Out of town swimmers are welcome!  However, if you live in one of the towns in our league:

Winter: You may NOT participate in the meets.

Summer: You may swim exhibition in the meets but may NOT score points.

Winter league: Cambridge, Canton, Randolph, Sharon, Walpole, Weymouth

Summer league: Canton, Dedham, Medfield, Medway/Millis/Holliston, Natick, Needham, Newton, Norwood, Sherborn, Walpole, Westwood

No. Children start at 4 years old and it is instructional until they are able and want to compete.

No. I feel that use of such floatation devices instills a false sense of security. Floatation devices fall off, deflate and typically do not fit properly to allow your young athlete their full range of arm or leg motion.

Absolutely not! By taking your child out you are only reinforcing the yelling for the next practice. Don't let your child believe that yelling is the key to getting what he or she wants, in this case - getting out of the water. Your child will adjust to the water and perhaps the separation from mom and dad in due time. Some just take longer than others. My coaches and I have learned to handle the noise simply by seeing the end result - a child that can swim and is confident in and around the water.

--We do want to check each child in and out at the front desk, pre-registration allows us to accomplish this in a much more organized manner. --Children will get in a full practice and be on deck at the start of the lesson for instructions such as which lane to go to, goals that may be set for the day, etc. --Lastly, and I'm sorry to say this is happening, there are those that are not registering and skirting their children around the desk during the confusion. They are taking a practice or two on the house to see if their child and they themselves like the experience enough to stick with it for a season. This could truly hurt our program if something were to happen to one of these children and they are not on my registration list, which our insurance company maintains a copy of.

There are several factors involved in this. --One, pool time is at a premium in our area and there simply is no additional pool space/time to be had. Since we are geared for a more competitive format, as opposed to a learn to swim program i.e. Red Cross & YMCA, I don't want to drop the younger group all together. These kids are an asset to our program and competitiveness. (Some teams have a qualifying test to weed out the non-swimmers to avoid instruction as opposed to training) --Two, younger and less experienced or non-swimmers require far more coaching staff than accomplished swimmers. The swimmers to coach ratio is far higher in this age group. It simply comes down to a matter of economics, it costs more to instruct the younger children.

As of right now I'm making no exceptions to the ages. Last year the groups were too big and the lanes too crowded. I'm sure there will be others that want to do the same so if I do it for one then I have to do it for everyone and that defeats the whole purpose.. Maybe later in the year if it's not so crowded then I can make some changes. I also have less coaching staff this year so the groups need to be smaller so that we can train them effectively. --Within each age group there are several ability groups, generally these groups are broken out and practice within the same lane or two. --By a more competent level in the 4 -6 year old group I need to see the ability to swim the length of the pool without assistance and handle the increased yardage and practice time. --Please do not bring your child to a different practice group without my asking you to.

No. You make it to as many practices and meets as you can. Of course the more you attend the faster your swimmer will advance.

If your child can swim the length of the pool in each stroke, yes! The strokes don't have to be perfect.

For non-residents see the faq "We don't live in Walpole. Can we join?"