Questions and Answers
- Does my child need to be a very strong swimmer to join the Club?
- How many swimmers are assigned per coach?
- What is the difference between Recreational, Regional League and Competitive swimming?
- How long does the season run?
- Can I register my child in the Competitive group even though they have never been registered with the recreational team before?
- What equipment does my child need?
- As a recreational swimmer, will my child need to wear a nose clip, swim cap and goggles to every practice?
- How often do the competitive teams travel out of town for meets?
- Do I have to volunteer as a parent if I want my child to swim with the club?
- Can I get a refund if my child doesn’t like it or if they need to pull out for various reasons?
- Can payments be made in installments?
- What is the purpose of land time?
- How does the fundraising work?
- Why do they only do one routine a year?
- Do the swimmers touch the bottom of the pool?
- How long do they have to hold their breath?
- How do they hear the music under the water?
1. Does my child need to be a very strong swimmer to join the Club?
Your child should be an independent swimmer (i.e. no water wings or other floatation device required) but they don’t need to have advanced skills with the different swimming strokes.
2. How many swimmers are assigned per coach?
This depends on the number of swimmers registered. The maximum number of swimmers allowed to swim in one team is 10. However, when there are more than 8 swimmers, coaches are usually paired with an assistant coach. Most of the artistic swimming coaches have their National Lifeguard Society certification as well.
3. What is the difference between Recreational, Regional League and Competitive swimming?
Recreational swimming is a great way to introduce your child to the sport. Swimmers practice once a week and can choose between the half season or a full season. There are no competitions at this level, but swimmers get to perform at the Sudbury Artistic Swim Club Watershows (December & April).
Regional League athletes swim twice a week for 2-hours and participate in two out-of-town competitions. This is great for families who can’t commit to the 3-5 out-of-town competitions but still want to add that competitive element to the experience.
Competitive swimmers practice 2-4 times a week. 10 and under swimmers practice twice a week and upper teams practice 3-4times a week. They will participate in 3-5 out-of-town competitions during the season. During these meets, swimmers perform not only their routine, but they also participate in the figures competition during which the swimmers are asked to perform various artistic swimming technical figures they have learned and practiced during their regular practices.
4. How long does the season run?
For the full season recreational swimmers and the competitive swimmers typically start mid September and run until mid to late April. There are no practices during the Christmas Holidays or during March break.
For half season swimmers, practices run from early September to mid-December and from mid-January until mid to late April.
For competitive swimmers, there are practices 2-4 times a week with the occasional extra practice a month for a total of approximately 13-15 practices each month.
5. Can I register my child in the Competitive group even though they have never been registered with the recreational team before?
Yes. If you feel your child is a strong enough swimmer, they may be able to join a competitive team. A consultation with a coach is required over a couple of practices to help determine whether it is the right choice and what team they would be best suited for. It is a good idea to enroll your child in the Artistic Swimming Summer Camp which usually runs at the end of August in order to provide her with the opportunity to learn some of the basic techniques and figures required for artistic swimming.
6. What equipment does my child need?
A one-piece bathing suit, latex or silicone bathing cap and a nose clip. If your child is a part of the competitive team, each athlete is required to purchase a black bathing suit, a club suit (or we now have the option of having reversible black/club suits), a team back pack with their names embroidered and a team jacket. The result: a unified team that looks like they can conquer the world!
7. As a recreational swimmer, will my child need to wear a nose clip, swim cap and goggles to every practice?
Swim caps and goggles are mandatory. However, nose clips are not for the recreational swimmers. They are encouraged to wear them, but they are not required.
8. How often do the competitive teams travel out of town for meets?
Most teams travel to 3-5 meets during the winter and spring seasons with the first meet in January and the last meet in May. In the past, the 10 and under team participated in 3-4 of the 5 meets only. These meets typically occur in the Greater Toronto Area or the Ottawa area. The REgional League team travels to 2 meets in the Ottawa area.
9. Do I have to volunteer as a parent if I want my child to swim with the club?
Because Sudbury Artistic Swim Club is volunteer based, it is important to have as many parents as possible from the competitive and Regional teams help with an aspect of the club. There are several positions available on the Parent Executive Committee.
There are various other positions available that vary in terms of the commitment involved. Here is a list of various tasks completed by volunteer parents:
Clothing coordinator
Fundraising coordinator
Novice coordinator
Event coordinator
Travel coordinator
As well as various jobs relating to the Club events: Burning Bright coordinator and various volunteer positions during the two Water Shows (ex. Working at the Pizza table, Bake sale table, admissions table, etc.).
10. Can I get a refund if my child doesn’t like it or if they need to pull out for various reasons?
There will be no refunds on half season registrations.
For the full season session; if a swimmer wishes to remove themselves from the club after Dec 1; $500 will be retained.
The Club offers several Free Try Art Swim events throughout the year that will allow your child to try the program with no commitment. Visit the website regularly for the dates of times of these events.
11. Can payments be made in instalments?
Yes. Recreational fees can be paid in three instalments of $250 ea. Payment is due on Oct 1st, Nov 1st and January 15th.
Regional League fees can also be paid in instalments.
Competitive fees can be paid monthly on the 1st of each month.
12. What is the purpose of land time?
Flexibility and strength training is very important in artistic swimming so some of the land time is used to work on this aspect of the sport. Perfecting an artistic swimming routine takes a lot of repetition. Land time is also used to learn the routine, perfect the counts and work on patterns.
13. How does the fundraising work? Recreational swimmers are not required to do any fundraising however they may choose to participate in club fundraisers.
For competitive swimmers there is one mandatory fundraiser per year requiring a minimum $100 per swimmer. All other fundraisers are optional and funds raised go directly to the individual swimmer’s fees.
14. Why do they only do one routine a year?
Considerable time is required to develop and learn a routine. Progress will be made on a weekly basis towards the completion of their routine. Time is also spent learning artistic swimming positions and elements to work towards levels.
15. Do the swimmers touch the bottom of the pool?
Swimmers are not allowed to touch the bottom during their routines. A penalty is issued to regional and competitive teams if this occurs.
16. How long do they have to hold their breath?
Typically, underwater sections will be up to 20 seconds at a time. This doesn't sound like very much time however they are working very hard while underwater. It can be compared to running on a treadmill while holding your breath.
17. How do they hear the music under the water?
An underwater speaker is put in the water. The music is normally clearer under the water than it is above.