Summer swim

[Anonymous]

Ok, throwing myself out here for the mockery: what is summer swim? Is it a DC thing? We moved away before our kids began club swim and then high school, and I don't understand the concept.

[Anonymous]

It's swimming on a summer swim team. I don't think it's just a DC thing. You can start as early as 5yo for summer swim, depending on skills.

[Anonymous]

It’s definitely not just a DC thing. Summer swim leagues are popular in many parts of MD and VA too. We have friends in the Richmond area and the suburbs of Philadelphia who participate in summer leagues.

[Anonymous]

So it's basically just club during the summer? I didn't realize there were kids who just did it then, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone join summer swim? How about those can swim a bit, but can't do the full lap yet? Is it a day camp or just morning/evening practices only ?

[Anonymous]

It's not club swim. It's usually leagues of neighborhood pools and the swimmers may or may not swim year round. It's more low key and fun (although maybe depending on the league and division -- as you've probably read on this board, some people are deeply invested in summer league swimming).

[Anonymous]

Maybe it’s not just a DC thing, but it is a unique thing that doesn’t exist everywhere. Around here’s its leagues comprised of neighborhood pools. The teams are volunteer run vs. by a municipal or private entity. It’s not governed by USA swimming, nor do the times count. Around here, it’s usually SCM with no starting blocks and most of the time. manual timing only (no pads or buttons). Teams compete as teams vs. as individuals like they do in club, so there’s a special element of team spirit you’d usually see with a HS team. And around here, there are lots of traditions that each teams has, along with lots of weekly social events, etc. it’s jam packed but fun . While it can get very competitive, it’s also a fun side of swimming that club swimmers appreciate to balance the grind of club

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it’s not just a DC thing, but it is a unique thing that doesn’t exist everywhere. Around here’s its leagues comprised of neighborhood pools. The teams are volunteer run vs. by a municipal or private entity. It’s not governed by USA swimming, nor do the times count. Around here, it’s usually SCM with no starting blocks and most of the time. manual timing only (no pads or buttons). Teams compete as teams vs. as individuals like they do in club, so there’s a special element of team spirit you’d usually see with a HS team. And around here, there are lots of traditions that each teams has, along with lots of weekly social events, etc. it’s jam packed but fun . While it can get very competitive, it’s also a fun side of swimming that club swimmers appreciate to balance the grind of club

Ah, ok! Helpful, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone join summer swim? How about those can swim a bit, but can't do the full lap yet? Is it a day camp or just morning/evening practices only ?

Usually you have to be a member of the pool and able to swim at least 25m unaided, though some pools have different requirements or mini-teams for kids who are working up to that level.

Practice times should be posted on the team website. They vary, but are usually for about 1 hr per weekday, plus 1-2 meets per week.

[Anonymous]

IME, it’s less common the further north you go. We simply didn’t have private community pools, or even that many public pools for that matter, where I grew up (upstate NY). DH is from the south and although it wasnt a thing in his small-ish hometown, his nieces/nephews live in bigger metro areas and all did summer swim.

[Anonymous]

What other areas of the country have similar leagues? We did not have it where I grew up (NJ).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What other areas of the country have similar leagues? We did not have it where I grew up (NJ).

Summer swim is common in the ATL metro too: https://atlantamom.com/family-lifestyle/atlanta-area-swim-teams/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What other areas of the country have similar leagues? We did not have it where I grew up (NJ).

Same. Summer swim (and swim culture in general) is an entirely foreign concept to my parents, we have to explain every year why we aren’t coming for a visit until August. I had one friend growing up who was on a swim team through the YMCA, but even then she had to travel across town to a different Y because the local Y didn’t have it.

[Anonymous]

Hugely popular in Atlanta. The Atlanta Swim Assn is as large as NVSL, and Gwinnett Swim League has 5000 swimmers as well. Summer leagues are incredibly popular in the Raleigh-Durham area as well.

[Anonymous]

I was on a summer swim team in Japan on a military base in the 1970s. We used to swim against other teams from other bases. I have no idea if we were part of USA swimming. I just remember riding my bike to practice and eating ice cream after the meets. I still have my jacket from the team. I didn't swim during the school year - it was just the summer.