Great Whites

The Great White group is the advanced beginner group in the Northwest Arkansas Aquatics program. Swimmers in the Great White group will range in ages of 8-12 which is a broad spectrum for the group. It is our goal for the older swimmers to move up as soon as they demonstrate that they are proficient in all four strokes and can complete the benchmark test set.

The focus of this group is for the swimmers to build on their basic knowledge and skills for all four competitive strokes, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. These swimmers will continue to work on streamline push-offs, body position, head position, and the kick associated with all four strokes, but they will also begin to learn some of the specifics associated with the pull for all four strokes.

Championship Meets:

ARSI Open Water Championships

ARSI 14 & Under Championships

ARSI Long Course Championships

Training:

The Great Whites will begin to do mini practice sets which will help them in their development within the sport and will help them be competitive in local and regional competitions. A component of the beginner swimming sets is learning how to use the pace clock in practice.

The Great Whites will also continue to develop the skills associated with the starts, turns, and finishes in all four stroke.

Swimmers must be able to complete the following benchmark test set in order to be in consideration to be in the Great White group:

One Round of the Following:

3 x 100 FR @ 1:50

2 x 100 IM @ 2:00

1 x 100 K @ 2:10

Move-ups will be communicated prior to the start of the short course or long course seasons; however, there may be some cases where a move mid-season is determined to be necessary by the coaching staff.

Required Equipment:

Mesh Bag

Kickboard

Fins

Lead Group Coach: Eric Paden – [email protected]

Assistant Coach: Mary-Catherine Ivey - [email protected]

Assistant Coach: Hannah Luce - [email protected]

Assistant Coach: Mary Clare Bono - [email protected]