It was in 1997 that the idea of having an overall BLDSA Member Champion – a “Grand Prix” Champion who had performed consistently well over the whole season came to fruition. Ever since that year at the end of each season the Grand Prix winner has been determined. The Grand Prix has evolved each year and now has Males and Females in each of the four categories swimming in traditional costumes. The aim here is to draw attention to it existence and detail which swims count for each of the four Champions, Junior Senior, Veteran and Breaststroke. The Grand Prix works like this, every time a swimmer completes a BLDSA race they get a point for every mile they swim. However, some championships hold concurrent swims like at Derwentwater, St Mary’s Loch and Wykeham. Swimmers will be awarded a point for each mile swum at each of these events but the additional points will be only awarded to the longer swim. The Grand Prix Champion is the swimmer at the end of the season that gets the most points.
Mileage Points are obtained from the events below
| Event | Senior | Junior | Veteran |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrybergh Park | 5 kms | 5 kms | 5 kms |
| Champion of Champions South | 9 miles | 9 miles | 9 miles |
| Torbay | 8 miles | 4 miles | |
| Llyn Tegid | 3 kms | 3 kms | 3 kms |
| 3 miles | 3 miles | 3 miles | |
| 6 miles | 6 miles | 6 miles | |
| Coniston Short event | 3.85 miles | 3.85 miles | 3.85 miles |
| Coniston Long event | 5.25 miles | 5.25 miles | 5.25 miles |
| Ullswater | 7 miles | 7 miles | |
| Windermere 2-way | 21 miles | 21 miles | |
| Derwentwater | 5 miles | 5 miles | 5 miles |
| Windermere | 10.5 miles | 10.5 miles | 10.5 miles |
| St Mary’s Loch | 3.25 miles | 3.25 miles | 3.25 miles |
| 6.5 miles | 6.5 miles | 6.5 miles | |
| Loch Lomond | 21 miles | 21 miles |