What is the best way to talk to my child's coach?
Since the coaches only have a limited time with their swimmers daily, we ask that you do not approach coaches on the pool deck during practice time. We suggest that you wait until practice is over to speak to your swimmers coach. Keep in mind that the coach may have a group starting as your child’s group is finishing, so try to keep these conversations short and ask the coach if they have time at the end to have a quick discussion. E-mailing the coach to set-up meetings for longer discussions is the best method.
What do I need to bring to try-out / registration?
Please bring a swimsuit, towel, and goggles. Swimmers need to be able to swim the length of the pool unassisted in some way (no stroke knowledge needed) and be 5 years or older to be eligible. To schedule a tryout and for registration information please contact our Team Reigstrar at [email protected]
What equipment does my swimmer need?
Your swimmers needs a water bottle, fins, goggles, cap, and suit, plus a bag to carry all of it. Some groups require other equipment. Please check the Welcome Packet sent by our Team Registrar when registering for the full list of equipment.
How does my swimmer change groups or move up in the program?
All of the groups at TMEC run on a specific training cycle. The stroke schools will test to move up every three weeks and the competitive groups have a six-month training cycle. Each swimmer will be tested on the skills that they learned during the training cycle. A lot of the time it may take two or three cycles for a swimmer to test out of a group.
What is Short Course? What is Long Course?
Short Course is training or competing in 25 yard or meter pools, while Long Course is training or competing in 50 Meter Pools. Most indoor pools in the USA are set-up as 25 yard pools and so most of the times younger athletes become familiar with early on are the short course yard (SCY) times. Since these meets are held in the winter months, our Short Course competition season starts in September and culminates with championship meets in January and February. The Long Course (LCM) competition season begins in March and continues through July and August depending on the highest-level championship meet a swimmer can qualify.
What are B, BB, A, AA, AAA, AAAA times? How do I find them?
USA Swimming has established National Age Group Time standards to allow for a stepping stone approach that swimmers can grasp. This is a great way to see progress even if a swimmer doesn’t win their event. They start at RED times and finish at NRT times. First time swimmers, or swimmers with times slower than the RED time, are classified as having WHITE times for those events. Most swim meets that use time standards to determine eligibility for swim meets use these time standards.
What are the Junior Olympics?
The Junior Olympics Championship (JO’s) meet is the Southern California championship meet for swimmers 14 & under in the Short Course season and all ages in the Long Course season. The Short Course meet is held in mid March while the Long Course meet is held in late July or early August. It is one of the premier age group meets in the USA and therefore the top age-group meet in Southern California . Swimmers who successfully qualify and compete in this meet are generally those that go on to greater success in High School and even collegiate swimming later in their career. For this reason, we ask all TMEC families to wait until the summer break (usually the last two weeks in August) to schedule their vacations. Qualifying times are established by Southern California Swimming every fall based on participants in previous years. You must have the qualifying times to enter the meet.
What is Swim-a-Thon?
Swim-A-Thon is a major national fundraising project available to all United States Swimming clubs. It promotes and finances amateur competitive swimming. The purpose of Swim-A-Thon is to raise money for our TMEC Swim Club. Swimmers earn pledges for each lap swam at the Swim-A-Thon. Swim-A-Thon is an excellent method to raise funds for our team and is usually held each year in Summer/Fall.
What are National Top 16 Reportable Time?
Every year USA Swimming takes results from meets all over the country and publishes a list of the Top 16 performances from each age group the year before. There is a list for Long Course and Short Course meets. Swimmers who achieve the reportable times are not guaranteed to be on the final Top 16 list.
