AAC Pre-Competition Groups
Below are the descriptions for the Pre-Competition groups in the Arlington Aquatic Club swim team that are part of the Arlington County Aquatics Program. These groups are for youth ages 5 -18 years. The following groups are part of the developmental and conditioning groups of AAC. These groups are competition eligible but are not required to participate in competitions. Each swimmer must be evaluated by an AAC coach for proper placement. Swimmers who prove they are able to handle the training and are willing to make the commitment to train more may be eligible to move up into the Age Group program.
Children may have participated in youth swim classes or private swim lessons, summer swim teams or other swim clubs previously which could prepare them for moving into a group with the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC). Specific skill, age, and/or swimming achievement may be necessary to advance to the next level. Please note that being in a group one year, does not mean the swimmer will automatically move into the next higher group. The column on the right below indicates the pre-requisites that will be needed to prove sufficient before placement. Most swimmers will repeat groups to master necessary required skills or achieve goals.
Mini Gators Level 1 (ages 5-8 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This is first level of our most basic skills training program. The program is designed to introduce young swimmers to the sport of competitive swimming. This program will focus on improving freestyle, learning a technically correct backstroke and breaststroke, and will introduce butterfly.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl without stopping
- Demonstrate ability to breath to the side
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke without stopping
- Complete an evaluation
Mini Gators Level 2 (ages 6-9 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This is the second level of our most basic skills training program. This program is designed to increase skills in the sport of competitive swimming. This program will focus on increasing technical skills and endurance and improving all four competitive strokes.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl without stopping
- Demonstrate ability to breath to the side
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke without stopping
- Complete an evaluation
Mini Gators Level 3 (ages 6-9 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This is the third level of our most basic skills training program. This program is designed to expand on basic skills in the sport of competitive swimming. This program will focus on technical skills, building endurance and speed as well as improving all four competitive strokes.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl without stopping
- Demonstrate ability to breath to the side
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke without stopping
- Complete an evaluation
Gators 1 (ages 7-9 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This beginner level pre-competition program is designed for young swimmers interested in improving their swimming skills during the winter months. The program is designed for swimmers who are new to year around swimming and will focus on the basic competitive skills, including diving off the blocks and learning proper turning techniques for all four competitive strokes. Primary focus is on the improvement of the freestyle and backstroke skills and techniques and will introduce the skills and techniques necessary for breaststroke and butterfly.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl without stopping
- Demonstrate ability to breath to the side
- Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke without stopping
- Basic understanding of breastroke and butterfly is recommended
- Complete an evaluation
Gators 2 (ages 8-11 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This is the second level of pre-competition for young swimmers with some background in swimming and looking to improve their swimming skills during the winter months. Gator III is designed for older swimmers are new to year around swimming or are just looking for stroke improvement. This group will teach advanced drills and stroke techniques for all four competitive strokes as well as working on improving competition skills such as diving and proper turns.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Competently Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl with side breathing technique only
- Competently Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke (technically correct)
- Basic understanding of breastroke and butterfly and ability to swim these strokes 10-15 yards
- Complete an evaluation
Gators 3 (ages 10-14 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This is the third level of pre-competition for youth and teenage swimmers with some background in swimming. This program is designed to offer intermediate skills training to swimmers looking to increase their skills and technique over the winter months. Swimmers in this program will continue to focus primarily on the basic competitive skills, including diving off the blocks and proper turns, and they will also practice more advanced stroke drills and techniques for all four competitive strokes.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Competently Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) front crawl with side breathing technique only
- Competently Swim one full length of the pool (25 yards) backstroke (technically correct)
- Basic understanding of breastroke and butterfly and ability to swim these strokes 10-15 yards
- Complete a racing start and open and flip turns.
- Complete an evaluation
Swim Clinic (ages 10-14 years)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This program is our first level of training for swimmers interested in staying in shape for their summer, Middle School, or High School teams but is not able to commit to swimming full time. This program will focus on improving and refining the skills used in all four competitive strokes, while also providing an aerobic workout to prepare swimmers for competition with their summer, Middle School or High School swim teams. The goal of this program is to provide swimmers a place to improve their swimming skills and endurance without the demands of our competitive programs.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim front crawl and backstroke proficiently for multiple lengths of the pool
- ability to swim 25 or more breastroke and butterfly close to legally per competition standards
- Complete a racing start and open and flip turns
- Complete an evaluation
Middle School Sprint (Grades 6-8)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This program is our second level of training for swimmers that would like to stay in shape for their summer or Middle School season, but do not want to commit to full-time swimming in the winter. The Middle School Sprint program will work on improving the technique and skills of all four competitive strokes while also offering a challenging workout to keep swimmers in shape.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim front crawl and backstroke proficiently for multiple lengths of the pool
- Swim breastroke and butterfly proficiently and legally for multiple lengths of the pool.
- Complete a racing start and open and flip turns
- Complete an evaluation
High School Sprint (Grades 9-12)
For days/times/locations please see AAC website.
Description
This program is our third level of training for swimmers that would like to stay in shape for their summer or High School season, but do not want to commit to full-time swimming in the winter. The High School Sprint program will work on improving the technique and skills of all four competitive strokes while also offering a challenging workout to keep swimmers in shape.
Prerequisites
Students must be able to:
- Swim front crawl and backstroke proficiently for multiple lengths of the pool
- Swim breastroke and butterfly proficiently and legally for multiple lengths of the pool.
- Complete a racing start and open and flip turns
- Complete an evaluation