FAQs

Swim team is for everyone. We welcome fast and not-so-fast, new and experienced swimmers. We have a wide range of abilities, and focus not on winning, but on stroke development, racing techniques, lifelong love for swimming, and fun.

We hold evals to assess swim team readiness for younger swimmers and to place older swimmers in appropriate practice groups. Young swimmers should be comfortable wearing goggles and putting their face in the water. Swim team is very different than swim lessons. We want to ensure safety for every swimmer in a practice lane!

New 5-8 year old swimmers on the team are expected to be able to swim one length of the pool, in some basic form of freestyle. Also swimming on their back considered a plus but not required. For our newest swimmers, basic swim skills, swim safety, and listening skills are a must.

New 5-8 swimmers in HATCHLINGS are expected to be able to swim about half the length of the pool, be comfortable in water over their head, and be willing to put their face in the water. Hatchlings is perfect for 5-8 year old swimmers who are just not quite ready for full swim team, but want more than just lessons. Coach Tasha can help decide which program is best for your swimmer when you attend an evaluation.

New 9/10 year old swimmers are expected to be able to swim 2 lengths of the pool (up and back), freestyle. Some knowledge of backstroke is helpful. New swimmers ages 11 and up are generally expected to swim 2 lengths of freestyle, and be roughly proficient in at least one other stroke.

Hatchlings is our new pre-swim team program for swimmers 5-8. Hatchling swimmers will participate in a 6 week practice program, June _ - June - (M-F 10:30-11am) with a their own mini-meet at the conclusion (target date July _ ). Hatchlings will not participate in JSL Wednesday night meets. Hatchlings will receive a free team t-shirt and will be coached by the same CGST coaches, with junior coaches in the water to assist. Hatchlings are encouraged to attend as many practices as they are able!

The expectation for our team is that each swimmer participates in meets (if your swimmer is not ready for meets, we suggest you consider HATCHLINGS, designed as a pre-swim team program for 5-8 year olds). More specifically, we hope that all swimmers will participate in at least 4 of the 6 dual meets, and swim in the concluding Champs meet. For our new swimmers and parents, we typically hold a mock meet to help take the "mystery" out of swim meets, explain the procedures, the lingo, and the format.

Yes! Many families have obligations or vacations that are pre-planned. It is not unusual to miss one or two weeks for vacation and/or camp. We ask that all swimmers commit to at least 4 meets (3 with permission from coach). A majority of our swimmers participate in 4 - 6 regular meets and JSL Champs. 

Swimmers should attend as many as they can. Practice is designed to be age-appropriate. Practice includes drills, skills, starts, finishes, relay touches, sprints. Our coaches carefully design a practice program to strengthen and improve our swimmers. Frequent practicing allows for frequent improvement. Swimmers should not feel obligated to attend practice everyday throughout the season. Thursday practices (the morning after a meet) often include a game or fun relay. Saturday mornings are optional and often focus on starts and turns. With a high demand for swim team and limited spaces on the team, please only sign up for swim team if you are able to honor the commitment.

Per JSL rules, swimmers must be 5 by June 1st in order to swim in this summer's meets. With our large team, our lanes are full of practicing swimmers at every practice. Therefore, we fill our 5-6 year old group with swimmers who are in fact 5-6 years of age. Only if we do not fully fill our HATCHLINGS program with 5-8 year olds, we will consider 4 year old siblings who meet the swim requirements.

Evening practice exists to help swimmers with scheduling conflicts still have an opportunity to practice. This is not for swimmers who "don't feel like waking up in time to go to regular practice" but instead for unavoidable conflicts. You can contact the Head Coach to arrange to attend, once summer begins. This practice is mixed ages, split into lanes based on who is there and how many swimmers are there. Since our youngest swimmers do not swim breaststroke or butterfly, this practice session does not work well for them. This practice is more for maintenance swimming during weeks with conflicts. A few swimmers do attend evening practices all summer, based on parent work schedules. The bulk of instruction does happen during our morning practices.

All swimmers are expected to wear a cap to practices and to meets, unless the swimmer has very short hair (think crew cut). Swimmers can wear any cap to practice but must wear a CGST TEAM cap during meets (per JSL rules).

We have free latex caos available. However, many swimmers prefer the feeling of a silicone cap and we sell those. 

You do not need to purchase a team suit, though many swimmers do. If you prefer to buy a racing suit elsewhere, we recommend a black suit (though that is also not required). Your swimmer cannot swim in regular swim trunks or tankinis.

Our gear and apparel vendor will be at the pool (date TBD) for a swim suit fitting. It is absolutely best to try the suit on to ensure the correct fit!

Competition swimsuits fit much differently than casual summer swimwear. Be prepared for your child to be "squeezed" into a suit, as all swimsuits end up stretching and growing through use. You do not want your child to be the swimmer with the baggy backside at the 3rd swim meet of the year!  

Chairs, possibly a tent for shade, sunscreen, cooler with water and snacks, money for concessions or food packed for dinner, extra towels. For younger kids, it is helpful to have an activity for down time in between events. Swimmers need goggles, cap and swimsuit. Some pool decks are larger than others, so often we have space to spread out, but sometimes we don't. Weekly emails will contain information about away meet specifics.

Typically two events. Our coaches enter multiple relay teams in each meet so that we maximize the number of swimmers involved in the relays. Often swimmers will swim three events, sometimes even three and a relay! Certain strokes are limited by number of heats (5 for backstroke, 3 for breaststroke, 3 for butterfly, for example - per gender/age group).  Swimmers who are not regularly attending practices cannot be guaranteed more than a single event (freestyle).

Many times, we've waited out a passing thunderstorm, and completed the meet on a slight delay. Information regarding delays will be sent out via Remind. Coaches and meet directors are mindful of late nights for swimmers and their parents. It is possible that meets can be made up the following night. You will be notified of the details by email as soon as the details are ironed out.

Absolutely! It a fun team made up of lots of local families. It is a great way to spend your summer. Swimming is a life-long healthy habit, and swimming allows multi-sport athletes to stay in shape and cross-train. We hope you’ll join us!