Firesport uk NATIONAL swimming CHAMPIONSHIP RULES and STRUCTURE, UNDER ASA LAWS and FINA TECHNICAL RULES
1.	INTRODUCTION
The 2018 FireSport UK National Swimming Championships will be held at the Palatine Leisure Centre, 207 St Annes Road, Blackpool, FY4 2AP on Saturday 6th October, hosted by Lancashire FRS. The event will be swum short course with full electronic timing, and 8 Lanes. There is a small pool available for cool down.
The competition combines Senior (18-24yrs), Open (any age) and Masters (age group) events. 
2.	DETAILS OF THE DAY 
09.30 – 10.20 Warm up  
10.25 Opening of the competition by Chief Fire Officer Chris Kenny
10.30 Competition start 
12.30 Lunch & Warm up (approximately).  Possible medal presentation from the morning
13.30 Afternoon competition start 
17.30 Competition closes (approximately). Possible medal presentation from the afternoon 
18.30 Award presentation & food; to be confirmed and an update sent out.

3.	EVENTS 

The individual Open events will be swum as 400m freestyle, 100m freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and 200m individual medley. There is a male and female Open trophy awarded for the swimmer accumulating the most points over these events.  
The individual Masters events will be swum as 50m freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and 100m individual medley. Masters Age Groups will be held as Group A, 25-29yrs; B, 30-34yrs; C, 35-39yrs; D, 40-44yrs; E, 45-49yrs; F, 50-54yrs; G, 55-59yrs; H, 60-64yrs; and I, 65-69 etc.  Age will be taken as age on 31st December 2018. Masters competitors must be 25 years old on 31st December 2018. There is a male and female Masters trophy awarded for the swimmer accumulating the most points over these events.  
The Senior age (18-24yrs) will be swum as the masters events above. Please note; the results will not count towards the masters trophies. Age will be taken as age on 31st December 2018.
Open Relays will be swum as 4 x 50m in both freestyle and medley, consisting of Men’s, Women’s and Mixed (2 men & 2 women). 
Masters Relays will be swum as 4 x 25m in both freestyle and medley, consisting of Men’s, Women’s and Mixed (2 men & 2 women). 
Masters relays must include at least one swimmer aged 40 years or over and remaining swimmers must be 25 years or over as age on 31st December 2018. 
Mixed brigade relays will be allowed as some brigades do not have enough competitors to form a relay team however the relay team if placed will be awarded the relevant medal but will not be awarded points toward any overall results & the time cannot count as a new competition record. 
Brigades may enter as many individual events and relay teams as they wish.
All results will be calculated by Heat Declared Winner (HDW); taking the times from the heats and comparing with all those of the same age group, consequently no finals will be held.  

Martin Heron Memorial Shield
This year, will be the third year we award the Martin Heron Memorial Shield. This will be awarded to the fastest Male 50m breaststroke swimmer based on all the results of all the entries into the Men’s Masters 50m breaststroke. Martin Heron, a long standing member of the LFB swim team sadly passed away in September 2015, due to bowl cancer. He has competed in many National Championships and won many medals and Masters trophies helping towards the ongoing success of LFB’s swim team, and as some of you may remember he was with us in Hong Kong, competing for the UK in the World Firefighter Games. There will be smaller awards for 2nd and 3rd place.

Disqualification
Any individual or relay team having been disqualified will not receive a medal or points as the competition is run under ASA laws and FINA Technical Rules for Masters Swimming.  Reasons for disqualification will be available on the day and any queries can be taken up with the qualified officials.  

Team trophy competition
To qualify to win either the Masters or Open team trophy, your Fire Service team must consist of at least four swimmers and enter a relay team event relevant to that trophy. 
4.	ENTRIES
Entries should be made on the official entry forms, indicating clearly your entry with a tick against the appropriate event or an entry time in order that you may be seeded along with swimmers of comparable ability. Entries made with a tick (no entry time) will be placed in the slowest heats. No individual entries will be accepted on the day, but relay entries may be accepted before the warm-up of the first session, depending on the results coordinator.  
Full entry lists will be published after the closing date on www.firesportuk.com/swimming or emailed.    

The closing date for all entries is Monday 24th September 2018. Please send your entries to Samantha.Howard@fire.cornwall.gov.uk and entry fees, cheques payable to FSSAA Swimming Section to; Samantha Howard, Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service, Newquay Community Fire Station, Tregunnel Hill, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 1QT or you can pay online/via bacs using Sort Code 30-94-60, Account 00436800 stating your fire service as a reference. 

Entry Fees 
Open Events 		£6.00 for the first event  
£2.00 for each subsequent event or
£15.00 for all six events

Masters Events	£6.00 for the first event 
£2.00 for each subsequent event or
£13.00 for all five events

Relay Events		£8.00 for each relay team

5.	GENERAL

If you would like more information please visit www.firesportuk.com/swimming or join our Facebook group FireSport UK National Fire Service Swimming Section

Teams are requested to arrange their own accommodation. A list of accommodation may be available upon request nearer the time and an update with this information sent out.