COMPETITIONS AND GUIDE
Upcoming meets:
Winter Club Championships - 16th to 20th November 2026
City of Bristol Xmas Cracker - 11th-13th December 2026
Summer club Championships - 20th and 27th June 2026
Bristol North Junior Open Meet - 19th and 26th September 2026
Please refer to pre-meet communications regarding warm up timings and seating plans - always aim to arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled warm up time, so you have opportunity to change, locate the team (designated Coach and/or Team Manager) and get your kit ready to hit the pool.
Guide to entries:
For any athlete meeting the qualifying criteria for a certain competition, parents will automatically receive an invite and can declare their entries within their Active portal. However, it is not always appropriate for every swimmer to enter each meet – invites will be sent by chronological age and not by development age, so please read below for a guide to the differing levels of meets and whether it is appropriate for your child to enter. All competitions that are not included in Race Pass (please see the Race Pass dates page for these) will be charged a fee per race. Once entries have been made and accepted by the host club, there will be no refunds available, unless in case of a medical reason and presentation of a doctors note. This, and other terms of entry, can be found in the host clubs meet entry pack, available from their website or uploaded above.
For the majority of meets, swimmers will compete as ‘age on day’, so they will race against swimmers who have the same age as them on that particular day of competition. This can have advantages for some young swimmers if for example, they are 12 on the day of competition and so compete with other 12-year olds, but they may turn 13 the day after the competition. Then for a swimmer who has just turned 12 the day before the meet they will find themselves racing against athletes who are nearly a full year older!
The same however, can be mirrored across all age group competitions and irrespective of chronology – all children mature at different rates and biological age has a huge bearing on early success in sport. Just aim to enjoy learning to race, enter a variety of events and levels of competition; enjoy successes and enjoy racing tough competition as well; learning to win and lose and re configure your goals to make your next step forward is paramount. Most importantly therefore, focus on and enjoy your own personal development and do not compare yourself to others.
A quick reminder too that all competitions, licensed 1-4 as per the levels below, are run under Swim England technical laws (the same laws applicable to the Olympics!!!) As such, disqualifications can (and will on occasion) happen, particularly for those younger swimmers learning their trade! This could be for a stroke infringement, a mishap on the turn or maybe even a rule you didn’t know existed! The main thing is not to worry - speak to the coach or team manager who is on duty to find out what your DQ was for, who will explain why and exactly what to work on in practice, and to use this as a tool to help you learn and to continue to improve - it has happened to us all and it happens to Olympians, it’s all part of the journey.
Remember to smile, have fun, and give it your best :)