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The Swimming Season:
Starts in September and ends after the Youth Nationals in early August. Team competitions start in October with the first round of the National Speedo League and end in July with the last round of the Hertfordshire Peanuts League. Hoddesdon also compete in the Dapyln Trophy, Hertfordshire Major League, Junior Speedo League and a number of team galas organised by other clubs.
Open competitions for individuals are held throughout the season. There are individual championships at county level in March, at Regional level (ASA Eastern Region covers Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk) in June and at National level in July/August.
Hoddesdon holds three club championships – the 200m competition takes place in June and the sprint championships (25m-100m depending on age) take place in October. The Novice championships are held in November for swimmers under 13 who have not been placed in the sprint championships.
Team Competitions:
National Speedo League
Type of Competition: This is a national competition that is divided into 7 regional leagues. Teams from Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk and London (plus a few from Kent, Surrey and East Sussex) compete in the London league. There are two divisions within the league andHoddesdon compete in the top division. The standard of swimming is very high with GB junior and full internationals in some of the teams. Each gala consists of 50 events divided between four age groups (9-11, 13 and under, 15 and under, Open). There are 24 teams in London Division 1. The league winners compete in the national A final and the runners up compete in the national B final (both at Ponds Forge, Sheffield). Each year the bottom four clubs in the division are relegated and replaced by the top four teams in division 2.
The divisional winners in 2006 were Team Ipswich (Hoddesdon finished 15th) and the national cup final was won by Stockport Metro.
When the Galas take place: There are three rounds, normally one in each of October, November and December with national finals in the following April.
How the Competition is organised: Each round consists of 3 galas, with 8 teams in each gala. Teams are allocated to the first round of Galas based on their league position in the previous season. In the second round teams are allocated to galas based on the number of points scored in the first round (on average, the system results in each team swimming against 11 or 12 of the others over the first two rounds). After the second round, the top 8 teams in the division swim off for the places in the national finals, the middle 8 swim against each other and the bottom 8 swim against each other. Usually 4 teams from the bottom 8 gala are relegated, although the scoring system occasionally results in a team from the middle 8 gala finishing in the relegation zone.Link to league website:www.speedoleague.org.uk
The Daplyn Trophy
Type of Competition: This is a county competition organised by Hertfordshire ASA for swimmers in a single age group (under 14). Separate Boys and Girls competitions are held within one Gala with separate trophies awarded at the end of the evening. Hoddesdon won both the boys’ and girls’ trophies in 2006.
When the Galas take place: There is a single gala held in early December.
How the Competition is organised: There are individual races of 100m IM and 50m of each stroke with 4x50m medley and freestyle relays. Each swimmer can only compete in one individual event. There are typically up to 18 teams entered and therefore each event is swum in 3 heats with placing being decided on times swum across the 3 heats (i.e. results decided on HDW basis).
Link to league website: www.hertsasa.org.uk/swimming/daplyn
Hertfordshire Major League
Type of Competition: This is a county competition consisting of 32 teams divided into 3 divisions (12 teams in each of the top two divisions and 8 in the third). TheHoddesdon Eels compete in the top division. Each gala consists of 49 events divided between four age groups (under 12, under 14, under 16 and open). The bottom two teams in each of the top two divisions are relegated at the end of the season and replaced by the top two teams from the division below.
The league winners in 2007 were Hatfield (Hoddesdon Eels finished 4th).
When the Galas take place: There are three rounds, normally one in each of January, February & April.
How the Competition is organised: Each round consists of 2 galas, with 6 teams in each gala. The top 4 teams from the previous season are seeded with two seeds in each 1st round gala and the other teams allocated by random draw. For the second round the teams placed 1,3 and 5 from gala 1 swim against the teams placed 2,4 and 6 in gala 2 (and vice versa). In the third round the top 6 teams swim against each other to decide the top places in the league and the bottom 6 swim to decide the relegation places.
Link to league website:www.hsleague.org.uk
Junior Speedo (M11 corridor) league (akaDiddy League)
Type of Competition: The Junior Speedo league is a national competition that is divided into regional leagues in a similar way to the National Speedo League. The competition is for junior swimmers (aged 9-12 years). Teams from Hertfordshire, Essex, North Kent and London compete in the M11 corridor league. There are two divisions in the M11 league with 12 teams in each division – Hoddesdon compete in the top division. The standard of swimming can be a little variable in the 9 year old group but is usually very high in the other age groups. The top team from Division One goes forward to compete in a regional eliminator for the national final. Each year the bottom three clubs in division 1 are relegated and replaced by the top three teams in division 2.
The divisional winners in 2007 were Thurrock who also qualified for the national final (Hoddesdon finished 7th).
When the Galas take place: There are three rounds, normally one in each of April, May and June.
How the Competition is organised: Each round consists of 2 galas, with 6 teams in each gala. Teams are allocated to the first round by random draw. For the second round the teams placed 1,3 and 5 from gala 1 swim against the teams placed 2,4 and 6 in gala 2 (and vice versa). In the third round the top 6 teams swim against each other to decide the top places in the league and the bottom 6 swim to decide the relegation places
Link to league website: This league has no web-site at present.
Hertfordshire Peanuts League
Type of Competition: This is a county competition organised along similar lines to the Major League but with age groups ranging from 9 years to under 13. There are 32 teams divided into 3 divisions (12 teams in each of the top two divisions and 8 in the third). Hoddesdon enter two teams. The Hoddesdon Eels compete in the top division. The Hoddesdon Fish won the third division in 2007 and will be competing in division 2 in 2008. Each gala consists of 49 events divided between four age groups (9 years, under 11, under 12 and under 13). The bottom two teams in each of the top two divisions are relegated at the end of the season and replaced by the top two teams from the division below.
When the Galas take place: There are three rounds; in 2008 these will be held between May and July.
How the Competition is organised: Each round consists of 2 galas, with 6 teams in each gala. The top 4 teams from the previous season are seeded with two seeds in each 1st round gala and the other teams allocated by random draw. For the second round the teams placed 1,3 and 5 from gala 1 swim against the teams placed 2,4 and 6 in gala 2 (and vice versa). In the third round the top 6 teams swim against each other to decide the top places in the league and the bottom 6 swim to decide the relegation places.
Link to league website:www.hsleague.org.uk
Individual Competitions:
See Page on Open Meets
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