Swimming sessions FAQ

For further queries, please contact Ann at swim.chasers@gmail.com

1. Do I have to be a member to attend Chaser swim sessions?

Yes. We don’t allow trial sessions for swimming. The events are only available to members.

2. How many swim sessions are there each week and when are they?

Coached, structured training sessions take place on the following days:

Day	Time	Level	No. Places	Coach	Location
Monday	6:30 - 7:30 am	Mixed Novice upwards. Able to swim 200m continuous.	12	Patricia Richardson	Nuffield Health Merton SW19 2RF
Wednesday	6:30 - 7:30 am	Advanced Able to swim 1500m in 24 mins or less.	12	Tim George	Clapham Leisure Centre SW4 6DB
Wednesday	8:00 - 9:00 pm	Mixed Novice upwards. Able to swim 100m continuous.	20	Andrew Potter	Ernest Bevin SW17 7DF
Friday	6:30 - 7:30 am	Intermediate Able to swim 400m freestyle in under 8 mins.	12	Tim George	Clapham Leisure Centre SW4 6DB

In the Spring and Summer months, additional sessions are usually arranged:

• Social swims on Friday evenings at the local lidos. These are not coached.
• Open water coached sessions at Shepperton Lake.

Additional social swims are often coordinated by members, using the Clapham Chasers dedicated swimming Facebook page or informal whatsapp groups.

3. Do I have to be a certain standard to attend the swim session?

See question 2.

4. How much do the coached sessions cost?

As at 1 January 2023, the sessions cost £6.50 per event. If a coach is absent, we reduce the price to £4.50.

5. How do I register?

Registration for all three sessions goes live at 8.30pm on a Monday evening. If you want to attend, it is important that you register promptly, as the places are taken very quickly.

In order to secure a place, at 8.30pm, you should be logged in on the website (most problems arise when you are not logged in!), then use the events page to find the swim session for which you would like to register. If all places have been taken, you have the option of joining a waitlist.

Please do not register for swimming sessions, unless you are very confident that you are able to attend. There is high demand for the coached sessions.

6. How do I cancel? Who manages the waiting list? How will I know if I have a place?

If you need to cancel, please log back into the website, find the event, click on “already registered”, find your name, then click on “to cancel, contact the administrator”. This will generate an email to be sent to the organiser.

• If you cancel 12 hours before the session and there is someone on the waiting list, you will receive a credit for the payment.
• If you cancel less than 12 hours before the session and/or there is no one on the waiting list, you will still be charged for the session.

The waiting list is monitored and we will try to assign places as promptly as possible. You will receive a registration email when this happens. We recognise that if you are given too little notice, you may not be able to attend. You will be charged for the swim session provided the place is assigned to you more than 12 hours before the start.

Please do not register for swimming sessions, unless you are very confident that you are able to attend.

7. Can I attend more than 1 session per week?

We ask that you only attend 1 coached swim session per week, to ensure that as many Chasers as possible have access to these sessions. If there are still places available on Tuesday morning, please feel free to register for a second session.

8. I am new to swimming, which session should I attend?

See question 2. Novice swimmers are likely to enjoy the Wednesday evening sessions, because there are 4 lanes split by ability.

9. Do you share session plans with members?

All swimmers who are on the waiting list for Wednesday morning or Friday morning swimmer will (typically - subject to Coach availability) be sent a session plan, so that they can follow the session plan solo. This is usually circulated to the waitlist swimmers each Wednesday, so if you join the waiting list after that point, you may miss out.

10. Do I need swim toys (fins, paddles, pull buoys)?

Your coach will tell you in advance if you need any swim toys. These are rarely used by Coach Tim, but sometimes used by Coach Andrew.

11. Should I arrive swim-ready or are changing facilities available at the pool?

For the events held at local leisure centres, we would normally expect to have access to the changing facilities before and after the session. For events held at local schools (e.g. Ernest Bevin or Burntwood), we often book the pool straight after another booking, so we recommend arriving so that you can go straight to the poolside and leave your bags there.