Colchester Swimming Club
Level X Racing

Swim England - Level X Racing
Swim England officially launches its ‘exciting’ Level X Racing concept. Source: Swim England

An ‘exciting new concept’ where swimmers will pit themselves against others from across the country without leaving their home pool has been officially launched by Swim England.

Level X Racing gives club swimmers the opportunity to take part in a series of time-trials using all strokes at varying distances and then submit them to Swim England rankings.

Tom Baster, the chairperson of the Swim England Swimming Leadership Group, said the initial feedback from the pilot events staged had been well received.

He said: “We know our clubs and members that are back in the water have missed taking part in galas and events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Level X Racing is a fun opportunity for them to practice some racing skills in the absence of those club, county, regional and national events.

“The feedback we have had so far from the test sessions has been extremely encouraging.

“Everyone who has taken part has loved the chance to test themselves against their team-mates and we hope clubs across the country will engage with this exciting new concept.”

The first phase of Level X Racing begins on 23 October with staggered submission times to enable swimmers to build up their training to the longer distance events.

A second phase of the competition will be held in the 2021 in the hope more clubs would be able to take part.

After each distance is completed, the quickest swimmers in each age group will feature in a national leaderboard that will be published across Swim England’s website and social media channels.

The first leaderboard will be all the 50m and 100m swims across all strokes and the 100m Individual Medley. Times must be submitted to rankings by 24 November and the leaderboards will then be published on 30 November.

HOW TO ENTER
General Information

Level X time trials shall be taking place at Colchester Leisure World during NORMAL evening training times.

DATES:

Monday 7th June 2021 5-6.30pm Potential squad 

50m Freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m Breaststroke, 100m Butterfly

Tuesday 8th June 2021 5-6.30pm Performance & Performance Plus 

200m IM, 200m Freestyle, 200m Backstroke

Thursday 10th June 2021 5pm to 6.30pm Performance & Performance Plus 

 200m Breaststroke & 200m Butterfly

Friday 11th June 2021 6pm to 6.30pm Junior & Young Potential

100m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke, 100m Breaststroke & 100m Butterfly for Young Potential only

Monday 14th June 2021 5pm to 6.30pm Potential Squad

50m Butterfly, 50m Breaststroke, 100m Freestyle, 100m Backstroke

Tuesday 15th June 2021 5 pm to 6.30 pm Performance plus, Performance and Potential 

400m freestyle, 400 IM 

Thursday 17th June 2021 5pm to 6.30pm Potential squad

200m IM , 200m Freestyle,  200m  Backstroke 

Monday 21st June 2021 5pm to 6.30pm Potential Squad

200m Breaststroke,  200m butterfly 


Tuesday 22nd June morning 05.30-7.30am Performance plus, Performance and Potential 

1500m 

Friday 25th June 2021 morning 5.300-7.30 am   Performance plus, Performance and Potential 

800m


Entry Process

These trials are open to all squad members see dates within general information


There is no entry process.  This swimmers attending the training session will have the opportunity to race all 50m events

Good Luck!

Our Competition Secretary
Janet Hare
Competition Venue
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Extra dimension

George Wood, Swim England Sport Development Director, said the addition of the leaderboards for all ages as well as para swimmers and hearing-impaired swimmers would make it accessible for everyone.

He added: “We appreciate that not all our clubs are back in the water due to pools still being closed and we are doing all we can to try and rectify that situation,” he said.

“The leaderboards add an extra dimension to these time trials that all swimmers will have been missing this year. We hope the introduction of the leaderboards will encourage even more to get involved.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Level X Racing and the leaderboards develop and hearing stories from clubs across the country.”

Swimmers wanting to take part in Level X Racing must be a Swim England Category 2 member in order to participate.

To encourage as many swimmers as possible to get involved, current Category 1 members who take part in Level X will be automatically upgraded free of charge. This temporary Category 2 membership will only be valid until 31 December 2020.

Find out the full information on Level X Racing here.

Eligibility

Anyone who is a Category 2 Swim England member can participate in Level X Racing. For full information on eligibility please see our Level X Racing Eligibility document.

In 2020, all Category 1 members who submit a time will automatically be upgraded to Category 2 free of charge. From 1 Jan 2021, all Category 1 members who submit a time will be upgraded automatically to Category 2 and the club will be invoiced for the relevant fees.

Yes, masters can take part in Level X Racing. Masters swimmers will need to be Category 2 members so the automatic free of charge upgrade will be applied for 2020 as outlined in the Level X Racing Eligibility information. In order for Masters results to go into Masters rankings, their results files must be submitted separately to the age group results.

Yes, all para swimmers can take part in Level X Racing. Any additional support required should be offered by the club to ensure all athletes have the opportunity to participate. Para athletes on the waiting list for classification are also encouraged to take part to aid their development, and results will be shown as time rather than British Para-Swimming points.

Yes, we would suggest that you wear blacked out goggles and use tappers as you would do if you were competing.

No, a swimmer is only able to participate in their own club where they train.

No, this is a virtual competition which is a single club event. You must not mix your club swimmers with another club’s swimmers.

Organisation

Level X Racing has been designed to be delivered in training and therefore is compliant with the Swim England Return to Training Guidance.

Level X Racing is running in two Series – Series 1 from 23 October – 31 December 2020 and then Series 2 is proposed to run from 4 January – 9 March ‘21.

Clubs can decide which distance and stroke to run based on the coach’s assessment of the swimmers’ fitness. For series 1 (November 2020 – December 2020), this would be all strokes in 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m distances as per the Level X Racing Schedule.

A club can run as many Level X Racing sessions as it chooses to.

Yes where starting blocks are available and the venue operating procedure allows them they can be used, however they are not a requirement.

No, the minimum starting requirement is a whistle. Where a whistle is being used this should be provided by the starter themselves and only used by them.

No, Level X Racing meets are not licensed.

Yes, virtual duels between clubs are allowed as long as the actual races are all swum at the home training pools of the clubs involved and swimmers race in their usual training bubbles.

This is a decision your club needs to take in accordance with its risk assessment for training sessions.

The use of masks should be based around the club’s own risk assessment of the session.

Officials

To run a Level X Racing session, a club requires two officials who are at least a qualified J1 or higher to manage the session. There is no requirement for a qualified referee.

Clubs also need one time keeper per racing lane. There is no requirement for the timekeepers to be qualified but they must be at least 14 years old and a member of Swim England (any Category). More information is available on the Club information page.

There are two online training courses designed for the management of Level X Racing – neither are compulsory but we would recommend that all technical officials complete A Beginners Guide to Refereeing Swimming, and all timekeepers complete Time Keeper training. All details on Level X Racing Officials training can be found in the Club Information toolkit.

No, there is no requirement for any officials to be licensed for Level X Racing sessions.

If you are unable to meet the officiating requirements for Level X Racing please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for support.

Yes, officials should recognise the Para-Swimming exception codes. Coaches should make the lead technical official aware of the exception codes prior to the swimmer starting.

Results

We understand that the current situation around qualifying for competitions is unclear and we are working with regions and counties to provide the most flexible system to support qualification at the time we are able to return to competitions. At the moment there is no fixed date for this and until that time, it is difficult to provide a definitive comment on how swimmers will qualify. Please be assured we continue to work towards the return to competition.

If you have any further queries, we would recommend you raise this direct with your county or region.

Timekeepers will be expected to record accurate times and the officials who are managing the event will be expected to verify the results. We believe in the honesty and integrity of our members.

Yes, SPORTSYSTEMS will provide a free version of their Meet Organisation software to enable clubs who do not possess access to Meet Management software to submit their results. This can be requested direct from SPORTSYSTEMS by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yes, there are a number of ‘technical friends’ who are available to support with any questions you have – please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your question and which system you are using, and you will be put in contact with your nearest volunteer.

The results will be published on a Level X Racing drop down in Rankings. Masters and Para will each have a Level X drop down in their respective rankings tabs. Swim England will also publish Level X leaderboards for each age group and gender which will display the top 10 swimmers. For more information on the Level X Leaderboards view our document here.

Although Level X Racing starts on 23 October, results will not begin to be processed and uploaded to Rankings until 2 November. We will endeavour to process your results as quickly as possible but it is isn’t an instant process.

For further information

If you would like to enter or get involved please contact our Club Competition Secretary using our online Form?

Our Competition Secretary
Janet Hare