An Open Meet is where a swimmers is not representing the club, they enter as an individual, normally there will be a group of swimmers from Farnham, and quite often there might be a trophy for the club with the best results but the main purpose is for the swimmer to compete against other swimmers of a similar standard who they may not have a chance to compete against in the various leagues the club enters.

There are various Open meets throughout the year, information is normally on the Club Notice Board or entry forms are handed out to the swimmers at Training sessions.

Open meets are categorised into Grades A, B & C. Grade A being for the faster swimmers, B not as fast etc.

Each Open met will normally provide Guide times for each event, when you enter an event you have to provide your time for that event, if its outside the guide times you will probably not be selected to swim. If it's inside the guide times but you swim faster than the fastest guide time you will not be eligible for a medal, but will probably receive a speeding ticket instead.

To enter an Open Meet, complete the form and hand back in to the person listed on the form. If your application to swim is accepted you will receive a 'Card' for each event you've been accepted for. You will only need to pay for those events your accepted into. But if you enter your form, are accepted to swim but then find you can't swim on that day you will still need to pay for your events.

Open Meets are normally an all day event, some times more than 1 day. Each day will be split into 3 session, morning, afternoon and evening. The morning session may start as early as 08:00 so if you have swimmers in all 3 sessions it can be a very long day. The entry forms will tell you which events are in which session so plan your day.

The swimmers can wear any competitive style costume but we would like all swimmers to still wear FSC hats, plus something to keep them warm on pool side, preferably club T-bag T-Shirts, club sweatshirts etc. All swimmers should bring a drink in a suitable sports drink bottle. Unlike Galas food is allowed on pool side, but please restrict it to light snacks, fruit or pasta. I would also recommend taking something to read or do between races and 2 towels, one for pool side to dry off between races and a second for getting changed at the end of the gala. (some swimmers have started using chamois to dry down between races, check with the Club Shop for availability). Swimmers will not need pullbuoys or kick floats.

The club costumes contain Lycra, as do most competitive costumes, unfortunately Lycra reacts very badly to washing machine detergent and softener, if you regularly wash the costumes in the washing machine they may only last a month or two. I would suggest only using the club costumes for galas & open meets and always rinse in just clean cold water after the gala. Buy some normal costumes for training etc. The people running the Club Shop will be able to advise.

IMPORTANT:

The 'Cards' each swimmers receives for their events must be 'Posted' at the Open Meet before a set Time.

The Open meet organisers will provide boxes for your cards, one box for each event, separate boxes for boys and girls. The boxes will normally be in reception of the sports centre where the event is taking place. The cards will normally say the time by which the cards have to be posted. If you arrive late it is very unlikely that you will be able to swim, but always ask the organisers just in case.