PSUK Swimming & Water Polo Championships

PSUK Swimming & Water Polo Championships (Held Under ASA Law & FINA Technical Rules)

23rd & 24th April 2016

Championship Invitation

Dear Team Secretary,

You are cordially invited to attend the 2016 PSUK Swimming & Water Polo championships, which will be held in Crawley, Sussex, over the weekend of 23rd – 24th April 2016. The event will be managed by the PSUK Swimming & Water Polo section, in partnership with Sussex & Surrey Police.

Attached are details of the event, including accommodation, competition venue, schedule of events and details of entries and event conditions.

There are a few changes from previous years, and we would ask you to read this document carefully.

The closing date for entries & payment is the 31st January 2016.

Payment can be by BACS transfer or cheque, details below.

Downloadable entry forms are available at: http://www.policeswimming.org

The attached document gives further details of the competition.

Should there be any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch through:

[email protected]

We look forward to welcoming you to Crawley.

Kind regards,

Steve Willis. On behalf of the PSUK Swimming & Water Polo Section.

- 1 - PSUK Swimming & Water Polo Championships 2016

 Accommodation.

All competitors, guests & officials will be staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Crawley. The address is Langley Drive, Crawley, RH11 7SX. This is at the junction with the A23. For 2016, we are able to offer the following negotiated room rates:

Single rooms @ £80 per night Twin rooms @ £90 per night Double rooms @ £90 per night

A limited number of triple rooms @ £120 per night are available. These will be on a first come first served basis. If required, please email me to reserve these triple rooms prior to sending your entries to ensure availability.

All accommodation is on a bed & breakfast basis, and is only available through the entry spreadsheet.

A blanket bar reduction throughout the weekend of 20% has been negotiated with Crown Plaza.

Free Wi-Fi is included for all guests, as is free parking.

Please use the competition entry spreadsheet detailed below to book your rooms.

Link to Crowne Plaza Crawley

 Arrivals.

Arrivals can be facilitated from 2pm on Friday 22nd April.

The Crown Plaza is close to London Gatwick & is easily accessible via the M23 & A23 road network.

The nearest Railway station with direct bus route to the Hotel is Gatwick Airport. Other stations are nearer, but would require a taxi.

From Gatwick Airport, a bus is available directly to the Hotel. This is a route 10, which can be boarded at either North or South terminals. The following links to the route & timetable. The bus stop at London Road Central is just across from the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Metrobus Link

All rooms need to be vacated by 1200hrs on the day of departure.

- 2 -  Competition Venue.

The competition venue for both swimming & water polo competitions will be the K2 Leisure Centre, Pease Pottage Hill, Crawley, RH11 9BQ.

Link to K2 Crawley

The pool is 50m in length, and we will have the whole pool during competition times. The competition will be held in the centre 25m, with the remaining ends being available for warm up & swim down.

There is ample free parking at K2. It is a short bus ride from the Crown Plaza, for those using public transport. Details will be available on arrival.

 Competition Program.

The program of events remains unchanged from last year. The following program will be followed:

Saturday 23rd April.

AM Water Polo warm up & competition.

PM Swimming warm up & competition.

1. 4x25m IM Skins qualifier Men Open 2. 4x25m IM Skins qualifier Women Open 3. 400m Freestyle Men/Women Open 4. 100m Backstroke Women Open 5. 100m Backstroke Men Open 6. 4x50m IM Men/Women Open 7. 100m Freestyle Women Open 8. 100m Freestyle Men Open 9. 50m Butterfly Women Masters 10. 50m Butterfly Men Masters 11. 100m Breastroke Women Open 12. 100m Breastroke Men Open 13. 50m Freestyle Women Masters 14. 50m Freestyle men Masters 15. 4x50m Medley Relay Women 140+ Years 16. 4x50m Medley Relay Men 140+ Years 17. 4x50m Medley Relay Women Open 18. 4x50m Medley Relay Men Open

Sunday 24th April

AM Swimming warm up & competition

19. 200m Breastroke Men/Women Open 20. 100m Butterfly Women Open 21. 100m Butterfly Men Open 22. 50m Backstroke Women Masters

- 3 - 23. 50m Backstroke Men Masters 24. 200m Freestyle Men/Women Open 25. 50m Breastroke Women Masters 26. 50m Breastroke Men Masters 27. 50m Freestyle Women Open 28. 50m Freestyle Men Open 29. Community Event (to be confirmed) 30. Community Event (to be confirmed) 31. 4x50m Freestyle Relay Women 140+ Years 32. 4x50m Freestyle Relay Men 140+ Years 33. 4x50m Freestyle Relay Women Open 34. 4x50m Freestyle Relay Men Open 35. Skins Final Women Open 36. Skins Final Men Open

PM Water Polo warm up & Competition.

 Swimming Competition Entries.

For 2016, all entries & hotel reservations will only be accepted electronically via the entry spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is available for download from: http://www.policeswimming.org

The spreadsheet contains four tabs relating to Hotel, individual swim entries, team swim entries & polo entries respectively. Please simply fill in the green boxes only. The totals will autofil themselves. This spreadsheet will not operate on a tablet. Please ensure all boxes are completed. Once complete, please save a copy, and then email the completed sheet to:

[email protected]

All entries received will receive a confirmation email by return.

Individual swimming entries are £8 per event. Team swimming entries are £16 per team.

Should there be any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the above mailbox. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

For this year we will be using a fully electronic meet management package linking to the electronic scoreboard & timing system at K2. By completing all entries electronically, the system can be populated in minimal time. The system will have the benefit of provided results quickly & efficiently, whilst calculating FINA points & age adjusted points awarded for all swims.

 Competition Conditions.

1. The competition will be managed by the PSUK organising committee. The organising committee reserve the right to alter the program if necessary. 2. With the exception of the ‘Skins’ event, the Swimming Championship will be held under ASA Law and FINA Masters Rules.

- 4 - 3. Entries will only be accepted from competitors who fulfil Rule 36 of the PSUK constitution. 4. All events will be heat declared winner. Entries will be seeded according to entry time and swimmers will compete against those with similar times from all age groups. 5. The age groups for individual masters events will be:

25-29yrs, 30-34yrs, 35-39yrs, 40-44yrs, 45-49yrs, 50-54yrs, 55-59yrs, 60-64yrs, 65-69yrs.

Age will be age at 31/12/2016. 6. The age groups for team masters events will be a combined total age of team members of 140yrs or greater on 31/12/2016. 7. Entries received after 31/01/2016 will be accepted only at the discretion of the PSUK organising committee. 8. Awards will be made those placing first, second & third for all swimming events. However, in the case that there are less than six entrants in any event, only the first place award will be made. 9. The Diane Patt Trophy will be awarded to the top Female swimmer based on FINA points accumulated during the meet. Points will only be accumulated by competing in Open events. No points will be awarded for the Skins event nor relay swims. 10.The Carlsberg Distributors Cup will be awarded to the Top Male swimmer, based on FINA points accumulated during the meet. Points will be accumulated by competing in Open events only. No points will be awarded for the Skins Event nor relay swims. 11.The Graham Cutting Trophy will be awarded to the Top male or female Masters swimmer, based on FINA Age Adjusted points accumulated during the meet. Points will be accumulated by competing in Masters events only. No points will be awarded for relay swims. 12.All competitors are required to adhere to all safety announcements and conduct themselves in a safe manner at all times.

 Water Polo Competition.

The Water Polo competition will follow ASA guidelines in respect of match play, with the inclusion of women in mixed teams. The competition will comprise of a ‘round robin’ schedule. Each match will comprise 2 halves of 10 minutes running clock with two minutes between periods. The schedule will be published once entries are processed. Each team entry fee will be £75.

The entry of a ‘Nomad’ team will be facilitated for players not part of an established ‘region’. This ‘Nomad’ team will not count in the competition; neither will goals scored for or against this team.

The winning team Trophy will be presented at the Presentation Dinner.

The Russ Sinton Trophy will be presented to the player who is judged to have made an outstanding contribution to Police Water Polo in the true spirit of the competition, as judged by the PSUK Committee.

- 5 -  Presentation Dinner.

The Presentation Dinner will be held on the evening of 24 th April in the Function Suite at the Crowne Plaza. This will include a three-course meal, with half a bottle of wine per person. The meal will be followed by presentations and a DJ. Dress code is Black Tie for gentlemen & Evening Dress for ladies.

Please can you let us know if any of your team have any special dietary requirements or allergies which need to be catered for.

Cost of the presentation dinner is £35 per person.

 Payment.

Payment is required by 31/01/2016, and can be by BACS or cheque. BACS Details: Lloyds Account 36830968 Sort Code 30-96-88 In the name Police Sport UK Championships

If you would like to pay by cheque, please email for the address to send the cheque to.

 Current Threat Assessment

It is unfortunate that in the current climate the threat against Officers & Staff has to be addressed. The current threat of an attack against Police targets in general is raised. Whilst there is no current direct threat, the organisers would ask all competitors & guests to maintain vigilance throughout the event. We would also ask that competitors refrain from wearing Police branded clothing or accessories in public.

If any teams are travelling by Police liveried transport, please get in contact to arrange secure storage of these vehicles.

 Contacts

The organising committee look forward to welcoming you in Crawley. A detailed information pack will be available on arrival. If there is anything that doesn’t make sense in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. The mailbox below is monitored by several of us, and we aim to turn around any queries within 72 hours. There will be a team managers meeting on the Friday evening.

[email protected]

In the event of an emergency, I can be reached on 07919 520026.

Kind regards,

Steve Willis. PSUK Swimming & Water Polo Section.