Spring Season 2023

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Spring is the heart of the Tidalwaves year, when all of our competitive swim meets and social activities take place. The season spans from February 27 to early July. 

• Qualifications and NEW 8 & Under Assessments
• When/Where
  • Splash Weeks
  • Regular Schedule
  • Saturday Clinics
  • Social Events
• Fees for Spring 
• Family Volunteer Commitment
• What to Expect at Practice
• How to Sign Up

Qualifications and NEW 8 & Under Assessments

The spring season is generally open to children ages 5 - 18. However, there are some children who are ready to join the team at age 4, and others who are better off starting at age 6, 7, or 8. In determining if a child is ready for the team, Coach Marie looks at their age, comfort in the water, ability to swim 25 yards of freestyle with side breathing (it doesn’t have to be pretty!), and ability to follow instructions. 

All NEW 8 & Unders must register for an assessment before we can complete their registration onto either the team or into our Tadpole program. There is a $10.00 fee for the assessment, which goes towards your child's registration fee for the team or Tadpole program. 

At the conclusion of your child's assessment you will notified by e-mail whether Coach Marie believes your child is "Team Ready", "Tadpole Ready", or "Needs more lessons".  If your swimmer is ready for either the team or tadpoles, we will then complete their registration.  Click here for more details about our tadpole program and the qualifications for it.

If your child is a NEW 8 & Under, but is a "Tadpole Graduate," please check with Coach Marie directly on whether she would like to do a "Team Ready" assessment of your tadpole graduate before you register. 

For determining your child's age, we use the date of our first dual meet, so age as of April 29 for the 2023 season.

Assessment Schedule - 

Anyone who registers for an assessment will have an opportunity to sign up for a 20 minute assessment time slot via Sign Up Genius as the last step in registration. 

If your child can't make any of the scheduled assessments, please register for the Assessment Group anyway, and then contact Coach Marie ([email protected]) to see if she can schedule an alternative day/time.

Assessment Results

You will be contacted and your registration will be completed after your child has been assessed as Ready for either tadpoles or the team.

• If your child is assessed as "Tadpole ready," practices begin February 27th.  No Splash Week required.
• If your child is assessed as "Team ready," please have your child attend Splash Week practices as a NEW swimmer.
• If your child is assessed as "Not ready," we invite you to consider private swim lessons as an alternative.

When/Where

For the 2023 Season, team-level practices will likely only be offered at Redwood High School and possibly at College of Marin, Kentfield.  

• Redwood High School is where the majority of Tidalwaves swimmers practice. From February until early May practice times typically range from 5:30pm - 8:20pm -- the specific time depends on your swimmer's practice group assignment. After the high school swim season is over, from early May until July, practices move earlier in the afternoon, ranging from 3:45pm - 6:45pm.
• College of Marin, Kentfield is where our Tadpoles practice and this year, 8 & Under COM practices are back!  A huge thank you to Branson High School for making this happen! 

We will update this space as we learn more details about our pool time.

Splash Weeks (Dates: Feb 27 - March 10) 

For ALL Team Ready Swimmers, Splash Week(s) are the two weeks at the beginning of the season when coaches evaluate swimmers and place them into either the "Blue" or "Gold" practice group. It's a fun way to kick off the season as hot chocolate is served to all swimmers (a huge motivator), team gear is available for purchase, and board members are on hand to answer questions.

Swimmers are encouraged to make all of their assigned evaluation days to help the coaches make the most informed decisions possible. However, if your swimmer can't make every one, the coaches will do the best they can with the information available to them to determine practice group placements.

Splash Weeks this year are for ALL Team level swimmers whether at COM or Redwood, and the schedule alternates between New and Returning Swimmers:

• A NEW swimmer is one who has NOT yet competed in a swim meet for Tidalwaves but IS "Team Ready," either because they're at least 9 years or older, or because Coach Marie has assessed them as "Team Ready" during one of the 8 & Under Assessments.  
• A RETURNING swimmer is any swimmer who has already competed in a Tidalwaves swim meet.

Splash Week 1: February 27 - March 3 (2% Chance this schedule may change)

Splash Week 2: March 6 - March 10 (2% Chance this schedule may change)

Regular Schedule

* The regular schedule shifts at Redwood starting on May 1 due to the end of the Redwood HS season and our ability to get the pool sooner. Additionally, our pool time at COM will come to an end at the end of April.  At that time, all 8 & Unders can shift to practicing at Redwood for the earlier schedule. With the earlier schedule, we have practice opportunities for 8 & Unders M-F at Redwood.

"1st Half of the Season" (Mar 13, 2023 - Apr 28, 2023)* - 2% Chance this schedule will change

The "1st half of the Season" regular schedule goes into effect on March 12, 2023, after the 2 weeks of Splash.  Practice group assignments will be e-mailed by March 11th.

"2nd Half of the Season" Regular Schedule (May 1, 2023 - June 23, 2023)* - 2% Chance this schedule will change

The "2nd half of the Season" regular schedule goes into effect on May 1, 2023.

Saturday Clinics

During the early part of the Spring season (before the meets start), Tidalwaves also offers free Saturday clinics as an opportunity for swimmers to focus on a couple of very important racing skills--starts and turns.  By their nature, they are small group instruction and a great way for a child to fine-tune these important skills. 

Clinics are available to all team-level practice groups and are held at Redwood.

Clinic dates for 2023 are: March 11th, March 18th, March 25th, April 1st, and April 15th. (After that meets start!).

Social Events

During the Spring season Tidalwaves also hosts a number of optional special events to help with team bonding and community. These include:

• A pizza/cheer night before the first meet of the season
• Bingo night for swimmers and coaches
• The biggest, most fun pool party your kids will ever be invited to over 4th of July weekend
• An end-of-season awards banquet
• And more!

See the Events tab for dates and details.

 

 

Fees for Spring

This year we are offering an early registration discount! 

* The High School Swimmer rate is only available to those swimmers who, because they are swimming for their high school team, join Tidalwaves at the beginning of May. 

Tidalwaves fees are used for coaches’ salaries, rental of the pool, insurance, administrative costs, Marin Swim League dues, trophies, ribbons, and incentive awards. Other optional expenses you may have, in addition to the fees, include swim gear, team photo, special team events, and optional private lessons.

Scholarships are available based on need.  If you are interested in requesting a scholarship for the Spring Season, please register, but select the waitlist ($10) group. Then, contact our registration volunteer at [email protected] for a scholarship request form link.

Family Volunteer Commitment

18 points/family, spread across the season. Families can choose the jobs that work best for their schedule/talents/interests. For more information, see Family Volunteer Commitment.

 

What to Expect at Practice

For tips about what to expect at practices, including what to bring, how often to attend, pool rules, and more, see Practice Tips.

How to Sign Up

Registration for the Spring season opens January 2, 2023 at 12:01 am for returning Tidalwaves families and January 9, 2023 for new families. Follow the Register link on the home page to begin the process.

If you are registering a NEW 8-under swimmer you must register first for an assessment. Follow the Register link (on the gowaves.com homepage) to begin the registration process. When asked which group to register to, select "NEW 8 & Under Assessment". There will be a $10 fee. 

At the conclusion of registration, on the "Registration Success" page, there will be a link to a Sign Up Genius where you will be able to sign up for a 20-minute assessment time slot.  All Assessments are held at the College of Marin, Kentfield.