Competitions

The swimming year begins in September and finishes with National Competitions in late July to August (for those who qualify).

Swimming Events

The following events can be swum at galas dependent upon age and availability at each gala:

• Breaststroke – 50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres
• Backstroke -50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres
• Butterfly – 50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres
• Freestyle – 50 metres, 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres
• Individual Medley – (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle)
  • 100 metres (25m for each stroke)
  • 200 metres (50m for each stroke)
  • 400 meters (100m for each stroke)

Team events are also available at some galas. A Team Medley is swum in a

different order to an Individual Medley – Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle.

Club competitions

As a club, Stretford is affiliated to a number of local swimming associations and participates in various leagues. Galas take place throughout the year (mainly March – June and September -December) and members of the club may be invited by the Head Coach to compete for Stretford. Please be aware that to be eligible to compete in some of them, the swimmer needs to be registered at category 2  with the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) (see here).  For more information about club competitions see here.

We use the Swim Manager tool to enter these galas, link to the website is here.

Open galas

Swimmers’ development and enjoyment of the sport is often enhanced by participation in open galas. These are competitions run by local swimming associations and are licenced to a certain level (1, 2 or 3) by the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) and often take place in larger competition pools such as the Manchester Aquatics Centre.  Swimmers compete individually and times recorded are entered into the ASA rankings database and can be used for entry into the higher level meetings (e.g. for county, regional or national level meetings). Using these official times, swimmers can watch their own progress and see how they compare with swimmers from other clubs.

Club championships

Stretford’s Club Chamionships are held over 4 evenings (Tuesday/Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) in late November / early December each year. P