Welcome to the exciting world of competitive swimming! This guide will provide you with everything to get you started and acquaint you with the sport of competitive swimming. There are many benefits to participating in the sport of swimming:

Meeting terrific people and building lifelong friendships

Incredible fitness levels - core strength, exceptional cardiovascular and overall fitness

Life skills - time management, self-discipline and sportsmanship

Fun - competitive swimming is fun, exciting and rewarding

Like all sports, swimming has rules unique to the sport. The following is a general overview of the basics. Familiarizing yourself with the basics will not only help you understand the focus our coaches need while they work with your swimmer, but will also help you as you begin your officials’ training.

Four Competitive Swimming Strokes

The four competitive swimming strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The combination of all four strokes is called individual medley.

Freestyle

In the freestyle, the competitor may swim any stroke he or she wishes. Most swim the front crawl, as it is traditionally the fastest stroke. It is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the surface of the water surface and an alternating (up-and-down) flutter kick. The freestyle is swum over 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metre distances.

Backstroke

In the backstroke, the swimmer must stay on his or her back at all times. The stroke is an alternating motion of the arms. On turns, swimmers may rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and the swimmer must touch the wall with some part of the body.

Swimmers must surface within 15 metres after the start and each turn. Backstroke race distances are 100 and 200 metres.

Breaststroke

Perhaps one of the most difficult strokes to master, the breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pushed forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and brought backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously. The kick is a simultaneous thrust of the legs called a frog or breaststroke kick. No flutter or dolphin kicking is allowed. At each turn a swimmer must touch with both hands at the same time. Breaststroke races are distances of 100 and 200 metres.

Butterfly

One of the most challenging stroke, the butterfly features the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with the dolphin kick. The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together. No flutter kicking is allowed. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously on the turns and the finish. The butterfly was born in the early 1950s due to a loophole in the breaststroke rules and became an Olympic event in Melbourne, Australia in 1965. Butterfly races are swum in 100 and 200 metre distances.

Individual Medley

The individual medley, commonly referred to as the I.M., features all four competitive strokes. In the I.M., a swimmer begins with the butterfly, changes to the backstroke after one-fourth of the race, then the breaststroke for another quarter and finally finishes with the freestyle. The I.M. is swum in 200 and 400 metre distances.

RELAY

Freestyle Relay

Four swimmers participate taking turns swimming a particular distance (50m, 100m and sometimes 200m) of front crawl each.

Medley Relay 

All four strokes are swum by four different swimmers. No swimmer may swim more than one leg of the relay, which is swum in backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle order. The medley relay is 400 metres -or four by 100 metres.

Starts and Turns

Many races are won or lost in starts and turns. In the start, the swimmer is called to the starting position by the starter who visually checks that all swimmers are still. Then, once the starter is satisfied, the race is started by an electronic tone.

Quick turns are essential to a good race. In all events the swimmer must touch the wall, but in the freestyle and backstroke the swimmer may somersault (flip turn) as they reach the wall, touching only with the feet. In breaststroke and butterfly, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands before executing the turn.

Time Standards

Swimming is a sport of personal best times and goals. From the precompetitive program thru to nationally/internationally qualified, our swimmers are constantly learning and improving on technique and racing strategies. This is competitive swimming but much as your child might want to compete with other swimmers in his or her group or other clubs, the best competition is always the clock. Beating a previous best time is the goal. There will always be someone faster or someone slower, so the focus should be on self-improvement. Improvements can happen suddenly, but it can also be a gradual climb. Every swimmer progresses at a different pace, which is why our coaches put so much emphasis on personal goals.

As your swimmer progresses, time standards begin to play an important role in setting goals, not only to qualify for specific meets, but also to move up the group ladder. Success depends solely on self-improvement, hard work and achievement of your child’s personal goals. Goals will be discussed and set individually with each swimmer and their family. Swimmers in the beginning stages of their competitive swim career typically compete in local 1 or 2 day swim meets with no qualifying standards. Coaches choose events for each swimmers dependent upon individual skill level and goals. As swimmers improve, opportunities to swim at regional, provincial and national swim meets open up. There are various standards for these meets which are set by Swim Ontario and Swimming Canada.

Whitby Swimming Club Basics

Club Communications

Whitby Swimming communicates with parents primarily through email, our website, and our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram). Keep a close eye on all of these to stay up-to-date and informed.

Fees

Registration fees are set annually by the board of directors based upon coaching salaries, pool fees and other operating costs. Registration is done via our online registration system on Commit Swimming. The club, on your behalf, pays Swim Ontario and Swimming Canada fees. Fees are set according to age group and are payable annually. Swim Ontario fees provide insurance. A Swimming Canada account will be set up for you after registration, after which you can add your swimmer and track their success throughout the year.

Fee payments

Fees are paid via Visa or Mastercard using our online registration system on Commit Swimming. Competitive Registration Fees will be paid in monthly installments or in full by e-transfer. Initial registration and monthly fees are as per the fee schedule included in the current Registration package. All installments will be charged to your credit card used during registration. Throughout the season, you may check your Commit account for a Billing Summary showing the amounts you will be invoiced that month, if applicable. The Commit Swimming website allows you to review your detailed account information. Invoices will be automatically generated in Commit, and any amount owing (meet fees, uniform orders, etc.) will be charged to your credit card on file on the first of each month. If an installment payment is due that month then that payment will also be processed. Any discrepancies can be reported to the WS treasurer (treasurer@whitbyswimming.ca).

Meet Fees 

Meet fees are managed separately as your swimmer participates in meets throughout the year. As your swimmer is entered in meets, the associated fees are added to your online account and will be charged to your credit card on file each month.

Meet Entries

There is a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes putting entries together for swim meets. Part of every meet is not only posting relevant information about the meet, but more importantly, we need to know if you swimmer is attending or not. Swimmers will be entered into all meets for which they are eligible. If you would like to withdraw your swimmer from a meet or a session of a meet, you must decline their attendance in your Commit Swimming account by the deadline. After the entry deadline has been reached, your coaches will create individual event entries for each swimmer. Parents are asked to NOT choose the events for your swimmer. Your swimmer’s coach will choose the events your swimmer will be entered in.

Training Schedule

The schedule is subject to change so please ensure you check the website regularly. Many pool closures are out of our control and happen very last minute.

How does my swimmer move from group to group?

Group movement is based on the coach’s evaluation. When selecting for the groups we try to create the most compatible group as possible in terms of racing and training speed and age. Move-ups may occur in December, March, or at the beginning of a new swimming season.

Are swimmers asked to leave the club at any time should they not be improving?

No one has been asked to leave because they are not improving. 

Team Clothing and Equipment

The basic equipment for swimming changes as a swimmer gets older. Swimming suit, cap and goggles, can be purchased at through Team Aquatic Supplies at team-aquatic.com. As the swimmer progresses fins, paddles, kick boards, can be purchased at Team Aquatic Supplies. Swimmers training exclusively at AOP (Iroquois Park Sports Centre) can use the team equipment.

Whitby Swimming Team Clothing

Several times a year we will open our team store. It's online and this is the place to order hoodies, jackets, parkas, backpacks and other team gear.

Getting Involved

Swimming is different from many other sports. Unlike other activities that might only require parents to bring snacks, drive to team events and/or help out coaching, swimming is traditionally managed entirely by parents. When you watch an international swimming meet, the people holding stopwatches or judging were likely all at one time a parent (or still a parent) of a young competitive swimmer. Whitby Swimming is a non-profit organization run by volunteers and salaried/hourly coaches. There are many ways in which you can volunteer your time to help the club. Some of these positions are filled for the current season but if you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact secretary@whitbyswimming.ca .

You do not need to be an experienced swim parent to be a valuable help to the club! The best way to learn about the club and the sport is to roll up your sleeves and dive in. From working at meets to helping out at special events, from being a group parent to sitting on the board, this club cannot function without the hard work and support of all Whitby Swimming parents. As part of your membership in the club, each family is required to help out in accordance with the policy on club and fundraising commitments found in your Registration Package.