What kind of team is the Aspen Swim Club? and who can join?
The Aspen Swim Club is a competitive swim team; but also provides opportunities for new swimmers in our Developmental Program. Swimmers practice and train in order to compete at swim meets. Swimmers interested in joining the team must be able to swim the minimum strokes that are required in competition. This includes anyone wishing to swim in the Developmental level. The requirements are:
8 years old and under must be able to swim one length (25 yds) of the pool in freestyle and one length in backstroke;
9 to 12 years old must be able to swim two lengths (50 yds) in freestyle and two lengths in backstroke;
13 and over must be able to swim four lengths (100 yds) in freestyle and four lengths (100 yds) in backstroke.
Strokes do not need to be perfectly performed; swimmers only need the basic skills of the two primary strokes (back and free).
Swimmers should also have a DESIRE to improve their basic strokes and skills, look forward to making new friends (at Aspen and at away swim meets) and want to HAVE FUN
Do team members have to compete?
It is not required that team members compete in every competition, but swimmers are encouraged to participate in as many meets as possible. HOWEVER, it is the expectation that a team member compete in the Aspen home meets, the Glenwood Springs meets and any Championship meet that a swimmer qualified for (Western Slopes, JOs, Sectionals, etc..). While the team is meant to be fun and good exercise, it is not fair to those swimmers who are there to practice for competition to have swim time and lane time taken up by swimmers who are ONLY there for fun. In addition, as the team continues to grow, team points in meets become extremely important and can only be accumulated by each member of the team participating.
What costs are involved with joining the team?
There is a fee paid to the Team which covers most of the expenses associated with practices. This fee covers use of the pool for practices only. If a swimmer wishes to use the pool(s) or facility before or after practice, they will need an ARC pass and will need to check-in at the front desk. Review the Fees & Requirements page.
How do I sign up for the team?
Information on how to sign up for the team can be found under Sign Up for Team in the Team Info. section on the Team Home Page.
Who operates the team?
The Aspen Swim Club, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. The Club provides coaches; and pays pool time. The organization and information about the Club can be found in Organizational Structure under Team Info on the Team Home Page.
Who manages the team?
The team is governed by a volunteer parent board.Most aspects of the team practices, meets and other events are handled by the volunteer parents of the swimmers. You should review the Organizational Structure under Team Info. on the Team Home Page for a more complete description.
Who governs the team and sanctions swim meets?
The Aspen Swim Club operates under regulations and standards set by Colorado Swimming, Inc. (CSI), which is a Local Swimming Committee (LSC) of USA Swimming. USA Swimming is the national organization that sanctions national competition and sets the standards by which most competitive swimming takes place.
What kind of events do the swimmers compete in?
Nearly all meets and events that the swimmers compete in are structured as "Age Group" categories. This means that swimmers compete in age brackets and male/female categories; e.g. 8 & Under Girls, 9-10 Boys, 11-12 Girls, 15 & Over Boys, etc. There are also many stroke/distance combinations in each age group; such as 50 yard Butterfly, 100 yard backstroke, 200 yard freestyle, etc.
For a typical meet event listing, click on the link Meet Information under Swim Info. on the Team Home Page and check out the meet information.
Who are the other teams that the Swim Club compete against?
The Swim Club are part of Zone 4 of CSI (Colorado Swimming, Inc.) and is typically referred to as a Western Slope League. Zone 4 is designated as those teams in Colorado west of the Continental Divide, although there are a couple exceptions to this. You can visit the CSI site at CSI.org for more information on area boundaries. Do not confuse Zone 4 (Western Slope) of CSI with Western Zone of USA Swimming. Western Zone is a designation by USA Swimming for the western portion of the U.S. Note that information on the website may list "Zones" in meet information, qualifiers or results. This is for Zone competitions related to national USA Swimming competitions. The championship competition for Western Slope (Zone 4 of CSI) is called Western Slope Championship.
There are 18 teams that are considered part of the Western Slope teams. For a listing of these teams, visit the Western Slope League link found on our homepage.
Does the team swim year around?
The Aspen Swim Club is registered as a year round team, and all swimmers must be registered with the National Governing Body (or - USA Swimming) as year round swimmers.
When are practices held?
The Aspen Swim Club year round practices are divided up into three sessions. The Fall session begins when the Aspen School District year starts, typically late August through early January. The Spring session begins when mid January and runs through mid April. The Summer session begins in mid April and goes until the end of the championship season at the end of July. We try to keep practice times as consistant as possible, always in the late afternoon. Practices for particular swimmers are dependent upon ability and commitment. Some swimmers will practice for 1.5 hours, while others will practice 2.0 hours. Some swimmers will practice only 3 days/week, while the elite group will practice 6x/week.
When are meets held?
Meets are chosen by the coaches each year. Typically there is 1 meet a month, culminating with the championship meets at the end of the session. For a listing of the meet schedule for any particular season, please refer to the MEET INFORMATION link on the homepage.
Are there any Championship Meets?
There are two series of championship meets each year. Championship meets are qualifying meets, meaning a swimmer must make a qualifying time in order to compete in the meet. The championship meets consist of the Wester Slope League Championships (usually in Feb and July), the State Championship meets (usually in Feb and July), Sectional Championship meets, Jr. Nationals, Nationals, and Olympic Trials in late summer.
Who are the Officials at meets?
Officials are volunteers who have taken the necessary tests and trained to become certified as a swim official. Anyone interested in officiating is encouraged to become certified. Officials are a necessary part of a swim meet. Without enough officials, a swim meet cannot be Certified, so results cannot be used in determining eligibility for championship meets. Information on becoming an official can be obtained from the CSI website (CSI.org) or by just asking any official. The more officials there are, the easier it is on everyone. A list of officials associated with the Aspen Swim Club can be found under CSI Certified Officials in the Team Info. section on the Team Home Page.
Do parents have to work at swim meets?
Teams are expected to provide help at swim meets. It takes many people to hold a meet, and the typical host team does not have enough people to do it by themselves; so volunteers from visiting teams are needed. Typically, volunteering as a lane timer is all that is required. However, at Championship Meets, teams are assigned duties; such as specific sessions for lane timers, event board updating, clean up, hospitality, etc.
Do parents have to do any other work for the team?
The team operates because of the parents. It takes everyone doing something to make the team and the swimmers successful. The team relies on its parents and swimmers for support. There are many tasks that must be done to make the team function; such as swimmer registration, meet entry registrations, social event planning, fund raisers, etc. These are described in more detail under the Fees & Requirements page. There are many things that must be done for the team to operate and EVERYONE'S HELP is needed.
