Most of what we do is electronic and online: gala results, PBs, records, team selection, rankings, gala entry, gala qualifying, and so on. As a club member, you can do a lot of this yourself, by using the menus above. The other stuff is behind the scenes, which means that only club officials have access to it. The table below shows you what you, as a club member, can do using the menus here:
| PBs | Find your PBs, or all the club PBs, here. |
| All times | List all your results (whether or not they're PBs), at any or all licence levels, from a specific date, or for all time. |
| Results |
Find the results for a specific gala, including PBs and CSPAs. CSPAs are ASA
time standards; in some circumstances, we may award a 'flash' when a specific
CSPA has been achieved.
|
| Records |
List the club records, or the best times achieved in the past year. |
| Galas |
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| Conversions | Carry out course conversions here: SC to LC times, or vice-versa, for any event. This is just for fun: we do all the important conversions automatically. |
| Emails | Automatically send a test email to all the addresses that we have on record for you. All new members should do this, to ensure that our messages to you are not treated as spam or discarded. You will also need to do this if you change your email address. |
Select the gala that you wish to enter, and your name, and click Go. A new tab will open, allowing you to check what events you qualify for. If entries are currently being accepted, you will also be able to submit your entries. You can select another swimmer at any time by going back to the Select tab.
The new tab contains two tables. At the bottom of the left-hand table, you will see a Submit button only if we are currently accepting entries for this gala. If there is no Submit button, you will instead see the date on which entries will be accepted (or on which entries closed).
The right-hand table lists the events which are appropriate for your age and gender, together with the required qualifying (and possibly cutoff) times. The table will also include your current PBs. If the gala allows converted entries, then the table will also show your converted PBs. The system automatically determines whether you can enter an event, and will enable the appropriate check-box if so.
If you don't understand the contents of a column, place your mouse over the abbreviated description at the top of the column. A popup will appear with further information.
The left-hand table includes a selector for 'Traffic Lights'. If you click Show, a coloured traffic light indicator will appear in the right-hand column, for each event. This indicator shows you how close you are to qualifying for that event. This is described in detail below.
If only one check box is shown by the event that you wish to enter, then entry is easy: just click the check-box (you can change your mind at any time, even after submitting your entry).
If two check boxes are shown, but only one of them is enabled (in other words, the other one is greyed-out and cannot be clicked), then entry is again easy: just click on the enabled check-box.
Things are a little more complicated if you have a choice of two check boxes. This means that the gala allows entries using converted times, and that you qualify for the event with both your 'real' time (on the left), and your converted time (on the right). Many people will simply choose the faster of the two times; if in doubt, do this.
The guidance for some galas will, however, specifically state that you should not use your converted time unless you don't have a real time. The system doesn't enforce this requirement, and you will have to select the 'real' time yourself if necessary. Note that this isn't an issue for the majority of galas (including the regionals), for which clubs normally submit entries using SportSystems 'Entry Manager'. If conversions are allowed, then Entry Manager will always select the faster of the two times, without giving the user an option.
Some galas will alow you to enter an event without having a PB for that event. The entry system knows about these galas, and will allow you to enter without a time. However, it is more common (in 'cutoff' galas) to require a swimmer to have a PB, but to allow the coach to estimate that PB. You can find out whether or not this is allowed in a specific gala by checking the 'Gala Information' page for that gala (go to the Galas menu, select Gala information, and then select the required gala). The first table on the page will tell you whether or not estimated times are allowed. If it says nothing about estimated times, then they are not allowed, and you must enter with a real time.
If an estimated time is allowed, then that time must first be entered onto the system as your 'PB'. You cannot do this yourself; you will need to ask your coach. The coach will either enter the time himself or herself, or will ask an administrator to do so. When the time has been entered, you will see the new time on your PBs page, marked with an EST (for 'estimated'). You can now use this time for gala entry.
The first table includes a 'Traffic Lights' check box. If you enable the lights, then an extra column will appear, just before the tickbox for your 'real' entry time (but not your converted time). This column is coloured, and shows you how far you are from the qualifying time (QT) for that event. The text gives your percentage difference from the QT. A value of '-10.0%', for example, shows that your PB is 10% slower than the QT, while a value of '+5.0%' shows that your PB is 5% faster than the qualifying time. '+' is good; '-' is not so good.
The percentage fields are also coloured, in a manner similar to traffic lights. If your PB is over 10% slower than the QT, then the field will be red. The colour progresses from red, to orange, and then to yellow, as your time approaches the QT. If your time is within 2% of the QT, the field will appear as a light green. Finally, the field will be shaded blue if you qualify for the event.
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Swimmer PB is over 10% outside the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 10% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 8% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 6% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 4% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 2% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is equal to or faster than the QT |
When you have made your selections, click the Submit button (if there is one). You will be asked to confirm your entry. You can repeat the entry process as many times as you want, until the closing date; only your last entry will be used. If you have already entered, and you intend to pull out of the gala, you should submit another entry with no events selected.
If you want to pull out of a gala that you have already entered, then you should submit a new entry, with no events selected.
To confirm that your entry has been accepted, you should select the Gala entry reports menu item, and then select the appropriate gala. This will show you the current list of entries. We generate an electronic entry directly from this list, and submit it to the club hosting the gala. If the gala is over-subscribed, it is possible that entries for some events will eventually be rejected. The host club will publish lists of accepted and rejected entries soon after the closing date.
The qualifying page generates a table which shows you how many swimmers in the club qualify for a gala, and which events they qualify for. To generate a report, select the required meet, and click Go. You can select either upcoming galas, or ones which have already finished (see 'Historical galas' below).
In some circumstances, you may find that you do not qualify for an event at a licensed gala, even though your PB appears to be sufficient. You can find out if this is the case by temporarily adjusting the gala entry requirements. See the 'Relaxing licensed entry requirements' section below for more information.
The report includes a list of all active swimmers in the club, together with a list of traffic light indicators for the appropriate events. The colour of each cell indicates whether the swimmer is eligible for that event. The colour will depend on whether the gala has qualifying times, or cut-off times, or neither.
If you place the mouse over a cell a popup will display the difference between the swimmer's PB and the QT. A positive percentage means that the swimmer qualifies; in this case, the cell will always be coloured blue. A negative percentage means that the swimmer doesn't qualify. In this case, the cell is colour coded. Note that the swimmer may actually have a faster PB, which has been ignored because of the licensing requirements for this gala. See 'Relaxing licensing entry requirements' below for more information.
The cells are colour-coded as follows:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NA | Swimmer is not eligible for this event |
| Swimmer is eligible, but has no time | |
| Swimmer PB is over 10% outside the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 10% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 8% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 6% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 4% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is within 2% of the QT | |
| Swimmer PB is equal to or faster than the QT |
A simpler colour scheme is used if the gala has no qualifying times, but does have cut-off times. In this case, no time percentages are calculated.
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NA | Swimmer is not eligible for this event |
| Swimmer has no time and does not qualify | |
| Swimmer is too fast and does not qualify | |
| Swimmer qualifies |
You can also test qualifying times for historical galas. If today's date is after the gala start date, then the gala is automatically moved forward by a whole number of years until it is again in the future. The swimmer ages are then calculated for the new age-up date, and the system determines which swimmers qualify for the new 'future' gala, with their current PBs, and the old qualifying times.
Assume, for example, that you have a Regionals entry file with a meet start date of 01/05/2012, and an age-up date of 03/05/2012, and that it is now January 2015. If you select this file, then the system will tell you which of your current swimmers would qualify for this gala, if it was to be held on 01/05/2015, with an age-up date of 03/05/2015. This can be useful for seeing how qualifying times change over the years.
The purpose of the qualifying page is to tell you how close you are to achieving the entry requirements for a given gala (which might be the Counties or Regionals, for example). However, this can be complicated by the fact that licensed galas may require your entry time to have been achieved at a given licence level, or within a specific qualifying window (during the last 10 months, for example).
It might be, for example, that you need a Level 4 time of 1:10.00 to enter a given event at the Counties. If your best Level 4 time is 1:13.50, then the qualifying page will tell you that you don't qualify, and that you are 5% outside the qualifying time. However, your current PB might, for example, actually be a time of 1:09.00, which was achieved at an unlicensed gala. This is useful information: it tells you that you are actually fast enough to enter this event at the Counties, but you will first have to swim it elsewhere, to get a licensed Counties qualifying time.
If you select a gala which has licensed qualifying times, the Qualifying page will automatically show a checkbox which is labelled 'Relax licensing requirement'. If you tick this box, then all your PBs will be considered (if they were achieved within the qualifying window), irrespective of their licence level.
If you select a gala which is licensed and also has a qualifying window, then the qualifying page will show a second tickbox, which is labelled 'Relax qualifying window requirement'. If you tick this box, then any PBs that you achieved before the start of the qualifying window will be considered (if they were achieved at the appropriate licence level), irrespective of how old they are.
If you tick both boxes, then all your times will be considered, whether or not they are licensed, and however old they are. You should remember, of course, that if you tick one or more of these boxes then the resulting Qualifying page will not tell you whether or not you actually qualify for the gala. It simply gives you a better idea of how close you are to the qualifying times.
Use this page to display either your own PBs, or the PBs for all club members. You can instead display the best times which have been achieved since a specific date (the past year, for example), or the best times which have been achieved at a specific licence level (or both). To find the best times achieved at any licensed gala, you should select a licence level of 'Level 4+'. The listing will appear in a new tab when you click Go.
For individual swimmers, the PB listing includes two tables: one for SC events, and one for LC events. Each table also includes a time conversion for the other course, so four times will potentially be listed. If you place your mouse over the top of a column a popup will appear with more information about the contents of that column. The date on which the PB was achieved, together with the gala, will also be listed, if this information is available in the database.
Place your mouse over a listed gala to get more information about the gala and the event. The information includes the gala name, location, date, and course, and an indication of whether or not this time is currently visible in the 'Last 12 Months' data at the ASA (which is necessary when entering some galas). Note, however, that the 'Last 12 Months' information is only updated when an administrator runs a 'Licensed Times Update'.
If All swimmers was selected, the results will appear in two new tabs, titled LC PBs and SC PBs. The SC tab will initially be visible. The results for a swimmer can be highlighted by clicking on their name.
The Start Date functionality relies on the database containing the swim date for a result. This date may not be recorded for some old results which were initially imported into the database from a spreadsheet. These undated results will be ignored if a 'Start Date' is selected.
Similarly, the Licence level functionality relies on the licence level being recorded together with the result, and this may not be the case for some old results.
To generate a 'Gala Information' page, select the required gala, and click Go. This shows the 'Meet Description File' (or MDF) for the selected gala in a new tab.
A meet description file describes a gala, in a way which can be understood by the online entry system. It is also human-readable, and contains all the relevant information that you would find by reading a meet entry pack. It is, in fact, essentially a transcription of the meet entry pack.
This file drives the electronic entry system. The software reads the tables, and uses them to determine, among other things, where to find a swimmer's PBs, and what events, if any, that swimmer qualifies for. All the information in the table is relevant to some aspect of the software.
The description file, including the qualifying and cutoff tables, must be manually created from the meet information. This process can potentially lead to errors in the description file, particularly in the times. If you find an error, please inform whoever is responsible for creating the files.
To generate an entry report, select the required gala, and click Go. This generates the current entry report for the selected gala in a new tab.
An entry report summarises all online entry submissions for the selected gala. It shows who has entered, and what events they have entered; it also provides a summary of the total number of entries, and the total cost. The entry report is updated whenever a new entry is made. The report should automatically refresh to show new entries; if, however, you cannot see your entry, try reloading the page.
The electronic entry files for a gala are created automatically from the entry report, by the software. This means that we cannot simply manually add new swimmers or events to galas after the closing date, so please don't ask.
This page can be used to derive time conversions between 25m and 50m pools using the 'ASA Equivalent Performance Tables'. The tables themselves aren't actually used; we instead use the algorithm which was used to produce the tables.
The conversion result depends on the number of turns in the event, and on the event itself (you are expected to gain the most relative advantage from a breaststroke turn, and the least from backstroke and fly). The ASA conversion does not take into account gender and age, so these aren't required.
To get a converted time, enter the required event, your time, and the conversion required. You can convert your 'real' time in a 25m pool to an estimated time in a 50m pool ('SC to LC'), or your real time in a 50m pool to your estimated time in a 25m pool ('LC to SC'). Click 'Convert' to get your time.
Enter your time by entering numbers in the three fields which correspond to minutes, seconds, and centiseconds (hundredths of a second). You must enter two digits in the seconds and centiseconds fields. You may enter as many digits as necessary in the minutes field, or you can omit it if your time is less than a minute. To get the conversion, press your 'Enter' key in the centiseconds field, or click 'Convert'. You can use the 'Tab' key to move between the digits; you don't need to use a mouse.
The table at the bottom of the page records your last 5 conversions.
We swim in both 25m and 50m pools. The 25m pools are 'Short course' (SC), while the 50m pools are 'Long Course' (LC). SC and LC pools differ in the number of turns that you will have to make during a given event. When you are swimming 100m, for example, you will turn only once in an LC pool, but you will turn 3 times in an SC pool.
Most swimmers will find that they get an advantage from the turns, because they can kick against the wall, and this kick gives them additional speed. When swimming freestyle, for example, you might expect to gain half a second for every turn. Since there are three turns in a 100FR race in an SC pool, and only one turn in an LC pool, then you should expect to get a one second advantage in a SC pool.
Younger swimmers will have little or no experience in LC pools, which is a problem when entering an LC gala. The ASA has therefore defined a mechanism to convert a real SC time into an equivalent LC time (and vice-versa). If your real SC time for the 100FR is 1 minute 25 seconds, for example, then the ASA's converted time is 1 minute and 26 seconds, because they expect you to take a second longer in an LC pool. You can generally use this converted time (1:26.0) to enter LC galas. Note that you can't enter with your SC time of 1:25.00, as this would give you an unfair advantage. Note also that converted times must always be quoted with only one decimal place of precision (in other words, '1:26.0', rather than '1:26.00').
There are several ways to estimate the conversion, and the ASA system (which was developed by SportSystems) is just one of them. It is not 'accurate'; it is simply an estimate. Many younger swimmers will find that they can actually go faster in an LC pool, for example, because their turns are not as fast as they could be. A more fundamental issue is that the ASA system does not take into account a swimmer's age, gender, and height, all of which are important when turning and kicking off a wall. However, the ASA system is universally used in this country, and must be used for gala entry if conversions are allowed.
SportSystems have defined an algorithm to carry out the conversion, and have published tables which list the resulting conversions for specific events and times. This algorithm is used here, and is also used for online entries, where real times are automatically converted for you, if the gala allows it.
We have tested our implementation of the algorithm extensively, and it is correct. However, there are other implementations which are not correct. The one on the pullbuoy website, for example, occasionally produces an answer which is incorrect by 0.1 seconds. SportSystem's own example implementation also occasionally produces an error of 0.1s (but not the same error as pullbuoy). This is important, because the ASA defines the SportSystems result as 'correct'. However, it appears that about 10% of all SportSystems conversions are incorrectly rounded up by a tenth, rather than being rounded down by a tenth. We can emulate this bug if necessary, but our code is currently set to produce the 'right' answer.
You will find that some online sites do not allow you to convert times which are deemed to be 'too fast' or 'too slow', and produce an error message saying that the times are outside the ASA's defined range for that event. They do this because the printed tables produced by SportSystems must, of necessity, start with one time, and end with another time. This doesn't actually mean that a time is 'too fast' or 'too slow' to be converted; the algorithm doesn't care what the time is. In these cases, we apply the algorithm, and give the result produced by the algorithm, rather than displaying an error message.
Use this page to display some or all of your recorded gala times (if you instead simply want to see your PBs, you should choose the PBs menu item). You will need to select:
When you have completed your selection, click Go. The selected results will appear in a new tab. You can create as many additional tabs as required (you might, for example, have your SC times in one tab, and your LC times in another tab).
Your times will be sorted with the oldest times at the top of the page, and the newest times at the bottom. Any results that you achieved on the same day at a given gala will be displayed on the same row of the table; some rows will therefore contain multiple times for different events. If you achieved two times for the same event on a given day (a heats time and a finals time, for example), then only the fastest of the two times will be shown.
The database may contain some results for which the date and the gala are unknown. This will normally happen only for old PBs which were imported into the database when it was initially created. If you have any of these times, they will be displayed on a single row at the top of the table, with no date, and with the gala set to UNK (for 'unknown').
The gala itself is displayed in blue; if you place your mouse over the gala identifier a popup will appear, describing the gala in more detail. The gala identifier may appear as UNK (for 'UNKnown'), EST (for an ESTimated time which was not achieved at a real gala), or UL (for 'UnLicensed'). The identifier will otherwise be the ASA licence number for a licensed gala.
If you believe that you have a time which has not been recorded, then you should contact the database administrator. The administrator can enter times either manually, or by importing result files, or by synchronising to any times recorded at the ASA. Please note that there may be a delay before the administrator can upload new results after a gala. The gala organiser must prepare standardised result files and send them to our club before they can be uploaded.
Use this page to display the Club Records or, alternatively, the best times achieved by club swimmers during the past year.
Club records are maintained automatically, and any new results entered into the system will potentially create a new record. However, new records must first be checked by a club official, so there may be a delay between a new record becoming visible (on the PBs page), and that new record appearing on the Club Records page.
You can select either 'All time', or 'Last year'. If you select 'All time' (the default), the club records will be displayed. If, however, you instead select 'Last year', the system displays the best times achieved during the last year (which will not, in general, be records). The 'Last year' results may initially appear to be incorrect. If you select 'Last year' results for 13-year-old girls, for example, the results displayed show the fastest times achieved during the past year by a girl who was aged 13 on the relevant age-at date (see below), and who was also a club member on that date. That girl might now, of course, be aged 14.
In some cases, historic club records may have been loaded on to the system with incomplete information. In these cases, the record may display no more than the swimmer name and age, together with the event, course length, and time. Any new records which are found in gala results will always be displayed with complete information.
Note that not all results which are visible on the PBs and All times pages will automatically be eligible for club records. These are personal results, which are achieved by a given swimmer. To be eligible for a club record (or for the best time during the past year) that swimmer must have swum for the club during the relevant gala.
Some clubs choose the swim date as the 'age-at' date for records, while others will choose a specific day of the year (normally December 31st).
If the age-at date is the swim date, then any swimmer who is aged 11, for example, on the day of the swim, is potentially eligible for a club record for 11-year-olds. The situation is more complex if your club has chosen a specific age-at date. If, for example, your age-at date is December 31st, then the swimmer's age on the swim date is ignored, and their age on the following December 31st is instead used.
The two alternatives are significantly different. When using the swim date, all club swimmers will have a complete calendar year in which to compete for a club record for their current age. For half of the year, the swimmer will be less than the average age of his or her peers in the relevant age group and, for the other half of the year, the swimmer will be older than the average age. However, this does not change the fact that an 11-year-old swimmer has an entire year in which to compete for a record for 11-year-olds.
The situation is rather different if an age-at date is used. If a date of December 31st is chosen, then only swimmers born on January 1st will have a complete year in which to compete for a record for their current age, and that swimmer will always be older than any other swimmers competing for a given record. However, a swimmer born on December 31st will only ever have a single day in which to compete for a record for their current age, and that swimmer will always be younger than any other swimmers competing for a given record.
Some clubs choose to display 'Age group' records, while others choose to display 'Age and under' records.
The difference between the two systems is best understood with an example. Consider a club where a 13-year-old swimmer ('A') has achieved a 50BA time of 32.62s, while a 12-year-old ('B') has achieved a faster time of 32.10s. In this case, the 32.62s result is the best time ever achieved by a 13-year-old at the club, while the 32.10s result is the best time ever achieved by a 12-year-old at the club (where the swimmer's age was taken at the age-at date, as described above).
If the club uses 'Age group' records, swimmer A is given the 13-year-old record, while swimmer B is given the 12-year-old record. If the club uses the alternative 'Age and under' system, swimmer B is given both the 13-year-old and 12-year-old records, since her time of 32.10s is the fastest for swimmers aged 13 or under.
If you are not sure which records system your club is using you should ask a system administrator, or a club official. SwimAdmin can be set up to use any age-at date, and either 'Age group' or 'Age and under' records.
Select the required gala, and click 'Go'. The gala results will be generated and shown in a new tab. You can have multiple tabs open simultaneously, showing the results of different galas; close a tab by clicking on the cross in the top right-hand corner of the selector.
The Results page shows a summary for the gala, together with a main table, which lists the swimmers and the events competed in. DQs are not shown, as they are not recorded in the results. You can get additional help by placing your mouse over the table headings. The main table shows the swimmer's name and ASA number, together with:
If the time achieved was a PB, then the 'PB' column will show you how much faster your new PB is than your old PB. If, for example, your previous PB was 1:17.50, and your new time is 1:16.00, then the 'PB' column will contain 1.50. If you didn't actually have a previous PB - in other words, if this is the first time that you have swum this event - then the cell will instead just show 'PB'.
If this cell is empty, then your time is not a PB.
A 'CSPA' is an ASA 'Competitive Swimming Performance Award'. Your club may, or may not, actually award a badge (a 'flash') if you reach a given standard; this is a matter of club policy. Flashes are sometimes awarded only to younger swimmers.
This column shows you where you are on the CSPA Time Standards, irrespective of whether or not your club actually awards the relevant flash. The Time Standards do not depend on your gender or age; there is one standard for everybody.
The CSPA comes in four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The Platinum level is reserved only for events of 100m or more (excluding the 100IM). For SC (Short Course, or 25m) events, times are set for the 7 freestyle distances (25m to 1500m), for the 4 distances (25m to 200m) for breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly, and for the 100IM, 200IM, and 400IM, giving a total of 22 events. For the LC (Long Course, or 50m) events, times are set for the 200FR, 400FR, 800FR, 1500FR, 200IM, and 400IM, giving a total of 28 events.
The CSPA column will only show a level if you have a PB, and your new PB has moved you up one or more levels (from Bronze to Silver, for example). In this case, the cell will show your new level.
Enter your current password and your new password (twice).
Your new password must be 8 or more characters, and must contain at least one upper-case letter, at least one lower-case letter, and at least one digit. Alternatively, you can enter three or more ordinary words which are separated by '.' characters, as long as the total number of letters is 12 or more.
Enter your new username. Usernames must be 3 or more characters, which must be upper- or lower-case letters, or digits. The name may optionally contain a single special character, which can be an apostrophe, dash, or underscore.
Usernames are not case-sensitive. If there is already a user named 'Joe', for example, then you will not be able to change your username to 'joe'.