Swim Team

Sunshine Gators Swim Team

Looking for something more than swim lessons? Get your feet wet with our hybrid swim team program. A perfect mixture of small group practices, a blend of team activities, and a splash of competitive spirit with inner squad swim meets.

Swim Team Tryouts

February 9, 4:30-6:00

Required for new incoming swim team members. Returning team members or swim lesson students will be assessed during current swim practice or class. 

Listed as “Gator Tryout”, you can also choose to schedule a swim assessment at any time that works with your schedule.

Swim Team Parent Meeting

February 7, 5:30-6:00pm

New and returning team member parents are encouraged to come.  Meet the coaches and get the essential information regarding practices, swim meets, uniforms and team expectations.  

Spring/Summer Swim Team 2024 Upcoming Season

April 3 – July 26

 

Registration Opens

Returning Swim Team Members –  January 25th, 2024

New Swimmers for Swim Team – February 1st, 2024 (schedule an assessment here)

Season Begins

April 3

Our Team fills quickly!  Call for more information.  Not quite ready to make the plunge, consider enrolling in our group or private lesson program and we would be happy to add your swimmer to the waitlist if a spot should open up in the practice team your child is appropriate for.

sunshine gators at sunshine swim center
USA swimming

Why should I join a swim team?

Competitive swimming programs provide many benefits to young athletes including self-discipline, good sportsmanship, and time management skills. Competition allows the swimmer to experience success and to learn how to treat success and failure as two sides of the same coin, while becoming healthy and physically fit.

What are the Sunshine Gators?

The Sunshine Gators are a recreational swim team at the Sunshine Swim Center. The swim team program is for swimmers ages 4-15 and operates year round in three different seasons (August- November, December- March & April-July) .

What is the commitment and cost?

The Sunshine Gator swim team has a 4-month season.

The cost of the program is $179 per month, per swimmer. The first months fee will be charged at the time of registration, the remaining will be collected monthly, on the first of each month, for the duration of the 4-month program.

*If unable to keep the 4 month commitment, a $100.00 drop-fee will be taken the month you leave the program. 30 days advance notice in writing is required when discontinuing the program.

*$50.00 Swim Team Annual Fee (per swimmer).  Fee covers the ESSENTIAL SWIM TEAM PACKAGE: Team Swim Suit, Cap, Goggles and Team Shirt. Swim Suit Fittings for Spring 2023 will be on April 3rd during the first practice.

How do I Join?

First Time Participants:

Step 1:

New to Sunshine Swim Center?  The first step is to sign up for a swim assessment for your swimmer(s).  Use the “Swim Assessment” button to complete the registration process and select a swim assessment time.

Step 2:

At the time of the swim assessment your swimmers skill level will be determined and you will be given options of practice times based on their ability.  We recommend you sign up for the swim team at the time of the swim assessment.  Enrollment is available only in-person.

Returning Participants:

Has your child participated in programs at Sunshine Swim Center in the past, if so, you are already in our system. Call the office or stop by to determine if you will need to schedule an assessment, if your swimmers skill level information is current you may not need to arrange a swim assessment.  In which case, you will be able to enroll your swimmer in the team program immediately.

Levels and Practice Times?

Practice groups are a 6:1 ratio. Swimmers will remain in the same practice group for the duration of the season.  In all groups, your swimmer will be working on mastering the four competitive strokes; Freestyle, Backstroke, Breast stroke, and Butterfly.

Practice Times and Days:

Sunfish, Blowfish and Otter Levels practice 25-minutes, Monday -Thursday at 5:00 or 5:30. For the first 2 months of the swim team. At the end of each month swimmers are evaluated and as they master skills, new, more advanced skills will be incorporated into their practice. Practice schedules will change for the last two months of practice; Sunfish and Blowfish will be Monday and Wednesday from 5:00-6:00 and Otter will practice Tuesday and Thursday from 5:00-6:00.

Intermediate (Clinic 1) and Advance (Clinic 2) swimmers are assigned to Clinics, this program meets twice a week, each practice is 50-minutes.

Clinic 1: Monday/Wednesday from 5:00-6:00pm.
Clinic 2: Tuesday/Thursday from 5:00-6:00pm.

Friday Clinics

Optional specialized clinics are arranged each month for team participants. (no additional charge)

Will there be competitions? (Swim Meets)

Yes, the Gators compete monthly in inter-squad competitions.  The inter-squad meets will be held at the Sunshine Swim Center.

Parent/Family Volunteers at the Swim Meets:

All swim families are asked to volunteer 2 hours of their time to help with the swim meets over the course of the season.  Volunteer sign-ups will be emailed two-weeks before the meet date. Tasks such as timing swimmers, managing the ready bench and organizing the awards are needed to be performed by volunteers.  This is a crucial part of the team atmosphere it allows the coaches to focus on the swimmers at an important time of their training, while family volunteer’s help with large scale details.

Does my child already need to know how to swim? Is there an age requirement?

Swimmers must be at least 4 years of age to be eligible to be on the swim team at Sunshine.

Swimmer Must be able to:

  • Kick freestyle kick, with the aide of a kick board, a full 25-yards; no stopping.
  • Perform torpedo rolls for one entire length of pool.
  • Demonstrate freestyle arms and kick then rolling onto his/her back for a breath for a full lap of the pool.
  • Tread water for 30 seconds without submerging face under the water.

After the season, what if my swimmer wants to continue?

We hope to provide all athletes with not only the necessary skills to be part of a USA team such as Elk Grove Aquatics Club (EGAC) but also a love for
swimming. EGAC has qualifying times. Swimmers will be tested at the completion of the swim season. Swimmers whose times qualify can join EGAC during their upcoming season enrollment. If your swimmer is not quite ready for the EGAC program, they can re-enroll in the following Sunshine Gator swim season.  The swim team is run in 3 seasons:  April-July, August-November, December-March.

All swimmers must become members of USA swimming in order to participate USA meets.

What is Elk Grove Aquatics Club? (EGAC)

Elk Grove Aquatics Club has been providing a positive experience for swimmers of all ages for over 20 years. Their team of well-trained coaches work with the Head Coach to help each swimmer reach his or her full potential. EGAC offers a year-round USA competitive swim team program with in the Sierra Nevada Local Swim Committee (LSC) of USA Swimming. This means that each swimmer and family has access to a wide range of resources from both a local team and a national swimming organization.

What is USA Swimming?

USA Swimming is the national governing body for amateur competitive swimming in the United States from beginners to the Olympic level.

We look forward to seeing you on the pool deck!

Interested in Joining?

The Sunshine Gators Swim Team is a specialized program.  Registration is only available after assessment.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This