Mini Squad (formerly Learn to Swim)

Contact the Mini Squad co-ordinator, Ellen Grant at minisquad@jhswimclub.com, or come down to the pool and talk to Ellen in person - our Mini Squad lesson times are here.

Squad

To join the club, you can fill out the Club Membership Registration form and forward it to the Treasurer with the correct membership fee. A club shirt is included as part of this year’s membership, so you will need to nominate your shirt size also. Come down to the pool and meet Coach Rob, have a chat and look at the setup.

Instructions:

1. Download and complete the 2011/12 Membership Registration form
2. Download and complete the 2011/12 Medical and Photo Disclaimer form
3. Transfer payment to the JHSC Bank account as shown below (payment amounts are shown on the form)
4. Either scan and email the form to the JHSC Treasurer or drop the completed form in the box at the pool
5. Email payment receipt or receipt number and date to the JHSC Treasurer (treasurer@jhswimclub.com)

For further information contact the JHSC Secretary (secretary@jhswimclub.com).

The annual membership fees for 2011/12 are as follows:

• 1 swimmer   - $168
• 2 swimmers - $311
• 3 swimmers - $409
• 4 swimmers - $482

PLUS $30 family participation levy.

Once you become a financial member, you will be registered with Swimming Queensland and eligble to compete in external swimming meets and carnivals - although you may choose to swim club meets only (see our Club Calendar). You'll also be able to join one of our training Squads (Junior, Intermediate or Senior) - these fees are paid on a term basis and depend on the number of training swims that you schedule each week. You can view the detailed training times here.

Mini Squad has a different payment structure - based on the Spring and Summer terms (see info here).

At Jamboree Heights, we register all of our swimmers with Swimming Queensland as competitive swimmers. This is a club policy, and helps us to minimise membership changes through the season. Swimmers can choose not to compete at external meets if they desire - however all swimmers in the club are eligible.

Squad fees per term are based on the number of training sessions per week and the squad level. Keep an eye on the current training schedule and the relevant Squad Booking form, which contains the squad fees for the current term. For example, Squad fees for the 2011 Spring term are shown below:

Junior Squad

• Up to 5 sessions   - $230
• 3 sessions            - $200
• 2 sessions            - $150
• 1 session              - $80

Intermediate Squad

• Up to 7 sessions   - $260
• 5 sessions            - $230
• 2 sessions            - $150
• 1 session              - $80

Senior Squad

• Up to 9 sessions   - $300
• 5 sessions            - $260
• 2 sessions            - $150
• 1 session              - $80

Mini Squad

• 1 session (Level 1-3) - $100
• 1 session (Level 4)     - $80

There are no age rules for membership to each squad. Acceptance into each level is based on ability and assessed and decided on by the Head Coach.

Swimmers progress between squads when it is obvious they require more challenges in the pool and is usually decided on between the Head Coach, swimmer and parents. It is not based solely on age or times.

How many times you train per week depends on what you are actually training for. A minimum of two sessions per week is recommended for junior swimmers if the child is training for fun and fitness only.

Coach Rob wrote an article on this for our newsletter recently:

"The first thing athletes and parents should do, is have two different sets of personal best times (25m and 50m). I swam competitively for nearly 20 years, and always had two different books with my best times for all my events (25m and 50m times). It is safe to say that the faster a swimmer gets, the more recognisable the difference between short and long course becomes. For example, the fastest man can swim 25 seconds for 50m Breaststroke in a 25m pool, yet he can only swim 27 seconds for the same event in a 50m pool. Grant Hackett held the world record for 1500m Freestyle in times of 14.09 (25m) compared to 14.34 in a 50m pool.

The reasons for such a huge difference in times are due to several factors. Swimmers can swim faster underwater than above and there is more opportunity to swim underwater in a 25m pool. In addition, the extra turns in a 25m pool gives the swimmer more chances to produce higher speeds coming into and off the walls. Swimmers will also swim less amount of strokes in 25m pool events, which again allows the swimmer to maintain top speed and not fatigue as compared to swimming more strokes continually in a 50m pool race.

Psychologically, swimmers tend to be more aggressive when standing on the blocks looking down the lane of a 25m pool compared to a 50m pool. This one factor alone gives them an advantage to their own performance. Mentally strong swimmers will stand on a block of a 50m pool and generate the same sort of adrenalin that he/she may generate whilst standing on the block of a 25m pool. Swimmers tend to think that swimming short course is easier than swimming in a 50m pool. This is a direct correlation to the above reasons, and feeling that there is extra swimming in a 50m pool, or a feeling of not swimming as fast. The fact is, that in today’s swimming world, you swim faster times in a 25m pool compared to a 50m pool.

In an ideal world, it would be nice to train in both a 25m and 50m pool (which occurs at the Australian Institute of Sport). I personally think that training in a 25m pool gives an athlete and coach many more opportunities to improve on a variety of different aspects. I trained in a 25m pool from the age of 10 to 20 years old and the only reason I went to a long course pool was because my coach changed clubs. During this ten year period, I started my international career competing in Commonwealth Games and World Championships (one day I might write a thesis on why I would prefer to do the majority of my training/ coaching in a 25m pool)."
 

Each child is different and depending on their goals, a training plan may or may not be necessary eg. if a child is aiming to compete at a state level, a training plan developed in consultation with the head coach is imperative. If on the other hand, the child is training for fun and fitness only, a training plan is not so crucial and would normally only consist of a commitment to attend a certain amount of sessions per week and to train hard!

Depending on the meet, the nomination process can vary. Check out our Nomination Procedures page for detailed instructions. If you still have questions, please contact one of our club officials.

For qualifying times and standards - including school swimming times, take a look at our Qualifying Times page. We also have the YPS and JX criteria listed here.

If you have any questions or would like to see some other information included, please contact the JHSC Race Secretary (racing@jhswimclub.com).

The night before a meet a swimmer must get a good amount of sleep and be well rested. On the day of a meet a good breakfast is imperative (eg. toast, cereal, fruit (particularly bananas) and yoghurt are good options) and the main key is to keep hydrated before, between and after races. Warm downs are also crucial in helping a body to recover and be rested for the next race. If good warm down facilities are available, warm ups and warm downs are a key in making a successful meet. Stretching before and after a race is also crucial. Last but not least, a good attitude is a must. A swimmer that has a mental advantage will always come out on top.

If you have been DQ'd, the referee will normally always immediately advise you of your disqualification and the reason why. For further clarification, it is always advisable to speak further to your coach following a DQ.