About Us
The Ancaster Alligators Swim Team (AAST)
Our Mission...
The Ancaster Alligators Swim Team strives to be a small, competitive, and family-based swim team that is dedicated to providing a friendly, supportive and challenging environment that promotes good sportsmanship and team spirit and encourages all swimmers to reach their own competitive potential, achieve their personal swimming goals, and enjoy being part of a team.
Our Vision...
The vision of the Ancaster Alligators Swim Team is to foster a lifelong love of swimming, both as a sport and as fitness.
Statement of team philosophy and goals
The Ancaster Alligators Swim Team (the “team” or the “club”) strives to help each athlete to:
- realize their own potential
- achieve their personal goals
- enjoy being part of the team
To attain these objectives we work with the following goals in mind:
- to encourage a long-term enjoyment of swimming in all team members
- to provide for the development of age-appropriate physical fitness in all members
- to introduce athletes to basic and more advanced swimming techniques based on the experience and abilities of each athlete
- to use frequent entry-level competition as a way to test progress and develop swimming proficiency
- to instil a sense of teamwork and team spirit amongst all athletes
- to recognize the personal aquatic achievements of team members
- to provide a friendly environment where athletes and parents can build and enjoy peer relationships through both swimming and social events
How is the Club Organized?
AAST is a competitive swim team affiliated with the Aqua 7 League in Southwestern Ontario. All athletes are registered with Swim Ontario and are eligible to swim in all Swim Ontario sanctioned meets. The team has been in operation since the early 1980s and is based at the Ancaster Aquatic Centre. The team has a paid coaching staff and a strong base of parent volunteers.
At this time, we planning to have approximately 60 swimmers between the ages of 7 and 18.
Our team is part of the Western Region of Swim Ontario. Swim Ontario (SO) is the official provincial organization that operates and regulates competitive swimming in Ontario. Swimming Canada (SNC) is the national governing body that sets national regulations and oversees provincial swimming organizations.
Executive Organization of AAST
We are a volunteer-organized club, relying on our parents to take on active roles on the executive and as volunteers during home swim meets (e.g., timers, marshals, lunch helpers, executive roles, etc.).
The executive looks after the administration of the club. It is the expectation of the executive that every family will participate in some fashion throughout the course of the season. Although the executive team is selected, we welcome anyone that wishes to shadow or gain a better understanding of the executive roles for future involvement. The executive team meets periodically throughout the year and is not a large commitment of time.
If you have an interest in serving on the executive, or questions about any role, please send an email to [email protected]
The AAST club…
In 2021, the AAST ran a test trial to merge clubs with the Ancaster Masters. This test was a great success and as expected provided many positive synergies between our two clubs. The result is that the AAST has now integrated the Ancaster Masters creating a Youth and Adult division. This supports our mission and goal of supporting of providing lifelong love of swimming.
AAST strives to help each athlete:
- realize their own potential
- achieve their personal goals
- enjoy being part of the team
To attain these objectives, we:
- encourage a long-term enjoyment of competitive swimming
- develop age-appropriate physical fitness
- introduce athletes to basic and advanced competitive swimming techniques
- use frequent competition to test progress and develop teamwork and team spirit
- recognize the aquatic achievements of team members
- provide a friendly environment where athletes and parents can build and enjoy peer relationships through both swimming and social events
