Carding/Eligibility

Sport Ireland Carding 2022 - 2024

The Sport Ireland International Carding Scheme is a central part of the high performance system in Ireland. Sport Ireland are the Irish sports council established by the Irish Government tasked with promoting and developing sport at all levels in the country including at performance, national and international level.

Swim Ireland manage and administer the athlete carding scheme which supports selected athletes to deliver on Swim Ireland's performance vision and goals. The scheme is a selection process whereby athletes must achieve performance criteria laid out within a Selection Policy to be considered for membership to the programme.

Carding in 2023 was awarded to 8 swimmers and 3 divers.

You can find the Sport Ireland International Carding Scheme criteria for 2022-2024 here

Irish Eligibility for Swimming & Diving - March 2023

As the National Governing Body for swimming, diving and water polo (and associated aquatic sports) in Ireland (including Northern Ireland), Swim Ireland’s policy and their associated rules as to who is eligible to:

a) Compete in an Irish National Championships and claim an Irish National medal in swimming and/or diving;
b) Claim an Irish Junior or Senior Record in swimming and/or diving;
c) Represent Ireland in an international competition in swimming and/or diving

are all aligned to two key sets of rules and/or conditions:

• Those written and prescribed to all nations by the World Aquatics – the world governing body for aquatic sports;
• Those written and prescribed by the Government of Ireland

The ‘Swim Ireland Rule Book for Clubs, Members & Affiliates’ was approved by the Board of Swim Ireland in September 2018. Within this, the rules clearly state who is and who is not eligible to claim and/or benefit from points a – c listed above and this Rule Book parallels the rules and requirements of both World Aquatics and the Irish Government in this sense. Swim Ireland National Championships and Competitions may adopt additional meet conditions which do not contravene the Swim Ireland Rule Book but add to or embellish these rules

The Swim Ireland Performance department do not and will not actively recruit athletes from outside of the island of Ireland (swimming and diving) who may be eligible to represent Ireland. However, when such an athlete contacts Swim Ireland of their own volition, the Performance department do provide guidance to such persons in terms of:

• Whether they are a citizen of Ireland or whether they have the right to apply to be a citizen of Ireland. To be a citizen of Ireland, such a person must be able to state and prove one of the following:

i) That they were born on the island of Ireland, or
ii) That one or both of their parents were born on the island of Ireland, or
iii)That one or both of their grandparents were born on the island of Ireland, or
iv)That they can claim citizenship through naturalisation

• Whether they hold a current Irish passport or whether they have the right to apply for an Irish passport
• Whether they are registered with an Irish swimming club
• Whether they are eligible to compete in Irish Regional or National domestic competitions and which competitions are mandatory for potential selection to the National Squad and/or a National Team
• And, as such, whether they are therefore eligible to represent the nation of Ireland. In respect to international representation, an athlete must hold an Irish passport at the point that entries are made to the competition’s organising body

Any athlete who has previously represented another nation and/or athletes who wish to apply for citizenship via naturalisation must prove that they have lived on the island of Ireland for at least three years preceding an event where they seek to represent Ireland.

Swim Ireland do not prejudice Irish eligibility in regards to any athlete based on their gender, disability/impairment, marital status, political and/or religious belief/activity, sexual orientation, ethnicity and/or gender identity and follow the very same principle in not prejudicing Irish eligibility in regards to any athlete based on their place of residence, place of birth and/or accent.

Therefore, if an athlete meets the above requirement and achieves the relevant standards to represent Ireland, or claim an Irish National medal or claim an Irish Record (Swim Ireland Rules 7.2 – 7.6) and are willing to adhere to our ethos, then they will be welcome to do so

Related Documents

Swim Ireland Eligibility Policy - updated March 2023

World Aquatics Sport Nationality Transfer Requirements

World Aquatics “Sport Nationality” Memorandum (Article 3) - updated March 2023