Focusing on Fun And Stroke Technique, FAST Prep is our entry-level group and introduces participants to their first competitive swimming experience. This program will be divided into 12 and under swimmers (14 and under at Lindbergh High School), and 13-17 year old swimmers (Saturday only option at Pattonville). FAST Prep and High School FAST Prep swimmers will be billed monthly and can notify the team prior to the end of a month if they do not plan to attend practices the next month and wish to avoid being charged. If you are interested in the UMSL or Pattonville location, please go to the Prep link here; if you are interested in the Lindbergh location, please see our events page by clicking here. Please make sure you are signing up for the correct age group.

12 & Under and 13-17 years old FAST Prep:  Our entry level group will introduce participants to their first competitive swimming experience. 12 and under swimmers must be able to complete 25 yards of both freestyle and backstroke in good form as well as have a basic understanding of breaststroke and butterfly. 13-17 year olds must be able to complete a 50 of both freestyle and backstroke in good form as well as have a basic understanding of breaststroke and butterfly

High School FAST Prep 14-18 years old:  High School FAST Prep is for high school aged swimmers who want to stay in shape for their high school season.  These swimmers may swim twice per week with our High School 1 group and must meet the requirements of our High School 1 group to be able to participate. Swimmers in the High School FAST Prep groups will swim twice a week, and they will get to choose any two (2) practices with the Senior 1 group at their sign-up location. During the summer, they will choose any two (2) Senior 1 practices from the summer schedule. High School FAST Prep swimmers must be able to handle our Senior 1 practices to qualify for this group.

FAST Prep Pricing 2026

Thank you for your interest in FAST Prep! You may have noticed a change in our pricing and scheduling from what we have done in the past with this program. After the 2025-2026 season, we received a lot of feedback from our Prep families about the program. A vast majority of our families were in support of a monthly-based class and price to make things easier for registration and budgeting, so we moved away from our 4 sessions per year scheduling system. This system always had a variety of prices depending on the frequency of classes at different times of the year. For this season, we found an average number of classes we know we are able to offer each month and found a reasonable monthly price that enables families to consistently pay the same amount each month, and not have to worry with any credits if we have to cancel any class in the future as we no longer issue credits or refunds with this new system. Also, families are not overpaying when there may be more classes in a month than our average. We have based our pricing on being able to hold eight (8) classes per month with the price of $100 for our Pattonville and UMSL locations and $130 for our Lindbergh location (Lindbergh pricing reflects the significantly high pool rent) Families are able to stop and start throughout the year as long as they reach out to FAST at [email protected] by the 23rd of each month to avoid another monthly charge. We do remind families that if they do stop at any time that there is a potential there won’t be an available spot later in the year since we do not save spots for families.

Thank you again for your interest in our FAST Prep program, and we look forward to working with you and your swimmer at the pool!

ALL SWIMMERS MUST HAVE AN EVALUATION BEFORE REGISTERING. Please contact the FAST office at [email protected] to schedule an evaluation.

This group will auto-renew every month unless the office is notified prior to the last day of the month. Your child's place is not guaranteed if you choose to skip a month.

The cost is based on the average number of practices offered throughout the season, therefore no refunds will be issued.

To register for our Pattonville or UMSL FAST Prep locations, please follow this link to the Registration Packet.

To register for the Lindbergh FAST Prep registration, please follow this link to our Events page for that group. Sign ups will go live on Monday 7/7/25!

FAQs of FAST Prep

Does my child need to be evaluated before joining FAST Prep?

Yes. The FAST coaches will need to evaluate all swimmers prior to joining this group to determine if it is the right fit.

Who should sign up for FAST Prep?

This group is for novice 14 & Under swimmers who are too advanced for the FAST Swim Lesson program and are still progressing toward our year-round team groups. This is also a great first “taste” of competitive swimming without having to fully commit to a year-round team. 

Who should sign up for High School FAST Prep?

High School FAST Prep is for high school-aged (14-18) swimmers who want to stay in shape for their high school season.  These swimmers may swim twice per week with our Senior 1 group and must meet the requirements of our Senior 1 group to be able to participate.

Can my FAST Prep swimmer compete in swim meets?

Yes, FAST Prep swimmers may compete in swim meets that are appropriate for FAST Prep swimmers with coach approval. Our FAST philosophy is to make sure a swimmer is ready to legally compete in a race before sending a swimmer to a meet to compete in that event as it can be frustrating and demoralizing for a swimmer to continually go to meets and disqualify in events that they are not ready to compete in.

Can we make up classes at other FAST locations if we cannot make our scheduled class at our regular location?

There are no make-up classes offered for classes missed for any reason. This is not meant to be punitive; FAST Prep is a popular group that regularly fills at all locations, and to ensure that we are not overcrowding lanes or creating an unsafe environment, we do not allow swimmers to float between locations.

Does FAST pro-rate my fees if we start the month late?

FAST will not pro-rate for late sign-ups. Ensure that your child has been evaluated and is signed-up prior to the start of the session.

Does my child need to be registered with USA Swimming?

FAST Prep swimmers must be registered with USA Swimming. This $84 fee will be charged to your FAST account and must be paid for your child to continue to attend FAST practices.

Does my child need FAST apparel?

FAST apparel is required of FAST Prep swimmers who plan to compete in meets. Swimmers who do not plan to compete at meets are still able to purchase FAST apparel during registration if they wish.

Do I have to work FAST hosted swim meets as a parent of a FAST Prep swimmer?

If your FAST Prep swimmer participates in a FAST hosted swim meet, you will be required to work 1 session (approximately 5 hours) at that meet. Otherwise, FAST Prep parents do not have a meet worker obligation to the team.

Do I have a mandatory fundraising requirement as a parent of a FAST Prep swimmer?

No.  FAST runs a Swim-a-thon once a year which is our only team fundraiser. This is a fun, all-team event where FAST Prep swimmers are welcome and encouraged to attend. If the FAST Prep swimmer attends, they must raise a minimum of $50 to participate. Swimmers who do not wish to participate are not required to fundraise; all are welcome to do so if they wish and can earn the incentive prizes that are offered throughout the fundraising weeks.