Join Our Club

To take your competitive swimming aspirations to the next level, your best opportunity is to join a Swim England affiliated club (formerly the Amateur Swimming Association ASA)

Become a member of the Black Lion Swimming club which includes membership to the ASA.

Swim21 accreditation is Swim England’s recognised kitemark for the development of effective, ethical and sustainable affiliated club, BLSC is swim21 accredited. Our coaching team will give you expert tuition and guidance, and ensure you have a structure that enables you to develop as a competitive swimmer.

Black Lion is consistently rated as one of the most successful swimming clubs in Medway and one of the highest rated across Kent

Most swimming competitions athletes are split into groups based on their age on 31 December that year. However, there are some competitions for which age groups are based on a swimmer’s age on the day of competition. They take place in either a 25m or a 50m pool. The 25m events are called short course and the 50m long course. Getting into the sport of swimming you would start competing at lower level Licensed Meets, As you progress you work your way to the bigger events.

Our swimmers enjoy success in competitions ranging from local friendlies to nationals.

Guide to the four levels of licensed meets

All licensed meets are subject to FINA/ASA laws and regulations and the FINA/ASA Technical Rules of Racing. They are graded into four levels.

1. Level 1

Meets are long course (50m) only and cover National, Regional and County Championships. Their purpose is to enable athletes to achieve qualifying times for entry into National, Regional and County Championships.

2. Level 2

Meets are short course (25m) only and cover National, Regional and County Championships. Their purpose is to enable athletes to achieve qualifying times for entry into National, Regional and County Championships in short course.

3. Level 3

Meets are long and short course events. Their purpose is to enable athletes to achieve times for entry into Regional and County Championships and other Meets at Level 1 or Level 2.

4. Level 4

Meets are entry level events in pools 25m or greater. Borough Championships are an example. They are for inexperienced athletes and swimmers seeking to compete outside their club environment. If times are good athletes progress to Level 3 Meets.

Licensed Meets are swimming events licensed by the ASA. This means they have to meet certain standards to ensure fair competition. The English swimming licensed meets calendar contains a range of ‘open’ meets, designed to give all competitive swimmers in England the chance to achieve their true potential.