KISU is a competitive club. The Club encourages our swimmers to compete. The benefits of competitive swimming are numerous and diverse, both in and out of the pool.

We hope your season with KISU Swim Club will be a success on all different levels that swimming has to offer.

Should my child compete?

KISU Swim Club encourages our swimmers to compete at swim meets, as we believe that competition makes them better swimmers and allows them opportunities to learn valuable life skills.  It is through swim meets that swimmers are given a direction and focus in their training that is difficult for even the most motivated non-competitive swimmer to duplicate.  Could you imagine signing up for hockey or soccer, but never attending a game . . . swim meets are one of the most exciting parts to belonging to the swim club.  The meets also allow swimmers an opportunity to show off their newly learnt skills (eg. at the MINI Meets there are often phenomenal swims that astonish both parents and coaches).  Meets also allow swimmers to chart their progress as they improve their times.  Competitive swimming, because it is objective and time based, emphasizes self-improvement over placing against others.  It is a very positive life experience for swimmers to realize that their hard work and attention to detail result in improvement in their events.  Competitive swimming also allows swimmers to experience and deal with failure.  At some point in all swimmers’ careers, they will have a race that is disappointing.  They will realize that failure is not an end in itself, but only a stepping stone; an opportunity to become something better.  Competing at meets allows swimmers the opportunity to become better swimmers and to develop skills that will help them throughout their lives.

Signing Up for Meets

Approximately three weeks prior to a meet, each swimmer who is eligible for the meet will receive an electronic invitation via our website.  Families will be able to sign their swimmers up for all or part of a meet, and that information will then be collected electronically by the coaches, who will enter your child in the appropriate events.  You will receive a bill for the meet fees on the following month's invoice.

Types of Swim Meets

MINI Meets
Your child will usually start out competing at Mini Meets. Often referred to as "Muffin Meets" these meets are a great opportunity to introduce competitive swimming to the novice swimmer in a fun, friendly, relaxed atmosphere. This is all that most 5 -7 year old swimmers need. Mini Meets take place in Penticton, at our pool, usually on Saturday morning (occasionally on Friday afternoon). They last 1.5 -2 hours. These are non-sanctioned meets (no upgrade in insurance/registration). Occasionally, we invite other teams to participate in our Mini Meets as well (eg. Summerland ORCA or Masters Swimmers).

Regional Swim Meets
These are meets within a reasonably short drive from Penticton (Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops). Penticton traditionally hosts the first meet of the season in mid-October and a second meet in April. They are appropriate for all of our swimmers to attend, as they are made up of both a "Jamboree" and a "Main Meet".  The Jamboree portion of the meet is for our most novice swimmers, while the Main Meet is open to any swimmer who has achieved a time in their 200IM that is faster than 4 minutes (or, in swim-speak, "sub-4"). These meets are a bigger time commitment than the Mini Meets -usually a full morning or full afternoon for the Jamboree, and 1-1/2 to 2 full days for the Main Meet swimmers. all day for the older swimmers, although they try to have the10 & Under swimmers done by noon. The Main Meet is sanctioned through SwimBC, so swimmers must ensure that they are appropriately insured (check with your coach) and their times will be recorded as official. 

Team Travel Meets
It has become a tradition that the KISU Swim Club travels to meets as a team twice per season.  First, in December, when qualified swimmers attend the very large, and very fun Ice Classic Meet in Kamloops.  Parents chaperone, and the club stays together in a hotel.  Our second team travel meet of the season is a Big Bus Meet. In the past, we have gone to Prince George, Oak Harbour, WA, Coeur d'Alene, ID, and Calgary.  We rent a large bus, travel together and stay in a "hall" of some sort. It is a great meet for team bonding, making new friends and swimming against different swimmers from outside of our region.

Qualifying Meets
AA's and AAA's - some of you may have seen the Swim BC Time standards that are posted on the Swim BC website. These are the times swimmers must achieve in order to attend Provincial level swim meets. There are three levels. 'A' times mean that you are in the ballpark. AA's (the next level) mean that you can attend the BC Provincial AA Championship and AAA's (the top swimmers in BC) can attend the BC Provincial AAA Championship Meet. These meets are in a Heats and Finals format (all swimmers will race in the Heats to compete for a spot to swim among the fastest 8 in that event in the Finals). This introduces to our swimmers the challenge of swimming under pressure. These meets are often held at the premier pools in the Province, including Penticton!

Western and National Level Swim Meets
Again, these are qualifying meets for which swimmers must have acheived certain time standards in order to attend. For National level meets, the time standards are set by SNC (Swimming/Natation Canada, check the web site) and apply to the entire country. These time standards reflect the achievements of the most elite swimmers in Canada. The meets are held twice a year (short course season, February/March and long course season, July/August).