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Kent County Amateur Swimming Association Kent County
Amateur Swimming Association

Kent County Swimming Championships 2026

Key Information and Documents:

Update 11 (12th February 2026) - 1500m Freestyle Cancellation

PDF Version of this update

We were all disappointed at not being able to complete the 1500M session last Saturday at K2 Crawley due to a health and safety issue. Since then, we have been actively exploring how to complete the 1500m session, not only in terms of facilities but also the availability of officials and the technical team. We have also consulted with clubs with the highest number of entries to ascertain likely attendance if the session was rescheduled.

Having taken account of all these issues, we have had to reluctantly cancel the remaining heats. This decision has not been taken lightly or arbitrarily. Our main concern being the clashes with other events during the National Qualifying window which would lead to insufficient qualified and licensed officials and technical staff for a significantly reduced field. Where competitions are not compliant with the Open Meet Licensing Criteria and the requirement for officials an event maybe downgraded.

One of the age groups was fully completed. It is only fair that not only that age group should receive their medals, but also other age groups should be given the opportunity to obtain the medals and trophies for their age groups championships. The exact provisions as to how this will be determined will be confirmed shortly.

Finally, we will of course return entry fees for all swimmers on the final programme who did not swim on Saturday – they will be returned directly to the entering Clubs. In addition, spectator tickets bought to watch those swimmers who were unable to swim, will be refunded on request. Further details will follow.

John Handley
Swimming Manager

Update 10 (7th February 2026) - Statement following cancellation of Session 10

The final 6 heats of the Mixed 1500m Freestyle were unable to be completed this evening due to a swimmer being unwell in the pool. The decision was made in accordance with the Health & Safety requirements of Centre Management. We apologise for the disruption this causes to everyone who was present this evening.

The County will, following the weekend, look into how we can run the final six heats long course, and will advise as soon as we have further information. We thank you for your patience while we assess the options available to us.

Update 9 (3rd February 2026) - Session 10 - 7th February @ K2 Crawley

The event that this update was for has now passed. An archive can be found here.

Update 8 (28 January 2026) - Sessions 6 to 9 - 31st January/1st February @ LAC Stratford

The event that this update was for has now passed. An archive can be found here.

Update 7 (23 January 2026) - Important information for spectators & Safeguarding Info Update

Entry to the spectator gallery at all venues will only be by displaying your ticket order confirmation email on your phone or other device, so you will need to make sure that it is easily accessible .  If you have not bought a ticket in advance, you will be asked to make an online purchase using this link before entering the spectator gallery.  Please note that in the event that you have bought a ticket but are unable to access it on your device for any reason, we may be able to cross-check the order details.  If we are unable to do so, you will need to re-purchase the tickets and apply for a refund in line with the ticket conditions. 

Safeguarding Info Update - Music Over Headphones

We have received a query regarding music over headphones in the call room. Please find the guidance approved by the County Welfare Officer below.

"Listening to music over headphones is permissible in the call room, however under Swim England's Wavepower guidance, mobile phones must not be seen out of bags or pockets in the changing rooms or call room.

In practice this means that music must be controlled only using the controls on a swimmer's headphones. Swimmers must not touch or hold their device to control their music while in the changing room or call room."

Update 6 (20 January 2025) - Sessions 2 to 5 - 24th/25th January @ LAC Stratford

The event that this update was for has now passed. An archive can be found here.

Update 5 (13 January 2025) - Information for trophy winners

Photography

Kent ASA is delighted to have again secured the services of professional swim photographer Jason Shepherd. This is a chance to pre-book exclusive commission photography of your swimmer in action.

Bookings are open now on a first-come, first-served basis. With limited slots, book early to take advantage of the “In Advance” pricing using this link

Trophy Winners

If you become a Swimming Championship trophy winner, please make sure that you have read this guidance and conditions document in relation to the care and return of your trophy/ies.

Update 4 (5th January 2026) - Session 1 – 17th January @ K2 Crawley

The event that this update was for has now passed. An archive can be found here.

Update 3 (16th December 2025)

This update concerned entry eligibility for the 800m Freestyle, which has now passed. An archive can be found here.

    Update 2 (10th December 2025)

    Merchandise for the Kent County Championships 2026 is now available for pre-order, with hoodies, t-shirts and swim caps available in range of colours and designs, and a bundle deal for all three items for £65 in any combination of designs. Order deadlines for collection have now passed, so all orders made from now onwards will be sent to your address in late February. Orders can be made on the SwimPath website. 

      Queries on merchandise should be sent to Nathan Friend.

      Kent Champs 2026 Merch Design 1
      Kent Champs 2026 Merch Design 2
      Kent Champs 2026 Merch Design 3

      Update 1 (7 November 2025)

      Licensing & Important Dates

      Now the licences for the Championships have been granted, we can release the Conditions, QTs and Programme.  Links to the entry files are below.

      Please note the following important dates relating to entries:

      • Qualifying Window for 800m Freestyle – 1 January 2025 to 3 January 2026
      • Qualifying Window for all other events – 1 January 2025 to 13 January 2026
      • Closing date for 800m Freestyle at K2 Crawley – 4 January 2026
      • Payment of accepted entries invoice for 800m Freestyle to be made by – 11 January 2026
      • Closing date for all other events – 14 January 2026
      • Payment of accepted entries invoice for all other events to be made by – 20 January 2026

      Entry Fees

      There will be no increase in entry fees for the 2026 Champs, staying at £15 for the 800m and 1500m Freestyle, and £11 for all other events.

      Sessions

      Please see the linked schedule across the six days of competition. The programme itself follows last year’s. The most important change is that the LAC days are 30 minutes longer – this is partly due to the training pool being unavailable for warm down in the morning. To alleviate this, there will be a 15 minute warm down period after the final heats, before the finals begin. The diving pit will be open for warm down in the afternoons. Additionally, running for longer each day gives us the flexibility to run additional heats during sessions, and expand the quota accordingly.

      Officials

      Invites for officials will go out in the usual manner through the Kent Officials Database. Queries regarding officials for the Championships should be sent to Jean Scott.

      Hosting

      As in previous years, the County will be asking clubs to host individual days, including the long-distance events at Crawley. This involves providing volunteers across a standard set of roles for each day. If you want to volunteer your Club to host, please contact Jan Annan. The most crucial part of this is ensuring that each session has a dedicated Welfare Officer and a male and female changing room patrol for each session. These roles each require an Enhanced DBS, so please bear this in mind.

      Qualifying Times

      In addition to the Qualifying Times, there is an import file for clubs who use Swim Club Manager. Feedback on this file should be sent to Mark Leman as it is experimental.

      You will notice that consideration times are (in many cases) slower than last year, as we were undersubscribed for some events over the past few years.  As we expect more swimmers to meet these times, we anticipate that we will have to reject some entries so that we do not exceed the allotted time on each day.  Nevertheless all swimmers who have consideration times should enter, as some swimmers with fast enough times will not enter due to injury or having moved out of Kent.

      It's important to note that there are minimum entry numbers in each age group, so one age group having more potential qualifiers will not affect the minimum number of swimmers in other age groups.

      Accreditation

      All clubs should be aware that coaches, team managers, chaperones and personal care attendants will need to purchase new passes for the Championships – all passes for 2025 have now expired. Please fill out the form below and return to John King to apply for new passes – these are at the same price as last year, at £15 per pass.

      2026 Kent Swimming Accreditation Application

      Spectator Tickets

      Spectator tickets are now available for all sessions.

      Streaming

      The LAC sessions will be streamed as in previous years. Details and links will be announced in the new year.

      Photography

      The County has also secured the services of Jason Shepherd Photography, to take photos in the same manner as previous Kent County meets. Details and booking info will be available at a later date.

      Queries

      General queries for the Championships should be sent to John Handley and Nathan Friend.

      Entry queries for the Championships should be sent to Lynn Gates.

      Officials queries for the Championships should be sent to Jean Scott.

      Nathan Friend

      Events Manager – Kent Swimming


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