What is the Annual Summer Gala?
The inaugural Summer Gala was introduced to the Nottingham Portland S.C swimming calendar in 2009 to encourage swimmers to compete over the slightly longer distances of 100m & 200m.
This event complements the traditional Club Championship which takes place each year in October and provides swimmers with another opportunity to add their name to the Club record book.
Where and when do they take place?
The Summer Gala takes place once a year at the 25m University pool on a Saturday evening in June.
The competition is followed by a medal presentation, either at a picnic the same evening or at a separate fun and games event. Details are publicised via the noticeboard, website and email.
Gala format
All swimmers swim 200m Freestyle. Iin addition, the 11 & under age groups swim 100m IM (one length each of Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Front Crawl) and the 12 and over age groups 100m Breaststroke and 100m Backstroke.
Events are swum ‘open’ style, i.e. in full heats of 8 lanes, progressing from the slowest swimmers to fastest, regardless of age of swimmer. Places however are worked out in age groups on the times swum, not on position of finishing in each heat.
Time permitting, the last event of the night is usually a fun relay: at past galas a Cannon race, teams set by the coaching team, with the ‘braver’ coaches donning swim suits & taking to the water; or the exciting Eliminator – a knock-out relay event, a fun finale which proved a massive hit.
Awards
Medals are awarded at the presentation event to the 1st 2nd & 3rd placed swimmers in each of the following age groups: 9 & under, 11 & under, 13 & under, 15 & under and Senior (16+) with separate awards for boys & girls.
Entry requirements
Individuals wishing to enter the Annual Summer gala need to return a completed entry form to the Gala coordinator before the designated closing date. All swimmers are encouraged to participate.
