Hello Gator Families,

We frequently get asked the question, “My child can’t swim. Can they still participate in swim team?” and we would like to help clarify who is eligible for the swim team this coming season. We have two tracks on our team - Gators (regular competing team) and Junior Gators.

We have had two seasons with our Junior Gator program and have found it to be a great way to help our younger children learn to swim while still following our TSA league guidelines regarding meet requirements. The league expectation is that swimmers need to swim 15 yards independently without touching the lane lines during the meet. Our team requirement to join the Gator team is that swimmers must be able to swim the full length of the pool independently, exit the pool independently, and float on their backs.

Previously, those swimmers who were not able to complete this requirement automatically went to the Junior Gator program and could test throughout the season to potentially move up to the Gator team. Swimmers who were 4 years old as of June 1st, regardless of ability, are not eligible for the team but could be in the Junior Gator program. Junior Gators are able to participate in 2 meets during the season - our mock meet and the last home meet of the season.

Our focus for the Junior Gator program, first and foremost, is safety. Second is helping our beginning swimmers become stronger in the water through stroke development. In prior seasons, we have had a wide range of swimmers in our Junior Gator program. Previously, this has included children who are hesitant or require coaxing to get in the water, those who cling to the coaches while in the pool, and children who can’t meet basic water safety. These situations take a lot of time away from kids who are beginning to swim and are ready to develop their swim stroke. If you are interested in swim team but your child may sound like those mentioned above or you know your swimmer isn’t ready to be independent in the water, we strongly encourage you to have your child participate in a swim lesson program in the upcoming months. There are many programs in the area including Goldfish, Aquatots, Triangle Aquatic Center, RSA, etc.

Once the season begins, we will have our traditional assessment week to see what is most appropriate for each swimmer, but we are making a slight change to the Junior Gators program due to the number of past Junior Gators who were just not ready for our program…yet. The only change this year, is if your child is not yet ready for our Gator team or Junior Gator program (independent in the water) at the start of swim season, we will recommend lessons instead of our Junior Gator program. These lessons could be through an area program, or 1:1 with our coaches. We are fortunate this season that we will have 3 swim coaches instead of 2, so there will be many opportunities for swimmers to get 1:1 lessons during the season.

There will be more information on dates and assessments in the coming weeks, but we wanted to be upfront as you begin to plan your summer.

All children who were on the team last year and are ages 7+ will automatically be on the team this year. If you are 6 and under and made the team last year, we will have you come to assessments. If you ended the season as a Junior Gator, then we will also have you come to assessments. We are looking forward to seeing many familiar faces and new ones for a very fun summer!

Thank you,

The Gator Board