Inland Empire Swimming
Level 3
Phone
Address
PO Box 2791
Wenatchee, WA 98807
Contact Us
Contact Us

Practice Groups

Competitive Team | Pre-Team/Rec Team | Masters
 

Competitive Team - Year Round Commitment Required

Bronze | Silver | Gold | Senior | Performance 3 | Performance 2 | Performance 1

Ready to enter the fun and exciting sport of competitive swimming?  We offer every level of swimming for athletes ages 6 to 19, from beginnners to Olympic Trials level.  There is something for everyone:

The Competitive Team Track is a year-round commitment running from September 2025 through August 2026. Swimmers in this track will train and compete in both the Short Course season (fall–winter) and the Long Course season (spring–summer), with brief scheduled breaks during each season. This structure provides consistent training, competition opportunities, and skill development throughout the entire year.

  • Meet Requirements:
    • Participation in all home meets
    • Additional meet requirements vary by group (see specific group guidelines)
  • Fundraising Requirement:
    • $250 per athlete/$500 per family (see fundraising section for more info)
  • Workshare Hours:
    • Hours vary by meet
    • Each home meet requires families to complete a specific amount of volunteer hours. (See workshare section for more info)

DEVELOPMENTAL/AGE GROUP:

Bronze (Ages 5-12)

  • Objective: Intro to competitive swimming and aerobic training
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Develop strong fundamentals: streamline, body position, coordination, feel for the water.
    • Improve body line for freestyle and backstroke.
    • Continue learning breaststroke and butterfly technique to develop legal strokes.
    • Learn how to swim in a lane with other swimmers.
    • Learn how to use a pace clock.
    • Learn racing starts and turns.
  • Requirement: Must be able to do 25-yard freestyle and 25-yard backstroke
  • Attendance Minimum:  2–3 practices per week recommended
  • Meet Requirements:  3+ USA Swimming meets
    • All home meets/IES Championship meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • 3+ USA Swimming meets
    • Legal 100 IM and 50s of each stroke
    • Complete 10x50 free on 1:15

Silver (Ages 7 -12)

  • Objective: Refine technique, introduce interval training
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Strong understanding of race strategy and pacing
    • Refine strokes and master legal turns/starts
    • Begin training sets and pace work
    • Continue building stroke technique and endurance.
    • Build a habit of good fundamentals streamlines off every wall, head position etc.
    • Learn how to utilize underwater kick off the walls:  pullouts, rockets etc. Learn relay starts.  
    • Good sportsmanship and teamwork.  Consistent attendance.
  • Requirement: Legal in 50’s of 4 strokes.
  • Attendance Minimum:  3-4 practices per week recommended
  • Meet Requirements:  3+ USA Swimming meets
    • All home meets/ IES Championship meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • 3+ USA Swimming meets
    • Legal 100s of all strokes + 200 IM
    • Complete 8x100 free on 2:00

Gold (Ages 9-12)

  • Objective: Expand training capacity and race execution
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Develop great starts and turns. 
    • Introduce bucket and crossover turn for IM.
    • Become confident with interval training and using the pace clock
    • Increased interval work and race sets
    • Maintain technique under fatigue
    • Introduce goal setting and leadership in the lane
  • Requirement: Coach invite
  • Attendance Minimum:  3-4 practices per week required
  • Meet Requirements: 4+ meets per season
    • All home meets, and All IES Championship meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and approval
    • 4+ USA Swimming meets
    • 8x100 free @ 1:45 or better
    • Demonstrates accountability and team values

DEVELOPMENTAL/SENIOR:

Senior (Age 13+)

  • Objective: Support swimmers and/or multisport athletes by refining technique, building endurance, and fostering growth through balance in academics, athletics, and life skills.
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Focus on stroke technique, efficiency endurance  and power.
    • Competes in High School meets, Districts, WIAA State.
    • Develop training and race skills for all 100s, 200 IM, 500 free
    • Train at higher intensity and longer distances
  • Requirement:
    • Ability to interval train for all strokes.
    • Ability to perform key drills.
  • Attendance Minimum:  3-4 practices per week recommended
  • Meet Requirements: 3+ USA Swimming meets
    • All home meets/ IES Championship meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • Achieve Age Group Regionals or Senior Zones
    • 10x100 @ 1:30 and 6x200 IM @ 3:30
    • Demonstrates accountability, team values, maturity and independence

PERFORMANCE

Performance 3 (Ages 11+)

  • Objective: Elite-level training for age group and high school swimmers
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Continue to build stroke technique, efficiency, and power.
    • Build strength and endurance.
    • Start introducing dryland exercises.
    • Train with specificity based on athlete goals
    • Execute advanced race strategy and mental preparation.
    • Compete at or work towards Age Group Regional, Age Group Zones qualifying times.
  • Requirement: Coach invite only
  • Attendance Minimum:
    • Required 80%+ attendance at practice
    • Missed practices require notification or plan for makeup
    • Consistent completion of practices.
    • Optional morning practices
  • Meet Requirements: All home meets, IES Championship meets and all coach recommended meets/Qualified meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Qualify for team’s designated travel meets
    • Meet consistent training benchmarks
    • Coach approval based on commitment, maturity, and goals

Performance 2 (Ages 13+)

  • Objective: Elite-level training for Sr. Zone  and Sectionals
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Continue to build stroke technique, efficiency, and power.
    • Build strength and endurance.
    • dryland exercises with weight.
    • Train with specificity based on athlete goals
    • Execute advanced race strategy and mental preparation
    • Compete at Sr Zone, Sectionals and beyond.
  • Requirement: Coach invite only
  • Attendance Minimum:
    • Required 80%+ attendance at practice
    • Missed practices require notification or plan for makeup
    • Consistent completion of practices.
  • Meet Requirements: All home meets, IES Championship meets and all coach recommended meets/Qualified meets
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Qualify for team’s designated travel meets
    • Meet consistent training benchmarks
    • Coach approval based on commitment, maturity, and goals

Performance 1 (Ages 14+)

  • Objective: Elite training for Sectionals and above plus College prep and Leadership development.
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Compete at National level meets; Sectionals, Sr Zones, etc.
    • Build strength and endurance, focus on race-specific strategy and technique, prepare for collegiate-level swimming.
    • Train with specificity based on athlete goals
    • Execute advanced race strategy and mental preparation
  • Requirement: Coach invite only
  • Attendance Minimum:
    • Required 80%+ attendance at practice
    • Missed practices require notification or plan for makeup
    • Consistent completion of practices.
  • Meet Requirements: All home meets, IES Championship meets and all coach recommended meets/Qualified meets

Pre-Team/Rec Team - Ages 4-19

The Precompetitive Recreation Track is designed for swimmers of all ages who want to enjoy the benefits of swimming without the pressure of competition. From learning how to swim to refining stroke technique and building endurance, this track focuses on skill development, and fitness. The Pre-Competitive/Recreational Track is a flexible, month-to-month program with no yearly commitment. Families can cancel at any time.

Pre Team 1 | Pre Team 2 | Pre Team 3 | Rec Team

  • Meet Requirements: None
  • Fundraising Requirement: None
  • Workshare Hours: None
  • Equipment Required: See Appendix for list of equipment required

Pre Team-Level 1 (Minimum Age 4)

  • Objective: Introduction to structured swim instruction
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Learn to follow coach instruction.
    • Develop comfort with face in water, streamline, kicking on front and back.
    • Learn basic freestyle and backstroke movements
  • Requirement: Float for 10 seconds
  • Practice Options: 1 to 2 days per week for ½ hour or 1 day per week 1 hour
  • Progress reports: sent every 6–8 weeks.
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • 25 yards freestyle with side breathing
    • 25 yards backstroke with good body position
    • Demonstrates readiness for longer attention spans

Pre Team-Level 2 (Minimum Age 5)

  • Objective: Develop stroke fundamentals and endurance
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Swim 25 yards freestyle and backstroke with consistent rhythm
    • Intro to breaststroke kick and butterfly body wave
    • Learn lane etiquette and how to swim in a group
  • Requirement: Must be able to kick on front and back 15 feet
  • Practice Options: 2 days per week for ½ hour
  • Progress reports: sent every 6–8 weeks.
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • Swim 50 yards freestyle with side breathing
    • 25 yards backstroke with consistent tempo
    • Begin breaststroke and butterfly basics

Pre Team-Level 3 (Minimum Age 5)

  • Objective: Prepare swimmers for competitive group entry
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Swim legal 25yards of all 4 strokes
    • Start and finish 100 IM with legal transitions
    • Learn basic racing starts and turns
  • Requirement: Must be able to swim on front and back 25 yards
  • Practice Options: 2 days per week for ½ hour
  • Progress reports: sent every 6–8 weeks
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Coach discretion and coach approval
    • Complete 100 IM legally
    • Swim 100 free and 100 back without stopping

Rec Groups:

Rec 12 & Under and Rec 13 & Over

These 2 groups supports:

  • Swimmers who may be anxious about racing
  • Athletes involved in other seasonal sports
  • Families who want flexible, low-pressure swim training
  • Former swim team members who want to stay active

 

  • Objective: The Recreational (Rec) Group is designed for swimmers who enjoy swimming for fun, fitness, and skill development without the pressure or requirement to compete in swim meets.
  • Goals and Focus: 
  • Improve technique, endurance, and health
  • fitness-focused swimmers or multi-sport athletes.
  • Build community through swimming  
  • Requirement: Must be able to swim 25 yards of all 4 strokes
  • Practice Options: 2 practices per week
  • Meet Requirements : Optional
  • Move-Up Criteria:
    • Swimmers may move to the competitive track (Bronze) (Senior) if interest and readiness are demonstrated

Based on goals, coach discretion and approval

 

Masters Swimming Track – Ages 19-109

The Velocity Masters program is for adult athletes who have a swimming background and are looking to continue to improve their fitness and stroke technique.  Velocity Masters is coached by USA Swimming Certified Coaches.  Velocity also offers multiple opportunities each year for Masters swimmers to compete in local swim meets.

  • Objective: Adult fitness, competition, and lifelong swimming
  • Goals & Focus:
    • Improve technique, endurance, and health
    • Offer options for competitive or fitness-focused swimmers
    • Build community through swimming
  • Age: 19 – 109 years old
  • Requirement: Swimming background – basic knowledge of all 4 strokes
  • Practice Options: 3 days per week, 3 hours total per week
  • Meet Requirements: None, but home meets dual-sanctioned with masters swimming recommended
  • Fundraising Requirement: None
  • Workshare Hours: Required hours for each home meet (See workshare hours section for more info)