Important information as National Summer Meet qualification window opens

The qualification window for the Swim England National Summer Meet and British Summer Championships has opened.

Following a two-year Covid-enforced absence, the competitions will return around the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The window in which athletes can post qualifying performances runs from Friday 11 March into Sunday 8 May.

Entry to the summer meets will continue to be by invitation only, based on performances recorded in this designated qualification window. 

The 24 top-ranked swimmers in each event in each age grouping will be invited to attend the British Summer Championships, except for the 800m and 1500m events, where the top 18 will be invited.

The next ranked swimmers at Swim England affiliated clubs – or those who have chosen to be ranked as an English swimmer – are invited to compete at the nationals.

The Swim England Summer Meet takes place at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge International Pool between 5-9 August, with the British Summer Championships held from 23-28 July.

Home nation meet choice

Swimmers can choose to be entered into a Home Nation Summer Meet in two ways;

1. Country of their ranked club (first claim club in Scotland)
2. Country of International Representation

Swimmers should note, however, that when identifying qualifiers for the Home Nations meets, the automated system in place assumes athletes wish to be categorised by the country of their ranked club. 

There is no direct relation to any decisions made to attend any of the December 2021 Home Nation Winter meets.

Swimmers wishing to be entered in to a Home Nation Summer Meet based on International Representation must email [email protected]  with the following information;

• Name
• Date of birth
• Membership number
• Current ranked club
• Registered Country of International Representation
• Clear declaration that they wish to be selected by Country of International Representation for the 2022 Home Nation Meets

Interim ranking lists 

This year, weekly rankings lists will be published on a twice weekly basis (Tuesday and Friday) once the qualifying window opens.

A final draft rankings list will be produced on 11 May 2022, once the window has closed.

If it is believed that any of the data contained in these interim lists is incorrect or there are missing results, please report it by emailing [email protected]

Opting out

A dual approach to opting out will continue to be taken. 

The idea behind the opt-out is to ensure that as many of the available places at the British Summer Championships are filled, with no empty spaces in events. 

Swimmers not wishing to compete in events are requested to withdraw to ensure other swimmers can be invited to the British Summer Championships and the respective Home Nation Summer Meets. 

Reminder emails will also be sent out during the window to encourage swimmers to indicate their summer decision by using an automated reply system. 

If swimmers wish to opt out of the initial invite list, please email [email protected]  by midday on 11 May 2022. 

Entry mechanism

The initial invite list for all Summer Meet entries will be created on 16 May 2022 and invitations issued thereafter, starting with the British Summer Championships.

There will be a short window of 14 days for swimmers to accept their initial invites to compete at the British Summer Championships. If, by 5pm on 30 May 2022, swimmers have not entered the event, invites will be passed down to the next highly ranked swimmer to fill the place. 

If swimmers receive an invite on 16 May for the British Summer Championships and want to compete at them, it is imperative that entries are confirmed by 5pm on 30 May 2022.

Following the completion of the process above, new invites will be sent out to fill any remaining places. Invites to the Home Nation Summer Meets will also be sent out at this point. 

Contact email address reminders

To ensure that invitations arrive, please ensure email addresses are up to date through the Home Nation online membership system.

Further details, including the schedule, is available by visiting about the Swim England National Summer Meet page.