The Bridlewaves Swim Team was founded in
1998 as part of the community development. The purpose of the swim
team is to develop, in the children involved in this program, a
love of the sport and to advance swimming skills, teamwork and
principles of good sportsmanship.
The Bridlewaves participate in the Prince
William Swim League (PWSL), which is a summer swim league. The
league and team encourage children to participate regardless of
their skill level. We are governed by the rules of the PWSL swim
league. Rules of the PWSL swim league can be found in the PWSL
by-laws and are available upon contacting one of the Bridlewave
board members.
The Bridlewood Bridlewaves
are committed to
offering age specific training for all of our athletes geared
towards challenging each individual and developing each individual
to the best of THEIR abilities. With that in mind, there are three
levels of participation in the BWaves program, each with specific
qualifications and goals. A brief summary of each level
follows:
Guppies 1
This program is designed as an introduction to water and swimming.
These guppies will learn basic water safety tips and grow more and
more comfortable in the water as they begin learning some simple
techniques of swimming. Children need not know any swimming strokes
to enter the Guppies 1 program, but they will need to meet the
following requirements:
Guppies 1 Participants must be:
willing to jump into the pool
capable of putting their face in the water
comfortable being away from family members for 30 minutes at a
time
Guppies 2
The Guppies 2 program builds on the foundation of Guppies 1 and
encourages swimmers to learn basic swimming techniques (freestyle
and backstroke) and ultimately prepare them for the competitive
team. This program is designed to allow swimmers to learn how to be
comfortable and confident in the pool as they learn key swim
concepts such as, streamline, proper breathing, kicking, and diving
starts.
Guppies 2 Participants must meet the Guppies 1 requirements AND be
able to swim at least 10 meters (from the wall to the end of the
solid color on the lane line) without any assistance. It
doesn’t have to be a recognizable stroke; it just has to be
10 meters.
BWaves (Competitive
Team)
Members of the BWaves competitive swim team are expected to
understand water safety concepts, swim independently during daily
practices (45 minutes to an hour long), and participate at team
events, including the swim meets. The season will consist of a
practice meet (Time Trials), six dual meets, and a final tri-meet
(Divisionals).
BWaves must be able to:
demonstrate confidence, comfort, and an understanding of water
safety
swim unassisted for 25 meters on their stomach
swim unassisted for 25 meters on their back
All swimmers new to the team MUST be evaluated in order to join the
team!
If your swimmer is new to swimming, you must schedule a time for a
swim evaluation. Currently, we anticipate hosting evaluations from
6:30-7:00pm each day during the first week of scheduled practices
(May 29 - June 1) at the Bridlewood pool. There will also be an
evaluation time available on Sunday, May 20th from 5:00-6:00pm at
Central Park Aquatics Center in Manassas.
Your swimmer cannot practice with the team until after they have
been evaluated.
(Please schedule your evaluation by emailing
board@bwaves.org
).
However, if your swimmer has legal times in all four strokes from
USA Swimming and/or PWSL (or another swim team), they CAN and
SHOULD practice with the team from day one. Their evaluation will
take place during their normal practice time during the first week
of practice. (Please provide a screenshot, link, or other evidence
to
board@bwaves.org
).
Please send any remaining questions about the programs and/or
evaluations to
board@bwaves.org
.
