2024 Kent Swimming Championships - update 9/10 March at the LAC

9/10 March – London Aquatics Centre Stratford

Timings: Saturday 9 March

• 0730 Swimmer and Coaches Entry (Westfield Side)
• 0800 Spectator Entry (West Ham Side – Upper Level) (there is no access through the lower level reception area)
• 0815 Warm Up Sessions 7
• 0915 Racing start time Sessions 7
• 1230 Warm Up Sessions 8
• 1330 Racing start time Sessions 8

Timings: Sunday 10 March

• 0730 Swimmer and Coaches Entry (Westfield Side)
• 0800 Spectator Entry (West Ham Side – Upper Level) (there is no access through the lower level reception area)
• 0815 Warm Up Sessions 9
• 0915 Racing start time Sessions 9
• 1220 Warm Up Sessions 10
• 1320 Racing start time Sessions 10

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDING UPDATE

Please ensure that all swimmers and Coaches are aware of the attached rules which apply in the changing and other areas of LAC. In particular swimmers are reminded that they must not use telephones in the changing areas or the call room

12 YEAR OLD DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY

All parents of swimmers aged 12 at the end of this year (ie: born in 2012) are encouraged to join us for a brief introductory talk on the Swim England 12 Year Development Programme which is administered by the County. This will be given by Karen Bradbury of RTW Monson who is the lead coach for the programme. The talk will be at 12.30 on Sunday (or as soon as swimming finishes on Sunday morning). It will take place in the Creche at LAC which by the main reception area on the lower level. There will be limited seating for those less able to stand but the session should not last more than half an hour.

Swim down facilities

There will be limited swim down facilities during the morning until 1300. There are two lanes available for use in the Training Pool. This is subject to supervision by coaches and on account of the limited number of spaces swimmers will need to checked in and out. Details will be confirmed to the Club coaches at the weekend .

The diving pit is available for warm downs from 1300 on Saturday and 1400 on Sunday. Swim downs must be supervised by Clubs.

Withdrawals

All withdrawals must be notified before the start of warm up for the session in question. Clubs please use the system communicated to you previously by Lynn Gates but there will be sign out sheets on poolside.

Presentations and Medals

The medals table will be on the balcony between the spectator and swimmer galleries. Trophies will also be presented on that balcony. This will allow parents the opportunity to take photographs of their swimmers with their medals etc. Because of time constraints there are unlikely to be formal presentations.

Streaming

There will be live streaming of the racing - click on the link for access

Official Photographer

We do have an official photographer this year. Use this link to view photos and make purchases for downloads. You will need a password to access the photos and details have been sent to all Clubs of this. Details of how to view the photos will also be on the wall behind the spectator gallery with a QR code.

Spectator Tickets

Spectator tickets for the LAC sessions are available for purchase at £6 a session. The number is limited to 1,000 – once that number is reached no further tickets will be sold and anyone without a ticket will not be admitted. There are no cash sales on the door.

No Food

The ‘No Food’ policy at LAC preventing bringing in food from outside remains in force except for the swimmers who may bring in their own food. Bags will be checked at the entry point by security staff

Swim Shop

The swim shop SwimPath will be at the LAC - they are taking orders now for Kent 2024 merchandise - use this link to order and purchase merchandise.

Pool Conditions

We have been advised that at a recent Meet all areas of the Pool Building were extremely hot – we would therefore advise all parents to ensure that they bring for both themselves and their swimmers as much water as possible

Lifts

The new operator has just taken over we have been told this morning that unfortunately the lifts will still not be operational

Cafes at the Pool

There is a café by the reception area. Past experience has shown that queues can be long and slow moving especially during the break so please be patient. This is totally outside the control of the County. We have requested that the pod at the rear of the gallery is opened so please try and use this as much as possible.

Travel News

The southbound Blackwall Tunnel is next due to be closed on the weekend 16/17 March so there should be no issues as such after swimming this weekend but please be aware that as the end of the Meet clashes with the football match below traffic will be particularly heavy on Saturday evening. We would in any event recommend your checking your Satnavs for the best routes home.

Please also note that West Ham are at home to to Burnley on Saturday 9 March (1500 KO). This will mean that access to Westfield Shopping Centre will be restricted and detours put in place.

WAVEPOWER REMINDER 2

WavePower 2024 has further restricted all mobile use and other devices as part of their changing rooms policy.

It prohibits all use of a mobile phone or device in a changing area

NO

• x Taking photos or videos
• x Texting
• x Making phone calls
• x Browsing the internet

Please remind your swimmers of this.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

A great deal of work goes on behind the scenes to enable the championships to run smoothly - the county is always on the look out for new people to help with the technical support needed and whilst we have a dedicated technical support team who can pass on their skills and knowledge it is a small team and we need to increase the numbers - if you are technically minded then this may well be the volunteer role you are looking for in swimming.