Regional Age Group - Notice Board: Level 'X' Racing

Friday, 30 October 2020

Level 'X' Racing - Regional Squads

Dear Parent/Guardian,

In lieu of competitions, we have decided to participate in Swim England's Level 'X' Racing Series. This will provide our Regional Squad members with an opportunity to compete in a competition style environment and to have times recorded in 50m, 100m, 200m & 400m events across all four strokes and the IM.

Please see below for further information on the Level 'X' Racing:

What is it?

· Level 'X' Racing is a club time trial, held in normal training session times, with results being submitted to Swim England's Rankings database.

· It is a fun opportunity for swimmers to practice some racing skills in the absence of competitions due to COVID-19.

· Swim England will publish leaderboards at designated times throughout the racing period to celebrate success.

Who is it for?

· Any Swim England 'category 2' member can take part in Level X Racing. Swim England are offering a free upgrade to Category 2 for current Category 1 members for the remainder of 2020 to enable them to take part in Level X Racing, however to participate in 2021 swimmers will need to be a fully paid Category 2 member.

· Only swimmers who would usually be attending that particular training session should take part in Level X Racing sessions, and all swimmers should take part with social distancing maintained throughout.

When is it happening?

· Series 1 of Level X Racing starts on 23 October and ends on 31 December 2020. You can view the schedule here (https://www.swimming.org/sport/level-x-racing-schedule/).

· Series 2 of Level X Racing will start in January 2021 with dates being published in December 2020.

How will Leeds run these time trials?

· Level 'X' time trials will be organised in normal squad training time. For Regional Squads, these time trials will take place at John Charles Aquatics Centre on a series of Friday evenings. Swimmers will follow the programme below:

Date	Events
Friday 13^th November 2020	50m Butterfly; 100m Backstroke; 200m IM; 50m Breaststroke,100m Freestyle
Friday 20^th November 2020	100m Butterfly, 50m Backstroke, 200m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, 50m Freestyle
Friday 4^th December 2020	200m Butterfly, 200m Backstroke, 200m Breaststroke
Friday 18^th December 2020	400m Freestyle, 400m IM

· All children will have the opportunity to race in the above events.

· Coaches may withdraw swimmers in certain events if they feel swimmers are not ready to swim the event/ distance to the standard of ASA technical law.

· Only swimmers who compete races to the ASA technical standard will qualify for their result to be sent to the ASA rankings. .

· Any disqualifications by swimmers will be shown in the results as DQ.

· Any swimmers who are absent ot have not taken part in a particular event will be shown in the results as DNC.

· Unfortunately, it will not be possible for parents/guardians to spectate.

· There will be another round of time trials in January 2021. As soon as Swim England publish dates, we will make the necessary arrangements for our swimmers to participate also.

What does my child need to bring to these sessions?

· Your child will be permitted to wear a racing costume for these sessions. They should arrive in this costume, as there will be no facilities for getting changed.

· Please also ensure that your child has adequate drinks bottles available and an extra towel/t-shirt to keep warm whilst they wait to race.

Best of Luck!

The Regional Team

Quote Bank!

"Kevin!, On the whole I think C Central have swum absolutely fantastic this year". Jacob Butterfield - C Central.

"Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit"

"I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it". Michael Phelps.

"Train insane, or remain the same".

"Dream. Believe. Achieve".

"You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get". Michael Phelps.

"I can definitely take more off my world record - a lot more. I have no doubt about that. I'm by no means putting pressure on myself, it's just the belief I have in myself ..... I'm not going to limit myself by nominating times or anything like that. I never thought I'd do 14:34 and I did. I thought I'd maybe do 14:38 or 14:39 that day, and I went nearly five seconds quicker so I don't want to limit the possibilities". Grant Hackett.

"In training everyone focuses on 90% physical and 10% mental, but in the races it's 90% mental because there's very little that seperates us physically at the elite level". Elka Graham.

"The hardest thing about climbing the ladder of success is getting through the crowd at the bottom".

"We need to create a way of working, and that's why I felt the need to set some rules. For example, we will all eat together, leave the table together - it is all about respecting each other. And being punctual is key". Fabio Capello.

"Unleash the Inner Beast!".

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing". Muhammad Ali.

"Many people say you are as only good as your last race, but we know we are only as good as our next race!".

"It was not the 10 work outs I did every week for four years that allowed me to overcome my competitors, it was the ones that they missed". Graeme Smith (1996).

"It's how you prepare months before in the training pool that will determine your performance at the main event. Your ruthless attendance, quality and consistency of your training will serge you forward to a result you will be happy with!"

"Winning the Gold Medal was undoubtedly the biggest day of my career, mostly because I won the way I had prepared to run it. It was a totally satisfying experience". Frank Shorter (American Athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist) (Munich 1972).

"Go into the sport because you have fun doing it, not because of 'what if's' and dreams of gold medals. That way, no matter what happens, you win". Shannon Miller (American Gymnast, two time Olympic Gold Medalist) (Atlanta 1996).

"As the years go by I train physically harder and I am always trying to go faster, further and higher. I train seven days a week and at the end of the day, I'm pretty tired but I never wish I was anyone else. If I miss a days training I feel guilty and I know I should have done it. I'm conscientious and unless I have a very good reason to, I never miss a session. It seems unfair to train for years and miss days just for the hell of it, and if I ever start to skip days, I would realise my attitude was not right and it was time for me to finish". Olympic Champion.

"Have a clear goal in your head of where you want to be and never give up!".

"Remember what doesn't challenge you, doesn't change you!"

"Not a day goes past where I don't go to bed with aching limbs ..... I have lost friends over it ..... I have lost girlfriends because of it ..... My family hates it ..... The only person that understands it wants to beat me ..... But I love it more than anything in the world!"

"Don't let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning". Robert Kiyosaki.

'Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday'. William Rudolph (American Athlete, three-time Olympic Gold medalist) (Rome 1960).

"It's been told that swimming is a wimp sport, but I don't see it. We don't get timeouts in the middle of a race; we can's stop and catch our breath; and we can't ask for a substitution".

"We can accomplish almost anything within our ability if we but think we can".

"In 2004 , I won a bronze. This is a silver. Maybe in 2012, it will be a gold. Slowly, slowly". Eliud Kipchoge (Kenyan Athelete, Olympic silver medalist) (Beijing 2008).

"I came out here to beat everybody in sight and that is exactly what I'm going to do. Sure, I can do anything". Mildred 'Babe' Didrikson (American Athlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist) (Los Angeles 1932).

"Before the (Olympic) trials I was doing a lot of relaxing exercises and visualisation. And I think that that helped me to get a feel of what it was going to be like when I got there. I knew that I had done everything that I could to get ready for that meet, both physically and mentally". Michael Phelps. (6 Gold Medals, 2004 Olympic Games).

"Success comes with determination to get up the morning after the hardest practice of your life and do it all over again!"

"There is nothing like the smell of chlorine in the morning, and nothing like the smell of victory in the evening"

"Enjoy the journey, enjoy every moment and quit worrying bout winning and losing". Matt Biondi. (American Swimmer, eight-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992).

"You only get one shot, go out there and do your best". Chad le Clos (200m Butterfly Champion).

"No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I'm going to beat them". Danny Harris. (American Athlete, Olympic Silver Medallist. Los Angeles 1984).

"When I go out and race, I'm not trying to beat opponents, I'm trying to beat what I have done ... to beat myself, basically. People find that hard to believe because we've had such a bias to always strive to win things. If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work hard for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe.

"I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let other swimmers think about me, not me about them". Amanda Beard.

"An athlete cannot race with money in his pockets. He must race with hope in his heart and dreams in his head". Emil Zatopek. (Four Time Olympic Gold Medallist).

"If you win something and you haven't put everything into it, you haven't actually achieved anything at all. When you've had to work for something and you've got the best you can out of yourself on that given day, that's where you get satisfaction from". Ian Thorpe. (Australian swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medallist. Sydney 2000, Athens 2004).

"No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up and never give up!".

"Push harder than yesterday if you want a different tomorrow".

"Champions train, losers complain".

"Success isn't overnight. It's when everyday you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up." Dwayne Johnson.

"Life is full of disappointments, failures and setbacks. None of those things can permanently stop you. You have the power to overcome anything that life throws at you. There is nothing as powerful as a made up mind. Surround yourself with people who remind you that you matter, and support you in the ways that matter most to you. No person, situation, or circumstance can define who you are. Don't give up. cave in, or stop believing that it's possible. It's not over until you win."