Diddy Leagues

What is a Junior/Diddy League?

A Diddy League is a club competition for 9-12 year olds where the swimmers are selected to represent the club. The country is divided into different Regional Leagues in which clubs compete. City of Coventry has a team that competes in the Nuneaton & District League (3 rounds). The top 6 teams placed after these 3 rounds go through to a Regional Final. The winner of this regional final joins 7 other Regional winners to make up a Southern semi final. The 4 top finishing teams from this semi final go through to a National Final (and joins 4 teams from the Northern Semi Final). The winner of this National Final becomes the National Junior League Champions.
We had a brilliant campaign in 2018 winning the Regional round, finishing 2nd in the Southern Semi-Final and finishing 5th in the National League Final.
City of Coventry also puts a team into the Leicester League which has three rounds. The top 6 teams after the second round compete in the Leicester League Final and compete for a trophy.

Age Considerations

Nuneaton League swimmers must be at least 9 years old by 14th September 2019 and not have reached their 13th birthday by 13th September 2019. Leicester League swimmers must be at least 9 years old by 15th June 2019 and not have reached their 13th birthday by 30th June 2019.

Diddy Leagues Dates

Round 1 = 6th April / Round 2 = 11th May / Round 3 = 15th June (Leicester Final) / Nuneaton Regional Final = 14th September / Southern Semi Final = October / National Final = November

Events at Leagues

Nuneaton League

The 9 yr olds have 25m individual races in Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke & Freestyle plus relays. The 10 year olds have 25m Butterfly & 50m individual races in backstroke, breaststroke & freestyle plus relays. The 11 & 12 year olds have 50m Individual races in the 4 strokes plus relays There are also Girls & boys 8x25m freestyle relays (2 from each age group) & a 8x25m cannon freestyle relay (1 Girl/1 Boy each age group) as the last race.

Leicester League

The Leicester League run almost the same programme as the Nuneaton league but run 25m individual races for 9ys, 10 yrs & 11 yrs. The 12 year olds have 50m. There is also a mixed 8x25m freestyle relay (2 from each age group).

Both leagues restrict swimmers to two individual races in their own age group and one swim up. There are no restrictions on the number of relays that can be swum. In both teams the club will select the fastest team possible therefore some swimmers may only be selected for Relay swims. The club sees this as a team competition and all swimmers are asked to swim regardless of how much or how little they will be doing on the night.

How do the swimmers get selected?

The majority of selections are taken from the Sprint Night results and other relevant competitions. The teams are selected by the Assistant Head Coach, Paul Wilson. On the night of the leagues the selection process of swimmers to swim events is passed to the coaches of the respective teams. Sometimes due to illnesses etc things have to be re-jigged on the night.

How do the swimmers know they have been selected?

The teams will be posted on the Club Notice Board (entrance to the 50m Pool changing rooms on the first floor of Coventry Sports Centre). Selected swimmers will also receive email notification of selection (if email address is held on club"s database) and also the squad coaches are given a list of selections.

What do I do if selected?

You need to indicate if you are available to swim by ticking or crossing your name on the board, or replying by email to Paul Wilson paul.wilson@coventry-swimming.org.uk. The earlier that you can do this the better as it helps to give reserve swimmers more notice that they are required to swim. If we have not had any response/indication that you are available to swim by two weeks prior to the event we will assume that you are not available and reserves will be asked to swim in their place.

What do I do if a swimmer can not make it on the day due to illness etc?

The best thing to do is to contact the coach of the team. For the Nuneaton team the coaches are Anita Ryder & Paul Wilson. For the Leicester Team the coaches are Jess Ford and Rory Grealy. You can also contact Adam Ruckwood in an emergency on 07887 772970 or Jo Deakins on 07815 835526.

How do I get to the Diddy Leagues?

For all the Leicester Diddy Leagues there is usually a team bus laid on to take the team to the location. For the Nuneaton Team this applies to rounds that are some distance away (we do not usually have a bus to the rounds that are held within Warwickshire). Details of the travel arrangements will be on the Selection Sheet. If buses are used they pick up and drop off the team from outside Coventry Sports Centre. As a club enough time is allowed for travel with a bit extra in case people are late but please try and arrive at the bus at the time requested. If you are not wishing to travel on the bus please let the coaches or Team Managers know or write next to your name on the board “own transport”. No food is allowed on the coaches going to the Leagues and on the way back all rubbish should either be taken home with you or put into the rubbish sacks provided by the team managers. All buses should be clear of any rubbish before swimmers are let off the coaches to go home. Any swimmers that have not been collected (due to parents being late etc) will be looked after by the team staff until someone collects them. Please bear in mind that the team staff are volunteers and do not want to be waiting around and would appreciate people collecting the swimmers to be there on time.

Can Parents watch & travel to the Junior/Diddy league?

All parents are welcome to attend the galas and support the teams. When it comes to the Regional, Semi & National finals for the Nuneaton team there is a restriction on the number of tickets that the club gets allocated for supporters. These tickets are distributed out and details appear nearer to the finals once the numbers of tickets are known. Swimmers, Officials & team staff are allowed to travel on the coach.

What do I need to bring on the night & what is expected of the swimmers?

All swimmers are advised, as a minimum, to bring with them a T-shirt (preferably a Club shirt) and dark shorts/tracksuit bottoms, something to wear on their feet (flip flops/trainers), 2 towels (one for poolside and a spare for afterwards to get dry!), a “C” hat if a hat is worn & two pairs of goggles (in case one pair break). It is also advisable to have plenty of fluids to drink as performances can drop if swimmers get dehydrated. A separate sheet will be published for what swimmers should eat & drink at competitions. If the swimmers need to leave the poolside at any time during the Diddy league they must inform the Team Managers first so that they are aware of where everyone is. The swimmers are also asked to behave on poolside and to leave the poolside tidy with no litter.

If there are any other queries please contact Jo Deakins for further information.







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