Competition

Athletics is a competitive sport and so competing for the team(s) is reccomened:

Taking part in competitive races/events is also a good driving point for training; knowing your close to winning races might spur you on to train more. Its also good for us as Coaches to see how well our training is helping you progress and importantly it makes for a great team spirit if we get larger teams to competitions.

Leagues

Throughout the summer Swale Combined AC is in two Leagues: Kent Young Athletics League (KYAL) and the Southern Athletics League (SAL)

The KYAL caters for young athletes from the age of 9+ boys and girls with athletes competing in age groups of under 11s, under 13s and under 15s. This makes the competitions fairer as you wont be racing someone three years older than you. there are 4 competitions each year at various venues around Kent which makes then accessible for members of our club. There's a good atmosphere at these competitions and its a great place to start your competitive athletics career.

The SAL is for athletes 15 yrs+. At these competitions we travel around the south east. At this level the competitions are still fun but are also serious as athletes look for the next personal best and to see how far their athletics can take them. We are currently in Division 3 South East for the SAL

Open Meetings

As well as leagues we attend a large number of Open Meetings each year. These are competitions were athletes pay to enter events they want and are usually grouped against athletes in a similar ability, for example at one meeting we go to you pay £4 for up to three events on the timetable. Lets say your in the 100m and have a best time of 12sec, your be grouped with athletes who are also running close to or just ahead of 12sec.

Sportshall and Cross Country

During the winter months, we enter the Kent Sportshall Competitions and Kent Corss Country League.

Cross country is for all ages under 13 to veteran. There are 4 XC league matches during the winter season as well as the Kent Championships and the South of England Championships, both in January. The season starts in October at venues across Kent. While some courses are challenging they can be very rewarding to complete and are a great way to boost both stamina and competition experience for the summer races or as build up for longer road runs and marathon training.

Sportshall athletics is for U11-U15s and has really taken off for us in the last few seasons, our athletes consistently winning medals at the Kent Championships, many being selected to represent Kent in the Regional Finals with one of our athletes qualifying for the National Finals in back to back years in 2017 and 2018. The sportshall matches are great fun and friendly competitions are at venues across Kent and are a great way for new athletes to get into the sport.

Track and Field Competition Age groups explained:

10yrs or younger on August 31st = Under 11s

11 or 12 yrs on August 31st = Under 13s

13 or 14 yrs on August 31st = Under 15s

15 or 16 yrs on August 31st = Under 17s

17 - 19 yrs on DECEMBER 31s = Under 20s

Older = Senior.

Marathon Selection Criteria

Swale Combined AC receive ONE club entry for the London Marathon and TEN entries for the Brighton Marathon. In the event that more runners apply to represent the club than there are available places available, the following criteria will apply to the selection process:

London Marathon Entry Criteria

Brighton Marathon Entry Criteria

Swale Combined AC Teams: