a heat against others of a similar

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