West Merton Swimming Competition Yr 5/6

Event Information

There will not be any spectators allowed on site for this event, please make sure all parents/ guardians are made aware of this when you invite your swimmers.

Booking

• This is a Swimming Competition level event.
• On the initial booking date, schools may enter either a Borough Championship or a Development Competition within each sport category.
• If an event reaches capacity, schools will be placed on a waiting list and advised accordingly. MSSP will contact schools if places become available in the lead up to the event.

Team Entry Form

Please enter the names of the children in the events which they are competing. Please email the form to: n.osborne@harrismorden.org.uk. Entries to be received before Monday 1st March 2027

Important Information

Any last-minute name changes must be emailed to MSSP in advance of the day. There is space for up to 12 school teams at each of our Galas this year. Schools might be able to bring two teams of 12 if space allows – please enquire if you are keen to do this.

All students MUST be Swim Tested to at least 25m, with no support required whatsoever, before being entered into your team.

Please be mindful that some children may be able to swim 25m to a beginners level when completing their lessons but the excitement of a swim gala can be stressful for some students and can affect their breathing and cause panic. Please consider this when selecting your team to ensure your students can have a SAFE, positive and enjoyable experience at this competitive event.

A school swim team will consist of up to 12 swimmers: 3 x Yr 5 Boys | 3 x Yr 6 Boys | 3 x Yr 5 Girls | 3 x Yr 6 Girls

The event is open to your strongest swimmers in years 5 and 6. We appreciate that you may have some strong year 4 swimmers but please consider that under 9’s do not swim competitively at club level. We would not encourage you to swim year 4’s up, unless they are already swimming at a higher competitive level and will be able to cope with swimming against year 5 children.

We hope that schools can bring a full team of 12 swimmers to give as many children as possible the opportunity to represent their school in this competitive event and gather points for the School Team Award Trophy. However, we understand that for some schools there may not be enough experienced swimmers to fill all event categories. We would not want schools to enter children, to maximise their opportunity to gather points towards the team award, if those children could be in danger or have a negative experience at this event.

Swimmers will be timed across all heats and will be allocated an overall placing for their category based on their heat finish time. This placing will be allocated points to go towards your team’s overall score. Placing 1^st  would score 12 points, 2^nd = 11 points etc… with 12^th receiving 0 points.

The team with the most points will win our Team Award Trophy (not medals).

If you are unable to bring 12 strong swimmers, individuals can still swim for your school (and reach finals/medals) in up to 2 different strokes; however, scores will only be taken from their single best individual performance to contribute towards your team award points. In the other race they will score 0 points.

If you cannot field a swimmer in any given race, your school will again be awarded 0 points for that race.

Finals

For individual races finals will be held with the top 3 swimmers timed across all heats competing for gold, silver and bronze medals. (Please note that this is a new format, and we hope there will be time for this. If there isn’t, medals will be awarded based on Heat Times – please arrive on time to help us fit everything in!)

We plan to run two finals alongside each other in the pool to help with the schedule and time constraints.

Lanes 1,2,3 will be for the year 5 race and lanes 4,5,6 for the year 6 race in each category.

Relays

• This year our relay races will be for fun and to promote team spirit, they will not score towards your overall team award nor be placed Gold, Silver or Bronze (no medals).
• We want to keep the relays to give the children a chance to swim more than once and to encourage team spirit and enjoyment, but with our new format of a ‘one day event’, it will be impossible to fit in timed heats / scored relay races.
• There will be a girl’s relay (6 swimmers/legs) and a boy’s relay (6 swimmers/legs).
• They can choose whatever their fastest stroke is for each leg.
• Some swimmers may have to swim twice if your team is low on numbers.
• Swimmers cannot complete more than two legs for their team.
• The 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th leg will start at the deep end and swimmers may dive in if required but all other legs will start in the water.

Diving Blocks – We cannot guarantee that diving blocks will be available at Morden Pool but if they are and children have good experience of using them, they may use the blocks. At Kings College School the diving blocks are particularly high from the ground, and we have decided again that they are not beneficial for this age group and could be detrimental.

Results

• Results and event report will be available on the news webpage within 24 hours of the event ending.

Progression Pathway

• The heats and finals will now take place all on the same day at Morden Pool.
• There is no progression round from this event.

Staffing and Spectators – IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Due to a range of safeguarding concerns, spectators will not be permitted entry at any MSSP events as of 8th October 2025.
• Primary schools must inform parents in advance when inviting students to take part.
• All staff attending the event must have enhanced DBS clearance and have been fully vetted by their primary school.
• DBS numbers, full name and school photo ID will be required in advance by the host school for events on school sites.
• Upon arrival, all staff members must sign a Code of Conduct form to confirm their intent to support the safeguarding of children at MSSP events.
• Staff must complete a team-sheet ready for registration.
• Staff may be asked to keep score during the games.

MSSP Duty of Care

At Merton School Sport Partnership, the safety, wellbeing and inclusion of every participant is our highest priority. Our Duty of Care framework outlines the measures we take to ensure all events are safe, enjoyable and accessible, covering key areas including safeguarding, health and safety, equality, diversity and inclusion, risk assessments, medical provision, codes of conduct, photography and data protection.

We ask all schools, staff, volunteers and participants to familiarise themselves with these expectations before attending MSSP events.

For full details, please download the MSSP Duty of Care document or visit the relevant section of our website HERE for further guidance, policies and event information.

Cluster reference for Entry:

West Merton Schools

Holy Trinity CE, Merton Abbey, Park Academy, St Mary’s RC, The Priory CE, Wimbledon Park, All Saints CE, Bishop Gilpin CE, Garfield, St Matthew’s CofE, Merton Park, Pelham, Sacred Heart RC, West Wimbledon, Wimbledon Chase, Dundonald, Hollymount, Joseph Hood, Hillcross, Poplar, St John Fisher RC, Aragon, Hatfeild