New to Berkshire Family YMCA Polar Bears Competitive Youth Swim Team? Visit bfymca.org/polarbears for complete details. Berkshire Family YMCA offers children ages 6-18 years old an opportunity to join our Polar Bears Competitive Youth Swim Team. Practices and competitions focus on skills development, teamwork, and confidence-building. Practice is scheduled according to age and ability with certified and experienced swim coaches. Polar Bears Swim Team requires a commitment to time; dedication to practices, challenging workouts, and the team; and energy to the sport of swimming. Team members and families build great friendships! Does your child have the ability, desire, and commitment to continue and develop their competitive swimming career? Swimming is an essential lifesaving skill, plus an excellent form of exercise. Swimmers will learn four strokes: freestyle (sometimes called the crawl), breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. Children will gain practice in starts, turns, finishes, and racing strategies. Swimming provides both an aerobic and anaerobic workout. Participating in a swim team teaches teamwork and sportsmanship. Divers need flexibility and determination (and some fearlessness). Active Y members are invited to register. State and Local guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are strictly enforced. The program is subject to change if lane restrictions are enforced by State & Local guidelines. Program size may need to be reduced following the allowed number of participants. This site is used to keep swim team up to date on important information, announcements, events and more!