Championship Gala

The NASCH Championship Gala is held in early November at the Leamington Spa Newbold leisure centre. We have been using the pool there for nearly 30 years now and have seen many changes. The pool was given major overhaul 4 years ago and the disabled facilities are now a very high standard.

All NASCH clubs are eligible to enter a team of swimmers into a regional gala and if successful in winning a gold medal can then go on to swim in the Championship Gala.  Regional galas are usually held in September, early October before the main gala in November.  All the galas are run using the NASCH handicapping system which enables a level playing field for all competitors regardless of disability.

“The system is simple and has been designed to give every disabled person the opportunity to swim competitively with an equal chance to win.  The system does not discriminate between people with physical and learning disabilities, nor indeed does it discriminate between types of disabilities or performance (speed) of swimmers. Using this system, the most severely disabled people can compete on equal terms with those who have a slight disability and are therefore much faster swimmers. It follows of course that by using this system both disabled and non-disabled people can compete together on equal terms.”

The gala is open to juniors up to the age of 17 years. Then anyone above that age is a senior.  The races consist of: –

Girls One Length
Boys One Length
Girls Two Lengths
Boy’s Two lengths
Girls Four Lengths
Boy’s Four lengths
Junior Mixed Relay

Ladies One Length
Men’s One Length
Ladies Two Lengths
Men’s Two Lengths
Ladies Four Lengths
Men’s Four Lengths
Ladies Relay
Men’s Relay.  

The medals and Cups are presented at the end of the gala plus the overall regional winners and Seniors and Juniors plates.