Frequently Asked Questions

 
Q: What are the fees for swimming and what do they cover?
Training Fee - Different for each practice group, the fees are structured based on the number of swimmers on the team and practice sessions and are utilized to cover the expense of renting lanes for the swimmers and paying our coaches that are on deck all season long. This fee is collected monthly to help with budgeting and avoids families from having to pay the entire cost of the season up front. This is not a transactional pay as you go or attend. Training Fees are posted to each account on the 1st of the month and are not prorated for attendance, conflicting schedules, vacation, breaks or time away from the pool.
 
Registration Fee - $50 per family at the beginning of the season (August for Short Course, March for Long Course). This fee supports the administration costs of operating our team.
 

USA Swimming - $81 for full Athlete Membership, $20 for Flex Membership, $40 for Seasonal Membership. This fee is collected at registration from all swimmers and passed directly on to Border and USA Swimming. In June 2020 due to COVID, all swimmers were registered as Flex to save $59 instead of paying $79 for a Regular Membership. As swimmers participanted in more their third meet or a Championship meet, their membership is upgraded to Regular and accounts charged the additional $59 for the difference.

2021 Memembership Fees will be collected at the time of registration for any swimmer that does not have a current USA Swimming member. Current USA Swimming members will be charged for the 2022 renewal fee in November 2021 to help offset the upgrade cost some families are paying now.

 
Meet Fees - The fees for each swim meet vary. This information is available in the Meet Invites sent out by email and posted on the website. Meet fees only apply to the swimmer participating in the meet and for the events entered to swim. Parents are notified of the final cost of the meet based on the events entered and payment is due prior to the meet. Relays are entered by the coaches and are paid for by the team, not the swimmers. Parents are responsible for all meet fees that are billed to the team for that swimmer. Swimmers that enter a meet and do not swim are still required to pay the fees charged by the host meet and paid by the team. Swimmers that fail to notify coaches they will not be attending a meet and are registered are responsible for paying all related meet fees if they do not swim.
 
Travel Fee - $50 per family charged only when at least one swimmer is attending an out of town meet.  This fee pays for the cost of our coaches to support the swimmers at the out of town meets including their hotels, meals, and travel expenses. This fee is collected prior to the out of town meet.
 
Late Fee - $15 charged when payments including the monthly Training Fee is not made before the 5th of each month and Meet Fees are not paid prior to the meet.

Q: Will my fees be prorated for practices my swimmer does not attend, starting the season later or missing for various reasons or conflicts?
A: NO - The fees for WETT are structured for the entire season not month to month or as your swimmer attends. This is done in order to cover the expense of renting lanes for the swimmers and paying our coaches that are on deck all season long even when your swimmer is not in the water. WETT tries to make it as easy as possible for our parents to pay by collecting the Training Fees monthly starting in August for the Short Course season. In the event your swimmer will be out for extended amount of time for a medical related reason and is not able to swim, please provide doctor's orders including anticipated date of return to place your account and billing on suspension. Swimmers that decide to no longer continue swimming will be be responsible for the final month, no prorating or refund or will be issued.

Q: Is there a discount for families more than one swimmer?
A: YES - Training Fees for families with more than one USA Swimming Athlete Member on the team are billed $5 less per swimmer each month after registration.

Q: What are the minimum weekly training expectations?
Silver - Two
Gold - Three
Junior - Four
Senior - Saturday and three additional practices (two during high school swim season)

Coach notes to swimmers and parents:  Swimming is a special sport which requires athletes in water almost every day. Competitive swimmers train 20 hour per week (double practices Monday – Friday) to keep their condition and make progress.

Our senior group offers 6-practice per week (12 hours/week) and junior group has 5- practice per week (9-10 hour/week). This practice time is needed for swimmer getting progress.

For senior swimmers, we highly recommend to have at least 5–practice per week (the minimum requirement is 4-practice per week). 4-practice per week can hardly improve swimmer’s condition but only maintain the level they have now. Three or less practices per week will cause their endurance level dropping.

Swimmers and parents, if you want to get improve on your race time, please come to practice  as often as possible. The Saturday practice is MANDATORY for all senior swimmers. If swimmer cannot come to Saturday practice, please notice your coach in advance.
 
Q: What are National Motivational Time Standards/What is a B time?
A: Time standards set varying marks for swimmers of every age group, ranging from B to AAAA based on relative speed within the age group. Each age group has B standards, BB standards, A standards, AA standards, AAA standards and AAAA standards to give swimmers benchmarks for goal-setting and to track improvement.  Some local club meets also set qualifying standards based on the USA Swimming times, requiring swimmers to be faster than, or in some cases slower than, an A time or a BB time, for example, for entry. Age group time standards are designed to encourage age group swimmers to step their swimming up to the next level. There are time standards for both each traditional age group (10&unders, 11-12s, 13-14s, etc) and for each specific age from 10 to 18. These time standards guide you from just starting out in your age group to reaching your highest potential. Start at Level B and work your way up to Level AAAA times. Visit our Time Standards page under Resources
 
Q: What is "Hell Week"?
A: The peak of endurance training occurs during the traditional school scheduled winter break. Practices typically take place during the day time hours and follow the EPISD calendar over a two week period. Swimmers have traditionally been rewarded with a special Hell Week shirt that is earned by their committment to the training cycle making at least 90% of the practices,missing as little as one training session. We understand that swimmers and families may have other activities or committments that may conflict those are not considered excused absences. Please reference the  WETT calendar for times and locations once we enter December. 

Q: Are there other requirements for the team?
A: YES - WETT requires a Parent Commitment. WETT hosts the Del Norte Meet Series plus championship meet sessions. It takes the entire team working together to make these events a success. Parents are required to participate in a minumin number of the events/sessions. The Parent Commitment can be waived with a $500 contribution paid in full prior to the first event. Families that fail to show up for their selected Parent Commitment will charged a fee $175 to be paid in full prior to swimmers participating in the their next swim meet. 

Q: What is Del Norte? 
A: Del Norte is a four session meet series hosted by WETT geared towards those beginning swimmers that are new to competitive swimming and those looking to reach their first Motivational B time. The meets are typically held the first Saturday or Sunday of October, November, December, and January. Del Norte is the largest source of income for the team outside of training fees. Each WETT familiy is required to participate in a minimum number of Del Norte sessions. It takes our entire team to make these meet run successfully. 
 
Q: What is a birthday swim?
A: The team celebrates the birthday of our swimmers with a traditional birthday swim. Parents usually bring a treat (donuts) to share at the end of practice with all the swimmers, coaches, and parents at practice that day. 
 
Q: Is there a team suit or uniform?
A:  WETT does not have a required team suit or uniform. Swimmers are encourge to select practice and competition suits that fit their specific comfort and performance needs and conforms with the rules of competition established by USA Swimming. Swimmers 12 and under are not allowed to wear tech racing suits per USA Swimming. Swimmers are expected to wear a WETT swim cap during competitions. Each new swimmer receives one WETT latex non-personalized cap after completing registration and payment. Personlized WETT silicon swim caps are available to order once at the beginning of each season. Additional WETT logo merchandise is sold throughout the season but never required.
 
Q: Are two piece and tie-back swim suits allowed?

A: Competition swimwear should be a one piece that fits well. Tie-back swim suits are allowed for practices and during swim meet warm-ups, but not for racing. Swimmers should not alter their swim wear or wear them in an inappropriate manner. Brazilian bottoms, high-cut (front/back) or thong swimsuits (purchased or modified) are not permitted during any WETT practices or swim meets. Deck changing of any kind into or out of swim suits is strictly are prohibited by USA Swimming.