MEMBERSHIP
The best way is to contact our front desk at LVW Aquatics. If you are a current club or competitive swimmer at another club, we can arrange for your registration to be transferred to our club.
You will need to have a discussion with our coaching staff to assess the best squad for you.
For further info please see Membership types below.
Multiple reasons.
- Great coaching
- More opportunities to improve above your current level
- Be a part of a great team
- You need to be attached to a club to compete
- If you are thinking about competing at e.g. AIMS games you need to have officially set qualifying times at the Swimming NZ database.
Competitive squads – Swimmers who want to compete in Swimming BOP and Swimming NZ sanctioned events, be it inter-club meets, regional or national meets will want to chose to swim in our competitive squads. These squads will give you the best platform to develop as a swimmer and to participate in swim racing. Read more in the Squads section.
Fitness squad – This group targets those swimmers who have progressed from Laing Squad and are not interested in competitive swimming. The structure of this programme is to continue to develop the swimmers skills and builds on what they have learnt in the Laing Squad. A swimmer in this programme may be looking just to swim for fitness, do some entry level triathlons, surf or train for water-polo.
Advanced Fitness Squad – This group targets swimmers who may have been already swimming in one of our competitive squads or have in the past been a competitive swimmer who no longer wants to compete. The structure of the programme has the swimmer swimming extended distances. completing specific targeted swimming sets, challenging heart rates, technique and times. A swimmer in this programme may be looking to swim for fitness, and/or complement water-polo, surf or triathlon training.
Whether it is friendly racing occasionally, learning to race or representing the club at national level, there is a level of competition to suit.
Upon reaching Drysdale squad, you will be required to become a LVW Aquatics Swimming Club member, which will give you the opportunity to enter competition. Membership is completed through the Swimming NZ website > Join.
Swimming NZ requires membership to be activated from the 1st of July each year, so you may receive an email letting you know.
Membership Types
- (NEW) Junior LVWA Swim Club Member (known in the SNZ database as Recreational Swimmer)
All Drysdale and Carrington squad members
This gives you a login to Fastlane (via swimming NZ) and you can access club nights, inter-club meets, AIMS Games and other eligible swim meets via this portal.
- Club Swimmer (as defined by SNZ)
All Adams squad members and Aquaknights swimmers from Drysdale & Carrington
Swimmers who wish to compete for a club at an Regional meets, Club Championship, Time Trial or School Championship.
- Competitive Swimmer (as defined by SNZ)
All Devoy and Loader squad members
Swimmers who wish to compete for a club at all swim meets including Swimming New Zealand National Events or Regional Championships.
SQUADS
There are three levels of squads:
- Learn to Train – Drysdale, Carrington
- Train to Compete – Adams, Devoy
- Train to Perform – Loader, Hillary
You can learn more about the entry criteria and focus at the Squad Details page.
You can learn more about the entry criteria and focus at the Squad Details page.
FEES
Please contact the front office in person or via the contact form for information on fees.
LVWA Swimming Club have annual club membership fees payable by squad swimmers. Club and Competitive swimmers further contribute to Swimming NZ. Please refer to the fee schedule.
The level of fees depends on the level of competition.
To enter club nights, there is usually only a fee payable for the entry. This is about $10. Swimmers in learn-to-swim programmes do not have to pay to use the Swimming NZ platform.
Regional competitions can be charged per individual event (i.e. stroke and distance) or per meet. The fees vary from about about $10 per event to about $40 – $60 per meet.
UNIFORMS
Yes. All swimmers going to represent the club should have a Liz Van Welie uniform. This includes a t-shirt and a black LVWA swim cap, optionally a hoodie. If you have other gear then please wear this also.
Caps must be worn in warm up and racing.
Uniforms can be purchased at the front office.
EQUIPMENT
Your child willneed to the following:
- Cap
- Googles
- Togs
- Towel
As swimmers progress through the squads the following will be needed:
- Flippers
- Kick Board
- Pull Bouy
TRAINING
Swimming schedules and timetables have a dedicated page on this website. You’ll find regular weekly schedules and when appropriate holiday timetables as well. Please note, the pool is usually closed during public holidays.
After BOP Juniors the coaching staff has started to see how we stack up performance-wise based on the Development, Advanced, & Elite times posted on the notice board at the pool. We thought it was useful to send this out to our swimmers to give them goals to work towards. Here’s an explanation of the times and what they mean:
- Development
– based off average of top-10 finishes at NZ Div II level (13&O) and top-8 Aquaknights Junior Festival (12&U) over the last 5 years, a level which sets swimmers up to progress towards an Advanced time. - Advanced
– For 13&O, based off average of top-10 finishes at NZ Short Course Champs over the last 5 years. A top ten finish would show you’ve made a final at nationals and contributed team points. For 12&U, based off average of top-3 finishes at the last 5 Aqua-knights Junior Festivals.
- Elite
– based off 2020-24 SNZ National Age Performance Standards (13&O only), achieving one of these times would have you as one of, if not the best in the country, and it would put you on the national pathway program.
No. There is no swim training on public holidays.
MEETS
They are either quarterly or half-yearly swim events run by the LVW Aquatics Swim Club. They are designed to be family friendly, fun and introduce our swimmers to racing. We encourage your children to participate from Tumbler 2 level upwards, as racing will boost their confidence and give their swim lessons purpose, apart from acquiring a skill.
To enter competitions (apart from a club night) you need to be a financial registered swimmer with Swimming NZ. To enter Divs 2 or Nags you need to have a “competitive” level registration. For all other meets (below NAGS and Div2), “club” level registration is sufficient.
You can register via SWIMMING NZ FASTLANE page.
You will create a username and a password and use that to login. All upcoming meets will be listed and you need to find the one you are interested in and enter via the online form. Usually, the meet page will feature a meet flyer, so you can see all T&Cs.
It is your responsibility to read the full terms & conditions of entry before entering a swimmer into a meet and to check the psych sheets on the relevant web site prior to the meet to ensure you have been entered. For assistance you can contact the LVWASC recorder via the contact us page.
Please note: It is advisable to register with Swimming NZ in good time, as all new registrations need to be authorised by the staff.
For clarification we take this opportunity to explain the difference between designated and development meets. This is a fairly new initiative of SNZ where they require regions to list all our events and their status (Designated or Development). We are restricted to a total of 10 meets per swimming season which runs from 1st July 2022 to 30th June 2023. Below are the SNZ requirements and rules around Meet Status:
- Development Meets
- Designated Meets
The purpose is to provide a racing opportunity for swimmers in a low pressure and fun-focused environment, without aiming to achieve a qualifying time for national championships.
Technical official minimum requirements for these meets are 1 starter and one timekeeper per lane. There is no requirement for regionally or nationally qualified and registered officials to fill any of the positions at a development meet. To clarify, this means that anyone can start the races and is not required to be an official.
Disqualification in line with the purpose of development meets “to provide a racing opportunity for swimmers in a low pressure and fun-focused environment, without aiming to achieve a qualifying time for national championships”, it is strongly encouraged to avoid disqualifying a swimmer unless absolutely necessary. For example, a swimmer failing to touch simultaneously in a breaststroke race or taking an additional dolphin kick under the water should not be disqualified, whereas a swimmer making a blatant false start or swimming freestyle in a backstroke race should be. • Where a swimmer has performed a breach that would cause disqualification at a designated meet, it is strongly encouraged that the swimmer is not disqualified, but instead, the swimmer and coach are informed of the breach and can learn from it and improve for the future.
Results from these meets can be used as qualifying times for school/club events and/or regional championships but cannot be used to enter National Championships.
It must have the purpose to provide the opportunity for swimmers to achieve qualifying times to attend national championships, with a greater emphasis given to performance at these meets. Technical Official Requirements for times to be approved from designated meets have a minimum requirement of 1 Referee, 2 JOS, 1 starter, 8 IOTS (10 Lanes) 6 IOTS (8 lanes) and one timekeeper per lane if using electronic timing or 3 timekeepers per lane if going manual.
Please note that regionally qualified and registered officials (with the exception of timekeepers) are required to fill the positions.
There are several ways to find out.
Firstly, use KEY LINKS > MEET CALENDAR menu option and click here. You will be taken to the Swimming Bay of Plenty website. This will show you upcoming events.
You can also use the information board at the swimming pool. This shows a list of meets coming up.
Last but not least the Fastlane website where swimmers register for events features a swim meet calendar for your perusal.
Some swim meets require qualifying times to enter. These can be found on the entry form or on the Swimming New Zealand/ Swimming BOP entry page.
It’s important to arrive on time for warm up so you can be ticked off by our team managers and be present for our team building time.
- Bring warm clothes/extra towel & socks/shoes to wear so that you keep warm between your races.
- All swimmers will sit together in the team area in the stands alongside the coaches and team managers;
- Parents are to sit separately. Parents, there will be an area designated for spectators so please don’t crowd the stands! Great for you to be there to support, but coaches and managers are unable to do their jobs in an overly congested area.
- Swimmers, make sure your team manager knows where you are at all times. If you need to leave the team area to go to the toilet, to see your parents, or for a bit of fresh air please make sure you let someone know.
- Bring snacks, stay hydrated, and stay active. Little walks are good especially when you have big gaps between races.
- Parents, try not to coach your children. The coach’s role is to provide their expertise and feedback, so try not to confuse swimmers by telling them something else!
- Be there to support and encourage! Be loud, be positive!
Swimming with purpose is our motto. Swim meets are an important as part of a swimmer development. They enable swimmers to be part of our team and show their improvement in their swimming. Going away with their team helps to build camaraderie between swimmers and in turn helps to build stronger link back to training and swimming in general.
Club night results will be posted shortly after the event on the club facebook page.
Our meets will be posted to Meet Mobile app during and after the meet. You can also find psych sheets and heat sheets via the app.
Learn more and download Meet Mobile app.
Please note that these results are considered provisional until posted to the Swimming NZ database.
You can access your official results either on Swimming BOP, your swimmer’s Fastlane profile or via the MyTogs app.
No. During a swim meet all swimmers sit with their teams.
Their coach and manager will look after them there. At some point, swimmers may come back and talk to parents with permission from the team manager. We like all Liz Van Welie swimmers to support each other.
Swimmers must be appropriately nourished at swim meets. The days can be long, allow plenty of nutritious
snacks.
Fresh water is all that is needed for hydration.
Strapping or topical wounds – please provide to the team manager a medical certificate from a physiotherapist or medical practitioner, stating what the injury is and if they give permission for the swimmer to swim.
For the health and safety of the swimmer and/or other swimmers, the Technical Director of the swim meet has final decision.
At each meet there is a Swim Manager. It is their job to get swimmers organised and to the start line.
Absolutely! Please put your hand up to help out!
Whether we are hosting an event or visiting other clubs, it is important to provide volunteers. Roles available are time-keeping, team managers and others to help run the meet smoothly. The more help we can get the quicker the afternoon will go.
And don’t forget, time-keeping comes with the best seat in the house!
This is the role of the team manager. Please contact the team manager on the day or, if prior to a swim meet please contact the meet recorder.
COMMON TERMS
Be at the pool 15 mins prior to the meet pool warm up to ensure you get seating and to start your dryland stretching/warm up. When pool warm up begins, do the warm up your coach has prepared (20 – 30 mins). This will include working all the muscle groups required for you to race well. Do not play around or disrupt other swimmers during warm up.
There is no diving into lanes during a warm up. Diving lanes will be allocated in the last 20 – 30 mins of warm up.
Do not climb out over the touch pads at the end of the pool.
The team manager will let you know when you are required to be at marshalling. You must listen for your name, as you can be disqualified at marshalling if you do not hear your name called and are not seated in lane order ready to race.
Wear something warm to marshalling. Prior to going to marshalling check with your coach for any instruction. They will give you last minute reminders (i.e. touch with 2 hands / negative split the 2nd 100 etc) remember what you have done in training is what will help you now.
Go immediately to the warm down pool and start your warm down. This should take between 5 – 10 mins. Descending and finishing with work on the next race you have. Then go back to see your coach, who will discuss your race and give you advice on things to work on in training to make this an even better race next time.
Younger swimmers may not be required to warm down and can return to their team immediately after the swim.
Please bear in mind that we have some very large squads and often have swimmers racing immediately after each other. Our apologies if we don’t get to speak to you all, but our priority is to watch every swimmer race. We may need to catch up with you at a later time on your race performance.
On the programme you will see that your child has a time next to their name. This is the best registered time they have recorded.
They achieve a PB when they beat this time. If your child has never done the swim before they are on the program with NT (no time).
Some meets we are not allowed to enter a swimmer with NT, so the recorder will estimate a time for swimmer, or the coach will do a time trail and advise the recorder of the time.
These are the times per 25m, 50m or 100m, depending on the length of the race.
From these times the coach can see where the swimmers weakness in technique / fitness is. I.e. dropping 5 second on the 3rd 25m swim and not getting it back for the last 25m, tells us the swimmer went out too fast and didn’t have the fitness to sustain the swim.
If you have been disqualified for a race, we will explain the reason for it; we then need to ensure that you work on that item to make sure it never happens again. Learn from it.
Long course is a 50 metre length pool and short course is a 25 metre length pool. Long course meets are often held in the summer months.
Pending the time of year/season, races will be held in short course (SC – 25 metre) or long course (LC – 50 metre) pool. PBs achieved in different length pools will be converted on a psych sheet.
My Togs mytogs.co.nz is a very handy app to assist with goal setting and time conversion.
RULES
Swimming NZ swimming rules, updated Sept 2021.
Rules cover these topics
SW 1 MANAGEMENT OF COMPETITIONS …………………………………………………. 2
SW 2 OFFICIALS …………………………………………………………………………………. 3
SW 3 SEEDING OF HEATS, SEMI-FINALS AND FINALS ………………………………. 8
SW 4 THE START ……………………………………………………………………………….. 11
SW 5 FREESTYLE ……………………………………………………………………………….. 11
SW 6 BACKSTROKE ……………………………………………………………………………. 11
SW 7 BREASTSTROKE ………………………………………………………………………… 12
SW 8 BUTTERFLY ………………………………………………………………………………. 13
SW 9 MEDLEY SWIMMING ………………………………………………………………….. 13
SW 10 THE RACE ……………………………………………………………………………….. 14
SW 11 TIMING ………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
SW 13 AUTOMATIC OFFICIATING PROCEDURE ………………………………………. 17
PARA SWIMMING RULES ……………………………………………………………………. 18
Open Water Swimming Rules, Updated Dec 2019.
Rules cover these topics
Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 2
OWS 1 DEFINITIONS …………………………………………………………… 2
OWS 2 OFFICIALS ……………………………………………………………….. 2
OWS 3 DUTIES OF OFFICIALS ……………………………………………….. 3
OWS 4 THE START ………………………………………………………………. 6
OWS 5 THE VENUE ………………………………………………………………. 7
OWS 6 THE RACE ………………………………………………………………… 8
OWS 7 THE FINISH OF THE RACE …………………………………………. 10
| STARTS | FINA RULE |
| Any swimmer starting before the starting signal shall be disqualified | SW4.4 |
| FREESTYLE | FINA RULE |
| Form style swum in Freestyle leg of medley | SW 5.1 |
| Swimmer did not touch the wall at the turn / finish | SW 5.2 |
| Swimmer’s head did not surface before 15m mark following the start or turn | SW 5.3 |
| Swimmer totally submerged (except for first 15m at start & turn) | SW 5.3 |
| Swimmer took a stride or step from the bottom of the pool | SW 10.4 |
| BACKSTROKE | FINA RULE |
| Toes of both feet not in contact with wall or touchpad when Backstroke start ledge used. Bending toes over the touchpad is prohibited | SW 6.1 |
| Swimmer left position on the back other than to execute a turn | SW 6.2 |
| Swimmer’s head did not break the surface at or before 15m mark following the start or turn | SW 6.3 |
| Swimmer totally submerged (except in first 15m after start & turn) | SW 6.3 |
| Swimmer did not start executing the turn immediately after turning onto the breast | SW 6.4 |
| Non-simultaneous double arm pull was used to initiate the turn after turning onto the breast | SW 6.4 |
| Swimmer did not touch the wall at the turn | SW 6.4 |
| Swimmer did not leave the wall on their back after the turn | SW 6.4 |
| Swimmer did not finish race while on the back | SW 6.5 |
| BREASTSTROKE | FINA RULE |
| Butterfly kick not before first breaststroke kick | SW 7.1 |
| Head did not break the surface before arms reached widest point in second stroke after start or turn | SW 7.1 |
| Body not on the breast (except when executing a turn) | SW 7.2 |
| Stroke cycle not 1 arm stroke to 1 leg kick | SW 7.2 |
| Arm movements not simultaneous | SW 7.2 |
| Arm movements not in the same horizontal plane | SW 7.2 |
| Hands not pushed together from the breast | SW 7.3 |
| Hands brought back beyond the hip line (after the 1st stroke following the start and turn) | SW 7.3 |
| Elbows over the water except for last stroke before turn, during the turn or the final stroke at the finish | SW 7.3 |
| Leg movements not simultaneous (or alternating movement) | SW 7.4 |
| Leg movements not on the same horizontal plane | SW 7.4 |
| Feet not turned out in the propulsive part of the kick | SW 7.5 |
| Executed a downward butterfly kick (except after the start and after the turn as in SW 7.1) | SW 7.5 |
| Touch at the finish or turn with one hand, or touch not simultaneous, or hands not separated | SW 7.6 |
| BUTTERFLY | FINA RULE |
| Body not on the breast (except when executing a turn) | SW 8.1 |
| Body not on the breast when leaving the wall after the turn | SW 8.1 |
| Arms not brought forward simultaneously over the water | SW 8.2 |
| Arms not brought backward simultaneously under the water | SW 8.2 |
| Movements of the feet not simultaneous | SW 8.3 |
| Alternating movement of the legs or feet | SW 8.3 |
| Swimmer used breaststroke kick | SW 8.3 |
| Touch at finish or turn with one hand, or touch not simultaneous, or hands not separated | SW 8.4 |
| Swimmer’s head did not surface at or before 15m mark following the start or turn | SW 8.5 |
| Swimmer totally submerged (except in first 15m after start & turn) | SW 8.5 |
| More than one arm pull under water (following start or turn) | SW 8.5 |
| MEDLEY | FINA RULE |
| Incorrect IM stroke order (correct: fly, back, breast, free -1/4 each) | SW 9.1 |
| Swimmer was not on the breast before the first kick/stroke of the start of the freestyle leg | SW 9.2 |
| Incorrect medley relay order (correct: back, breast, fly, free) | SW 9.3 |
| One quarter (1/4) of the distance not covered in stroke of the medley | SW 9.3 |
| Finish of each stroke not in accordance with rules for the particular stroke | SW 9.3 |
| THE RACE | FINA RULE |
| A swimmer, swimming the course alone shall cover the whole distance to qualify | SW 10.2 |
| A swimmer must remain and finish in the same lane as started | SW 10.3 |
| A swimmer when turning shall make contact with the end wall of the pool | SW 10.4 |
| Swimmer took a stride or step from the bottom of the pool | SW 10.4 |
| Swimmer pulled on the lane rope | SW 10.6 |
| Any kind of tape on the body is not permitted – unless approved by the FINA Sport Medicine Committee (Technical Director at SNZ events) | SW 10.8 |
| Use of power bands or adhesive substances not permitted | SW 10.8 |
| Entered the water during a race not entered in | SW 10.9 |
| Feet not in touch with starting platform before preceding team member touched the wall | SW 10.11 |
| Team member/s entered the water prior to all teams finishing | SW 10.12 |
| Swam more than once in their relay team | SW 10.13 |
| Swimmers in relay did not swim in order listed | SW 10.13 |
| Failed to leave the pool at the end of their leg in a relay | SW 10.14 |
| Device or plan used for pace-making | SW 10.16 |
GENERAL
The LVW Swimming Club is run by a committee of dedicated volunteers who meet once a month, helping to organise competitions, meet entries, swim camps, fundraising, club nights, officials training and are also responsible for the administration and finances of the club. . Most of the committee members will have their children swimming with the club. However, this is not a requirement. So, if you are thinking about lending a hand. Please let us know.
If you would like to offer your assistance, but do not necessarily want to be a committee member, your help is also gratefully received.
Current Committee Members are:
| Name | Position |
| Trudy Smith | Chair |
| Katy Smith | Secretary |
| Nat Fletcher | Treasurer |
| Heather Salmons | Funding |
| Lorien Martin | Swim BOP representative, Committee Member |
| Lisa Sands | Social Media |
| Petr Faitl | Recorder |
| Jo Harvey | Committee Member |
| Scot Martin | Committee Member |
| Sonia McCawe | Committee Member |
| Sarah Pinkerton | Committee Member |
| Kerstin Axt | Committee Member |
The best way is to contact our front desk at LVW Aquatics. If you are a current club or competitive swimmer at another club, we can arrange for your registration to be transferred to our club.
You will need to have a discussion with our coaching staff to assess the best squad for you.
Liz van Welie Aquatics provides the total swimming experience, incorporating the successful Learn to Swim business and providing pathways into training, squads and other programs. Learn more >
Liz van Welie Aquatics Swim Club is a year-round, competitive swimming club based at the LVW Aquatics pool. Learn more >
Account Name: Liz Van Welie Aquatics Swim Club
Account number: 38-9018-0629465-00
CLUB SPONSORS
