The Swimming Year at a Glance
What to expect through the year
Competitive swimming follows a natural rhythm throughout the year. This is partly driven by Queensland’s climate and pool availability. As a result, winter competitions are held in 25 metre (Short Course) pools. The warmer months see a return to 50 metre (Long Course) racing. In turn, each part of the season leads to championship meets. This therefore gives swimmers multiple opportunities to improve their personal bests and achieve qualifying times. Where eligible, they canprogress to Regional, State and National Championships.
The official membership year runs from 1 July to 30 June (the same as the Australian financial year). However, your swimmer won’t necessarily compete in every part of the season. Instead, which meets they race will depend on their age, squad and stage of development.
Getting started
New to racing? Short Course and Club Nights are the most common starting point. They are lower-pressure ways to race before working toward Long Course and Championships. So, use this guide as a roadmap, then check with your swimmer’s coach about which competitions are right for them.
The Season Calendar
| When | Season | What it is | Leads to |
|---|---|---|---|
| May – August | Short Course | Races in a 25m pool | Regional Championships (August) |
| September – April | Long Course | Races in a 50m pool | Regional Championships (March) State Championships (December) Nationals Championships (April) |
| September – April | Club Nights | RSC’s club nights | Enhanced race confidence |
| September – January | Open Water | Races not in a pool 1.25km-7.5km | Regional Championships (September) State Championships (October) National Championships (January) |
| January – February | Sprint Season | Races in a 50m pool | Regional Championships (January) State Championships (February) |
| February – June | School Season | School swimming qualifiers | Districts (February) Regionals/States (March) Nationals (June) |
A note on overlap: several of these run at the same time rather than one after another. For example, Long Course, Club Nights, Open Water and Sprint Season all sit inside the same September–April stretch. Club Nights are the regular, lower-pressure racing your swimmer will do throughout that period, whereas the others are the bigger meets building toward Regional, State, and National championships.
It is also worth noting that progression to the championships is not automatic. Instead, qualifying times must be achieved at one of the preceding meets in the season. Therefore, the championships provide a natural target for our swimmers.
Upcoming meet allocations
Swimming Brisbane determines which Preparation Meets* Redlands is invited to. In fact, you can view the full calendar on their website here — use the Find function to check which meets include Redlands.
Meanwile, we will always give you advance notice via email and Facebook of upcoming meets, with due dates for nominations.
*What’s a Preparation Meet?
These are the standard lead-up meets where swimmers clock verified race times, qualify for higher-level competition, and get race experience between the bigger Championship events. However, not every club is invited to every meet — Swimming Brisbane manages allocations across all member clubs to keep entry numbers manageable, and as a result, the meets Redlands attends can change year to year.