About Us
We are a member of the British Columbia Summer Swim Association (BCSSA).
The Oak Bay Orcas Swim Club was founded in 1997 by a local mom who wanted her children to swim regularly in a fun and friendly club environment. We currently have approximately 115+ swimmers registered who attend swim practices at Crystal Pool and Oak Bay Rec. Our Club runs a year-round program. Our registration season takes place in September and March.
Our swimming year consists of our Summer Season which starts on May 1 each year, and our Winter Season which starts on October 1. During our Summer Season we hold numerous practices every week between the Oak Bay Recreation Centre, Crystal Pool and McKinnon Pool. Throughout the Winter Season we comply with the “2 hour rule” of the BCSSA, which means that our swimmers may attend swim practice a maximum of twice per week.
The winter maintenance session focuses on technique and endurance while the summer session readies our swimmers for the competitive swim meet season. Our swimmers train with qualified coaches and learn how to correctly swim all four strokes as well as diving starts and turns.
For Information on Swim Meets: https://www.teamunify.com/team/bcssaob/page/2022-swim-meets
For information on Team Gear: https://www.teamunify.com/team/bcssaob/page/orca-gear
Club Records: Oak Bay Orcas
For more information contact the Oak Bay Orcas [email protected].
Philosophy
To create a fun, positive environment for children of all ages through the sport of swimming. The goal of our Club is to aid in the progression of each swimmers’ skill level at their own individual pace, emphasizing personal development, achievement and team spirit.
New Swimmers
New swimmers are invited to register for the summer season beginning April 5th. Our coaches will assess the swimmer in our first week of May practices and place them in appropriate training groups. New junior and senior swimmers are required to swim 25m safely and unassisted in deep water. Mini Pods are a minimum of 4 years of age, turning 5 within the calendar year, to 7 years of age, and are comfortable in the water without a parent while being able to behave safely and respectfully in the water in a small group, but cannot yet swim 25m unassisted.
Coaches
Our qualified coaches provide a supportive atmosphere for all swimmers to improve their skills and levels of fitness. You can read more about our current season coaches on the Coaches tab.
Communications and Volunteers
Club communication is sent out via e-mail. We also have a lively Slack channel for interclub discussion on a variety of topics, and you're encouraged to follow our Instagram and Facebook at the links at the bottom of this page. Our Club also holds several parent meetings during the year. We encourage all parents to attend, as your input and involvement is very important to the running of our Swim Club. Our Club is run by volunteers and we ask that everyone help out if needed.
Fundraising
In order to keep registration fees as low as possible, continue paying for member's meet fees, and to qualify for government grants, we must fundraise. All swimmers are required to pay a fundraising deposit of $100.00 during the winter maintenance season. All swimmers are required to pay a fundraising deposit of $50 during the summer season. The Club organizes fundraising events throughout the year, such as chocolate sales, a Swim-a-thon, a silent auction, music bingo nights and more.
For more informnation https://www.teamunify.com/team/bcssaob/page/about/fundraising-opportunities
Social Events
Throughout the year we organize social events for our Club members and their families. These are held away from the pool in order to give our swimmers the opportunity to get to know each other in a different environment – we’ve found these to be great “team builders”. In the past they have included picnics, soccer games and potlucks.
