Parents' Guide to Open Meets:

What is an Open Meet?
An Open Meet is a gala for swimmers aged 9 years and over. These take place throughout the year. The Head Coach (Amy) will pick Open Meets to take part in; these will be held at various leisure centres throughout Derbyshire and beyond. These will be both short course (25m pool) and long course (50m pool) events.

How do I enter my swimmer?
All details about Open Meets will be posted on Heja (if you are not a member yet, please let a Rykneld team member know and a joining link will be sent).
On the post there will be the entry pack for the Open Meet which will include details such as:
• Date and location
• Event conditions
• Cut off times - these are times that swimmers can’t be faster than
• Cost per entry
To enter your swimmer, you can either comment on the Open Meet post or fill in the entry form. Paper copies of the entry form can be used if needed.

How am I charged for the events?
Once you have advised what events your swimmer would like to enter, Amy will then advise the Treasurer (Katie) of each swimmer’s total amount for that Open Meet. Katie will then invoice each swimmer, with an additional £2 added on that helps cover the cost of the coaches’ passes that are required.

What events should my swimmer swim?
If you are ever unsure of what events to enter, please speak to the coaches and they will be able to advise of which events to do. It’s advised that swimmers don’t swim over 300m per session (a session is one morning or one afternoon). If your swimmer would like to do more than this please speak with Amy.

Is there any special equipment we need for Open Meets?
No there is no specific equipment that is needed for your swimmer to take part. There are competition race suits that can be purchased but these aren’t needed or recommended until your swimmer is at Midland level. This is due to the expense of the suits and the fact that suits only last for 10 races.

The kit that is required for Open Meets:
• Black Rykneld swimming hat – these can be purchased from the club at a cost of £7
• Rykneld club t-shirt – these, as well as other kit items, can be purchased from https://rykneldswimmingclub.deco-uniforms.com/
• Goggles – two pairs in case one pair breaks
• Camping chair - to sit on in the sports hall between races
• Entertainment – to keep the swimmers entertained; for example card games, colouring, reading etc. (If swimmers bring electronic devices this is their responsibility)
• Food and drink- to last the duration of the time they are at the Open Meet. Swimmers have the pre-pool/comp warm up slips that explain what food to bring.
• Warm clothes to change into (joggers / fluffy socks) and a spare towel. Swimmers often wait between races in sports halls and these can be cold, so they should have changes of warm clothes to avoid sitting about in damp clothing.

What if my swimmer gets disqualified?
If your swimmer gets disqualified this can be for various reasons such as:
• Start - swimmer has twitched or gone too early
• Turn - not doing the correct turn for the stroke or gone too far on the underwater phase
• Stroke - the stroke is not performed to Swim England standard
• Finish - they haven’t finished the stroke correctly, e.g. breaststroke/butterfly finish with two hands, backstroke finish on their back.
If they do get disqualified, the coaches (Amy or Evie) will talk to them after their race to explain the reasons why – swimmers must come and speak with the coaches after they have got out of the water. Amy and Evie understand that they may be frustrated after the swim, but in order to give feedback they need to speak with the coaches so that they know what to improve on for their next race.

Where can I find my swimmers times?
Each Open Meet that we attend will have an online results platform - the link for this will be posted on Heja so parents and swimmers can access this. The results for the Open Meet will remain on the host club’s website. If your swimmer achieves a personal best than this will be uploaded to Swim England where you can see all your swimmers’ personal best times. This will be for both long course and short course swims. The link for this is: https://www.swimmingresults.org/individualbest/

Can I help at Open Meets?

The answer is yes!
We always need officials that can help the host club. More Open Meets that we enter now have a requirement that we supply one official such as a timekeeper/judge for every 10 swimmers that we take. Without this, other clubs could turn down our entries. If you are interested in training to become a club official, please speak to our Volunteers Coordinator (Kirsty) who will be able to help. To become an official is free; you will need to purchase your official’s licence once you have qualified.
We also need Team Managers who help the swimmers on and off poolside. The course that you need to do for this is completely free. Once you have completed the Team Manager course you will required to do the Swim England safeguarding course – this does cost upfront but the club will apply for the money back through DASA so that you’ll be full reimbursed.
If you have any further questions please speak with Kirsty who will be able to help.

If you have any event entry specific questions please drop Amy a message on Heja who will be happy to help.