Association League Galas times are not official times. All that matters in theses galas is the position. However, you should always go for your best time as if you slow down because you are in the lead, competitors can sneak up on you and take the win!
If you enter a competition perfectly legally with an official or non-official time, then swim and do really well and end up with a time that is faster than the fastest allowed entry, you are issued with a Speeding Ticket. Your time is still recorded as official but...
Short course events are in a 25m pool. Long course, a 50m pool. You will start out at short course events. There are online converters for short to long course times but by the time you need those you’ll know everything on this page inside-out!
In that case, you can’t compete in that event. This is to ensure that swimmers who are not at the top of their peer group get a chance to win medals against peers of similar ability. If you are too fast you will need to talk to your coaches to identify higher-level...
