HSL Rules Update March 2025

As we are only a week away from Round 2 of 2025 Major League, the committee have decided rather than hold an EGM we would share the following information and updated rules attached.

Louise has spoke to Ian Mackenzie who had confirmed that although the rules are edited there is no significant changes they are purely clarifications of the rules and therefore an EGM does not need to be called we only need to issue a clarification of the rules to all of the membership clubs.

The rules around age groups have been added into the main body of the rules and in this it clarifies what age of swimmer is eligible for each age group. The rationale behind this is related to the fact the Compliance Officer is getting multiple questions in relation to the age groups of swimmers and what is and is not eligible in terms of age groups, therefore it has now been stated in the rules with a definition to avoid this question arising on a regular basis and to also clear up understanding amongst the clubs and coaches for when they select their teams. The same explanation also appears in appendix A and B as the age groups have also been defined for peanuts league.

In appendix A it also explains how the 50/50/100/100 relay should be, this relay since its introduction has always been 1 swimmer per age group and this is clearly seen throughout the data for each gala in previous years, during this years competition all clubs apart from a small number followed the 1 per age group rule for this relay therefore in the table and below the table in the relay explanation it shows how the relay should be formed. The relay table as an extra row which incorporates the Breaststroke, Fly and 50/50/100/100 relays as these are all relays that are 1 per age group relays therefore needing a separate row with an altered explanation.

It also explains for the 50/50/100/100 how it should be swum in terms of the distances so that there is no doubt in it at all.

This is also the same for the Breaststroke and Fly relays in Peanuts league and they now have their own row with an altered explanation.

By having these clarifications in there it should reduce the amount of questions and queries the Compliance Officer is receiving with regards to relays and age groups.

There are further proposals from the Compliance Officer which will be put forward for the AGM in October but for now it is important that the clubs receive the clarification that they need in order to make their teams compliant prior to each round.