Rec to Club Team – what are the differences?
In order to alleviate the confusion between a Recreation Team (Rec), which is a summer only, usually a city or country club sponsored league and a USA Swimming Team (Club), we put together a few key pointers. To put it simply, the biggest difference is the competition and coaching level.
- Think of Rec swimming like coach-pitch or tee-ball baseball and Club swimming like upper level Little League and Super League
- Coaches in Club complete annual training and progress in certifications within USA Swimming whereas Rec coaches are not required to
- Club season is year-round whereas the Rec season is usually condensed to 8-12 weeks.
- Club swimming has different tiers: National (entire country), Regional (different portions of the country, normally North, South, East, West), and Local (within our state/LSC). Rec swimming either competes amongst themselves or in a Country Club or County League.
- Club Swimming times stay with the swimmer for their entire life. If they were to take a break from swimming for a year or two and returned to the sport, their times would remain. Rec swimming times reset every season.
- Club swimming has two portions- Age Group and Senior (15 and Older). The Senior group is intended for those wanting to swim above a High School level. This is illustrated below in USA Swimming’s hierarchy of organizations.
