Houndslake Swim Team

Is my child ready for swim team?

Most likely, the answer is yes. Legal strokes are not required at any age level--we Hounds are famous for our doggy paddle!

For safety reasons, children should be able to "rescue swim". If your child were to fall into the pool, they should be able to reach the edge and safely exit without assistance. 

If you're concerned about your child's readiness, we offer a pre-season tune-up week where children can get reacquainted with the water. Coaches are happy to evaluate your child without the commitment of the full season. Please see the practice page for more information.

After pre-season week, children can have a brief evaluation by a coach upon prior request. Please see a board member at the registration table outside the pool to arrange for an evaluation.

Do all children participate in the meets?

Meets are strongly encouraged for most swimmers because they're fun! At Houndslake, we want as many as possible to participate in our meets. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you are, just as long as you have a great attitude. 

Regular-season meets are open to all who are able to swim the length of the pool unassisted. This benchmark will be determined by the head coach.

Do we have to attend all the meets/practices?

There are no attendance requirements to be part of the Houndslake Swim Team. We never take attendance at practice. That said, the more practices you attend the better you'll swim!.

As for meets, summer swim is a team sport. Absences mean that relays may be cancelled or points lost. Please try to be at every event possible. Parents must "opt in" for each meet.

Sign up for meets at our calendar page.

Does my child qualify for Divisionals/All Stars? I've heard it's only for the fastest kids.

Unless the head coach lets you know otherwise, Divisionals is open to any swimmer who has competed in at least one regular season dual meet. Attendance at Divisionals is strongly encouraged. The more swimmers we have of any ability, the more fun we will all have, and the more points our team can earn.

All Stars is limited to the top 20 swimmers in each event from all 5 divisions. You will receive an email after all division championship meets to let you know if your swimmer has qualified. Each week the CSRA League publishes a Top Times list so you can estimate where your swimmer stands. 

Note that only times earned during Divisionals will count for All Stars qualification.

Do parents have to work the meets? 

100% yes!  If your child is swimming, a parent must be working. Meets cannot happen without parent volunteering. There are dozens of jobs that must be done at every meet, and it always seems like we could use at least two more sets of hands. Each family must work at least 1 shift of every meet their child attends.

There are lots of different ways to volunteer. It's also a great way to make new friends. Our swim community is famous for bringing people together. 

If you don't' have any swimmers in a meet, you do not have to work--although we'll never say no to an extra volunteer or two!

This seems like a lot of information, and I still have questions!

That's pretty normal for new swim parents! There are lots of ways to get those questions answered:

There is usually a board member or two hanging around during practice specifically to welcome families and give information. Look for us at the picnic tables outside the pool gate. 

We hold 2 new parent meetings every year. Watch your email & the team calendar for those dates to be announced.

There's also some helpful pages linked on our Resources page, including a handy Swim Meets 101!

You can shoot us an email over on our contact page.

You can always approach other swim parents and ask them. It's also a great way to start meeting other families in the HST community!

One rule we have is that you not approach coaches with any questions during practice time. Coaches must keep their attention on the swimmers in the water for the safety of all of our athletes.