General Information Meet Information
Hello Families!
We’ve made some modifications to our requirements and I’d like to take this opportunity to explain to you the format of our groups. Our groups are designed for specific ages with ideal abilities but that’s not always the case. Just like in a regular classroom, some swimmers are going to improve faster or slower than others depending on maturity and effort put into practices. We accept swimmers as young as 5 years old because this is typically when they can swim WITHOUT 1:1 supervision. In lessons, our swimmer to instructor ratio is normally 6:1. Our general groups are: 8 & Under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, and 15 & Over. The oldest swimmers we typically accept are 18 because at this point swimmers will either continue on in college or join a Master’s program (Masters just means 18 & Up! Click here for details). However, college swimmers are welcome to continue to train with us during breaks fro as long as they are competitive. NTS tries to be flexible to best serve the needs of the individual swimmer. We do this to encourage all swimmers to strive for their individual goals while working towards the overall goals of the Club.
All new swimmers may begin on a “tryout” basis and do not need to register with USA Swimming immediately. However, USA-S membership is mandatory for any swimmer who swims over 30 days in any group. Returning swimmers must have current membership on the first day of practice. This annual or summer registration fee covers our insurance. With USA-S membership, swimmers will receive a subscription to Splash magazine, a Club T-shirt, and a team swim cap. Click here to see all the benefits of joining USA Swimming.
Lessons are for those who cannot complete 1-length of the pool. Most 9 & 10 year olds should be able to complete 1-length of the pool (25yds) Freestyle and Backstroke. These swimmers are encouraged to join stroke school which is an extension of lessons. Stroke school is a pre-competitive program designed to transition swimmers from lessons 2x a week for only 45mins towards practicing up to 4 times a week for an hour. This transition can be gradual depending on the swimmer. If you have one swimmer still in lessons and another one in stroke school but you can only attend two nights a week just let us know. We will be flexible to meet your needs. We want to make sure we are providing you with the best opportunity for your child to be a successful swimmer.
Stroke school is really designed for swimmers 10 & Under but it could also contain someone from the 11 & 12 age group. This does not mean an 8 year old will be swimming with a 12 year old. All of our practice groups overlap so there really isn’t one specific practice group a swimmer will belong to while they swim with us. Grouping could change depending on available pool space and swimmer: instructor ratios. We will keep each group age/skill appropriate. A swimmer's advancement to a higher group depends on commitment to the program and how quickly the individual swimmer improves while building endurance.
Typical competitive age group swimmers are (8 & Under), 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, 15 & 16, and 17 & 18. They must be able to swim a 100 IM and 200 Freestyle. Senior swimmers are 18 & Under and must be able to swim a 200 IM and a 500 Freestyle. Age groups practice for 1.5 hours while seniors practice at least 2 hours and are also typically on our “traveling team”. Any swimmer with USA-S membership is welcome to join us at any of our meets. The team will travel to specific meets during the year throughout the Albany region and around Syracuse. Once in a while we try to host a meet with our neighbors from Watertown, Lowville, and Plattsburgh but most of our competitions are downstate. We really are the only USA Swimming club in our area. During our winter "short course" season we typically have around 30 swimmers on our traveling team.
Meet info can be found here.
NTS and USA Swimming membership is not for every swimmer. We are for the serious swimmer. TRIBS does not exist to simply prepare local swimmers to compete at the High School level. High School swimming is extra practice for what we do year-round. Swimming is not just a sport. It’s what we do. Ultimately, swimming is about pushing oneself to the limit, and loving the water.
Sink or Swim!
