The gala will take place at:
Corby International Pool,
Parkland Gateway,
Corby,
Northampton,
NN17 1QB
Travel
All swimmers will need to arrive at John Charles no later than 8:20 am and check in with Team Managers ready for the coach to depart at 8:45 am sharp. We will be doing a team photo before we depart on the coach, please arrive ready in team kit for the photo. When we arrive a Corby, we will not be allowed into the building until 12:30 so we strongly advise that children bring a warm/waterproof jacket with them as we could be eating on arrival outside. Warm-up starts at 12:50 pm with the parade of teams at approximately 13:30 pm. We hope to be back at JCCS for approximately 7:30 pm. All swimmers are required to travel to and from the competition on the team bus.
If your child has a team track suit, they should travel to and from the event in it. Each swimmer will be provided with a Junior League Final 2025 T Shirt. This must be worn whilst the event is taking place and for all team photographs. Junior League Final T Shirts will be handed out on Sunday during the journey down to Corby. Please also ensure your child has another Leeds t-shirt to wear on the way home.
Obviously, this will be a long day, so the children will need enough food and drinks to last the day. They should not be given all of their food for the day straight away, as they tend to eat too much on the journey down to Corby. Swimmers will not be allowed to leave our teams marshalling area to collect drinks from parents etc during the meet. Therefore, please ensure they are adequately supplied with nutritious snacks and enough hydration on arrival at the pool.
Racing Suits
There will be only 10 minutes to get changed into team kit and be ready in the changing village for the parade. Due to this swimmer will need to change into their racing suits before the warmup. Swimmers are advised to keep their hat and goggle on them at all times or zipped up in their bag. The competition is going to be very fast, and we do not want a team missing their race because of lost hats and goggles.
There will be only 10 minutes to get changed into team kit and be ready in the changing village for the parade. Due to this swimmer will need to change into their racing suits before the warmup. Swimmers are advised to keep their hat and goggle on them at all times or zipped up in their bag. The competition is going to be very fast, and we do not want a team missing their race because of lost hats and goggles.
Swimmers, please remember everything you have practiced. This will be a very tough competition, every millisecond counts in an event like this so remember shallow dives, kick hard, get up, race hard and don't slow down into finishes. BE CAREFUL ON THE TAKEOVERS!!!! It is better to go late than early. We need to grab every point we can, getting disqualified can cause the team to lose 8 points.
Supporters
Parents, please wear team colours!!! Remember the louder you shout the faster the swimmers will go. We look forward to seeing you all dressed up in your hats, wigs, face paints etc. Make as much noise as you can! We want to see you go all out! We do not just want the best swimmers on the day, we want the best supporters on the balcony too. We are all part of the same team, please make sure you get behind every swimmer.
Tattoos
Due to the very tight schedule in Corby on Sunday we ask that all swimmers who want to wear tattoos to please apply them before arriving at John Charles on Sunday morning. Please see Helen Ellis if you do not already have some shark tattoos. Helen will be selling shark tattoos during the rest of this week at training for £1 each.
Spectator Tickets
Spectator tickets will be given out by Marc Raven/ Claire Cawood at John Charles on Sunday morning. Parents who are making their own way to Corby should collect your tickets when you drop your child off at John Charles on Sunday morning.
Car Parking at John Charles
The Aquatics Centre may be closed before we arrive back to Leeds on Sunday evening. Parents are advised to park in the long stay car park as the gates to the Aquatics car park will be locked once the centre closes.
Medication
Whilst we will have up to date records of your child's emergency contacts and medication on us, please inform the Team Managers (Marc Raven & Claire Cawood) if they need to administer any medication during the journey or competition.
TIMELINE & PROGRAMME FOR THE DAY
I hope you will appreciate that the day will be slightly extended for the presentations. There is to be no use of photography or video equipment during the gala. This includes the use of mobile phones and other recording equipment.
- 12:30 – Balcony & changing room access – due to lack of locker space please keep your kit with your team poolside (in a tidy manner)
- 12.48 Safety announcement
- 12:50 - Warm Up
- 13:20 – End of warm-up ONLY 10 mins to get ready for the parade and line up in the changing village – IT WILL BE BUSY – please listen to the stewards, they are trying to help the parade go smoothly
- 13:25 – OFFICIALS to line up along flume barrier
- 13.30 - Team parade from changing village (teams to be to lead by a ref/starter)
- 13.55 - Officials parade from 'flume line-up', introduction of Referees and Starter
- Followed by National Anthem – please stand still for this and cheer at the end.
- 13.57 - Safety announcement revisited - first and second race competitors to go to start ready behind blocks
- 14.00 - Racing begins
Hope you all have a fun and exciting day.
Lane 1 - Blythe Barracudas
Lane 2 - Hackney Anacondas
Lane 3 - City of Leeds
Lane 4 - Nottingham Leander
Lane 5 - Grantham
Lane 6 - Tynemouth
Lane 7 - Leyland Barracudas
Lane 8 - Leamington Spa
I hope you are all excited for the big day!
Good Luck Everyone! 😃 👍
The Regional Team
