Poolside-Chat-parents-of-competitive-swimmers

[Glittertwins]

Hopefully this will work as we’re at 999 on the other!

We've been pretty busy training wise over the break.

Swam as normal until the 22nd.

Then each day was 2.5 hours in the morning except for Xmas day, Boxing Day, BH off and the NYD and todays BH!

He's never trained a Sunday anyway and usually doesn't train Wednesdays but did this week.

Back tomorrow to the normal timetable. Can't deny it's been nice not to get up at 4am for the last 10 days!

We were back on 27th until New Year's Eve then back again today :/

Long training block now including a training trip abroad.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's county experiences.

Hoping for a lot busier Counties than last year. DS is swimming as a 13 year old now and those times have stayed the same but I was suprised how many races our 10/11/12 year olds had got so I checked and the times for those age groups have been massively increased. They must have learnt from last year where there was a single swimmer in some events!

Thankfully one of them has opted not to swim everything they had a time for other wise it would be very busy!!

We're cutting right back on Counties this year (GCSE's looming), so we're just doing the races we have Regional Consideration times for. DD doesn't train long enough to make it worth competing in any more.

I'm not sure what the prices are like for you, but the Premier Inns for our Regionals over May bank holiday are already £100+ per night (I paid £70 last year, booking in April!).
Airbnb in a barn conversion in a nearby village with 2 pubs it is, then.

Good luck with the early starts!

We did our hotel bookings as soon as the dates were announced. They have the times albeit they have to reproduce them in the window but fingers crossed, should get everything wanted.

Neither of mine have been to regionals before but both hope to qualify this year. Youngest has swum fast enough for one event but frustratingly at Arena league so not licensed, and he has failed to replicate it since, fingers crossed he will do it at counties! If we do go then the pool is actually quicker to get to than one of the pools used for counties, so we wouldn’t have the extra expense of hotels thankfully.

Even though we were told the regionals would change this year I decided to book ahead anyway with a refundable room (which yes costs more) but I have a room with breakfast for 2 nights - BH weekend and 100m from the pool for £158.

So not too bad although I've paid much less elsewhere.

Our refundable room at the ibis right opposite ponds forge for March (again booked early) I'd £215 for 4 nights but no meals.

That is truly something I don’t need to worry about if by a freak of nature we qualify. Regionals pool same as counties and 15 minutes away.

Can you please confirm my understanding of summer Nationals.

For British, top 24 for each age and event (18 for distance swims) are invited. No QTs, based upon rankings for the qualifying window from L1 events.
Then the following top 24 are invited for home nations summer champs. Again, no QTs - all based upon times from L1 events in qualifying window.
Invites are emailed late May after window closes.

I think we are in with a chance of making english nationals for 1 event for the first time so just getting it clarified in my head!

For British nationals, it is the top 24 based on national rankings for times achieved at LC events within the qualifying window. In 2022, it was March 10th until May (last day of all regionals). Think it can be L1 or L2 meet.

For English nationals, it is the next fastest 20 English swimmers (same window I think).
If a swimmer drops out of British or rejects the event, then the fastest English qualifier for that event will be "promoted" to compete in the British event.

Ah 20, not 24. Thanks for that!

Happy Saturday everyone.

Hope everyone's settled back into training well and ready for counties the coming weeks?

Good luck to everyone 🤗

I'm making the most of a quiet weekend before counties and the LC nationals qualifiers hamster wheel starts again.

Our Counties aren't until February im making the most of this weekend as DS has his first Distance meet next weekend. 1500 in the morning 800 in the afternoon! And then the following weekend its our club New Years Gala which I have volunteered for, always a busy one as we have the pool set up as 50m so they come from far and wide.

Good luck @Hellocatshome - that's one heck of a race schedule. We've spilt the LC distances over different meets to avoid this kind of race program. We're using them as regionals practice but won't complain if the times get into top 18 for nationals and keep him there.

2 distance races in a day. Your ds is ambitious

We have counties and then a break until March when ds swims the British para international meet in Sheffield.
As a WPS who's not classified by IPC yet he can't swim the domestic bit but can't compete in the world finals despite being included in that bit. So he's going to give his heats everything!

He was also invited to Sweden with performance squad to compete but the 2 cross over and this meet is better for paras.

@itsgettingweird not his choice at all, his coach has put them all in for both races 🙈 funnily enough we seem to be the only club with kids doing a race in the morning and the afternoon.

Good luck to your DS with both those distances in a day 😱😱😱

Hope the meet isn't too far from home and he can get home for a quick nap in between and a proper feed

Unfortunately not, they are expected to stay on site the whole time. Do you have any tips for suitable food to refuel? He is a non pasta eater he usually has some sandwich thins with chicken, strawberries, raisans and dried apricots and popcorn.

We used to give swimmers staying all day ORS rehydration tablets to top up electrolytes and keep hydrated.

Will he eat wraps if he eats thins?

Mh ds has chicken salad wraps, scotch eggs. Pepperami, apples, flapjack and those no drain tuna pots.

Not all at once but that's what foods he chooses from!

Rehydration drinks, homemade flapjack packed with dried fruits, chicken and rice in a hot flask. Our coaches don't like them cramped up on poolside so will let them go a stretch out elsewhere.

Some great ideas thanks everybody. Off to Google how to make flapjacks. And yes he would do wraps so could send some of those as well. I'm going to have to insist he goes for a little walk about at lunchtime because he usually just sits playing on his phone with friends.

I'll send the recipe via PM