Last Updated 5/21/07
General Information & FAQs Home Page

What kind of team is the Aspen Swim Club ? and who can join?
Do team members have to compete?
What costs are involved with joining the team?
How do I sign up for the team

Who operates the team?
Who manages the team?
Who governs the team and sanctions swim meets?
What kind of events do the swimmers compete in?

Who are the other teams that the Swim Club compete against?
Does the team swim year around?
When are practices held?
When are meets held?

Are there any Championship Meets?
Who are the Officials at meets?
Do parents have to work at swim meets?
Do parents have to do any other work for the team?


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 wanting to join the team must be able to swim the minimum strokes that can be swam 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 (50 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.

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 compete in as many meets as possible. In addition, it is required that a team member compete in at least one competition per season in order to rejoin the team in the following season. 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.

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 and meets. 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 Parent’s Financial Responsibilities in the Team Info. section on the Team Home Page for more information.

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 for meet entry fees, registration fees and 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?
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.

At meets, events are typically divided into 2 sessions (morning and afternoon), although some may have more sessions. The sessions are usually age specific; e.g. all the 9-10 and 13-14 year old events are in the morning session, while 11-12 and 15 & Over events are in the afternoon. 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 Team. 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 Zone 4 site.

 

Does the team swim year around?
 The Aspen Swim Club is registered as a Year-round Team; however, individual swimmers may register as either a Year-round or a Summer Club (Seasonal) Swimmer. Certain policies/restrictions are associated with the two different registrations. Summer club swimmers can only swim between April 1st and August 28th and can compete in the State Seasonal Championship. Year-round swimmers can swim the entire year, but are not eligible to swim in the Seasonal Championship. The costs for year-round registration is $52 versus $27 for seasonal. The Western Slope teams are comprised of both Seasonal and Year-around teams.

When are practices held?
 Summer Season practices start the 1st week of May. In May, when school is still in session, practices are held immediately after school, typically M-F from 3:30 - 5:15. After school is out (typically 1st full week of June) practices will be held in the morning, usually 7:30 - 9:30 AM, M-F; except Fridays when we have meets that conflict. We hold practices every weekday so that the kids can choose which days they attend as many are busy with other activities. Typically, older kids swim 3-4 days and younger swim 2-3 days. The younger kids also do not swim as long, but it depends on the swimmer and their endurance. After school, everyone will start at 3:30 but the younger kids may be done at 4:30. In the summer, younger kids usually don't start until 8:00 and are usually done at 9:00. Again, these times may vary some based on the swimmer and his/her abilities. The coaches will work with the swimmers and fit them into groups that have similar abilities. There are multiple seasons so please check the Team Calendar for current practice times.

These are only guidelines based upon previous years. The practice schedule will be typically be determined in mid-April and posted on the Team Home Page.

When are meets held?
The Summer Season Team typically competes in 7 - 8 regular meets beginning the end of May / first of June, and running every weekend through mid/late July. The Fall and Winter Team competes once or twice per month. For a listing of a typical meet schedule, click on the link Meet Information under Swim Info. on the Team Home Page. Most regular season meets are non-qualifying, which means there are no minimum time requirements for entry in events. The only requirement is that you are a registered CSI swimmer.

Meets are usually 2-3 days (weekends), but some can be as many as 5 or as few as 1. Typically, Friday sessions are for the younger swimmers and long distance older swimmers. Warm-up for the morning session usually starts between 6:30 - 7:30 AM, with the meet beginning immediately after warm-up. Some warm-up sessions are split into 2 time slots in order to accommodate the number of swimmers. When this occurs, teams are assigned to a specific time slot.

Are there any Championship Meets?
At the end of the regular season meets, there are several Championship Meets. The most prominent of these for the Aspen Swim Club is the Western Slope Championship. This meet is held after the last meet of the regular season and is hosted at various locations on the western slope. Championship meets are qualifying meets. This means that in order to compete in an event, a swimmer must have previously made a minimum time in that particular event.

(Summer Season)After the Western Slope Championships are other championship meets. These consist of JO’s, a State Championship for the best swimmers in the state; Summer Club (Scottie Aschermann Memorial Championship), and a State Championship for Seasonal teams only. Following these meets are Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals.

(Winter Season) Silver State Championship and JO's

All of these Championship meets are qualifying meets (minimum time requirements). Qualifying times are determined at the beginning of the season and can be found on the CSI site, Zone 4 site and the Swimmers section on the Team Home Page.

The Aspen Swim Club typically sends swimmers to the Summer Club Championship and some swimmers make qualifying times for JO's.

Who are the Officials at meets?
Officials are volunteers who have taken the necessary tests and trained to become certified as a swim official. Any one 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 Parent's Financial Responsibilities and Organizational Structure under the Team Info. on the Team Home Page. There are many things that must be done for the team to operate and EVERYONE'S HELP is needed.