Date/Time
Date(s) - March 6, 2026 - March 8, 2026
12:00 am
Location
Ponds Forge International Sports Centre
Categories
Hi folks
Happy New Year! And apologies now for what is likely to be a lengthy email – please bear with me and try to make it to the end!?!
As 2026 kicks in, whilst there will be multiple Team galas in the months ahead, we need to turn our attention quickly to what Open Meets we will target after the imminent County Championships
Now, digressing quickly for those who aren’t aware, an Open Meet is a non-team competition hosted by a Club e.g. Worcester that is “open” to swimmers from any other club to enter
There will be wide range of events to choose from e.g. 50m Freestyle to 400m Individual Medley with swimmers not limited to how many races they may enter. This is what makes Open Meets so popular as they provide an excellent opportunity to swim lots of races – whereas at a normal gala, you may just get two or three 25m/50m/100m swims for the team
Open Meets are typically “graded” with qualifying times i.e. swimmers having to meet a minimum standard (faster than time X) whilst often the ability of swimmers is restricted to a maximum standard too (no faster than time Y). Simplistically Level 1 (swum in a Long Course / 50m pool) is the highest grade, Level 3 the lowest – though don’t make the mistake of thinking that competition at a L3 will be weak, it won’t LOL, invariably you will still see swimmers up to Regional level racing!
Anyway, over the next few months, there will be a mix of Open Meets – hopefully providing racing opportunities for all swimmers at the Club.
Friday 6th, Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th March – Derby Excel L1 @ Sheffield
Obviously the same weekend as our own L3, so aimed only at swimmers looking to qualify for British Championships and/or National Summer Championships
dx-spring-qualifier-2026-v3_035753.pdf