Do you consider swimming on a swim team a team sport?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely not. In our family, it is just a life skill. There is no team, and as far as sport, you are swimming people. Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think most swimmers (and track & field participants) care less about whether their "team" wins a meet than whether they, as an individual, win their races. Look at the Olympics, there's no overall team gold.

This has probably already been said, but I think it depends on the team. Yes, swimmers want to win their races but they also want their team to win. I have been to HS swim meets where there is a lot of cheering for the team, especially when they are competing against a rival team or in a championship meet. Same with summer swimming. USA swimming meets - no.

I would also argue that there is definitely strategy on the coaches part in terms of which swimmer is going to swim which events in order to win the meet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swimming is an individual sport with an artificial team structure imposed on it. You can impose such a structure on almost anything, but it doesn't make it a team sport. The Ryder cup players are playing on a golf team. They work in union with one another. Golf is still not a team sport. Same with swimming. Creating a team structure/competition/relays is just a way to include more kids in the individual sport, and train them as a group rather than individuals.

+1

You need eleven players plus subs to play a soccer match. That is what I think of as a team sport.

However, there isn't a set number of swimmers for a team. While the US sends two swimmers per event to the Olympics, other smaller countries (with fewer world class swimmers than the US) require their swimmers to meet a certain standard, such as the probability of making a semi-final. If their top backstoker isn't world class, they don't send a backstroker. Thus a swim "team" might be 40 people or might just be one or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swimming is an individual sport with an artificial team structure imposed on it. You can impose such a structure on almost anything, but it doesn't make it a team sport. The Ryder cup players are playing on a golf team. They work in union with one another. Golf is still not a team sport. Same with swimming. Creating a team structure/competition/relays is just a way to include more kids in the individual sport, and train them as a group rather than individuals.

+1

You need eleven players plus subs to play a soccer match. That is what I think of as a team sport.

However, there isn't a set number of swimmers for a team. While the US sends two swimmers per event to the Olympics, other smaller countries (with fewer world class swimmers than the US) require their swimmers to meet a certain standard, such as the probability of making a semi-final. If their top backstoker isn't world class, they don't send a backstroker. Thus a swim "team" might be 40 people or might just be one or two.

There are no swim teams with 2 people, usually 40 to a few hundred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. In our family, it is just a life skill. There is no team, and as far as sport, you are swimming people. Come on.

It started a survival skill in our home and somehow it morphed into swim team. Its a sport.

[Anonymous]

It’s not a team sport like basketball / soccer / volleyball. It’s more individual sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. In our family, it is just a life skill. There is no team, and as far as sport, you are swimming people. Come on.

It started a survival skill in our home and somehow it morphed into swim team. Its a sport.

We starting playing checkers in our home and now my DD is on her school's chess team. Beat that . . . swimmer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. In our family, it is just a life skill. There is no team, and as far as sport, you are swimming people. Come on.

It started a survival skill in our home and somehow it morphed into swim team. Its a sport.

We starting playing checkers in our home and now my DD is on her school's chess team. Beat that . . . swimmer!

I would love that..my kid would probably like chess too. I have tried and tried to steer him away from swim but everything I try isn't working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. In our family, it is just a life skill. There is no team, and as far as sport, you are swimming people. Come on.

It started a survival skill in our home and somehow it morphed into swim team. Its a sport.

We starting playing checkers in our home and now my DD is on her school's chess team. Beat that . . . swimmer!

I would love that..my kid would probably like chess too. I have tried and tried to steer him away from swim but everything I try isn't working.

Feel for you. I really do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swimming is an individual sport with an artificial team structure imposed on it. You can impose such a structure on almost anything, but it doesn't make it a team sport. The Ryder cup players are playing on a golf team. They work in union with one another. Golf is still not a team sport. Same with swimming. Creating a team structure/competition/relays is just a way to include more kids in the individual sport, and train them as a group rather than individuals.

+1

You need eleven players plus subs to play a soccer match. That is what I think of as a team sport.

However, there isn't a set number of swimmers for a team. While the US sends two swimmers per event to the Olympics, other smaller countries (with fewer world class swimmers than the US) require their swimmers to meet a certain standard, such as the probability of making a semi-final. If their top backstoker isn't world class, they don't send a backstroker. Thus a swim "team" might be 40 people or might just be one or two.

There are no swim teams with 2 people, usually 40 to a few hundred.

I think you are talking about US college and summer swim teams. That's not the norm in the rest of the world e.g. my university had no swim team or pool for that matter. My country of origin often sends only 5-8 swimmers to the Olympics, and often doesn't have enough swimmers to even field a relay in the heats. They won't spend money on swimmers who aren't good enough to perform at a world class level.

[Anonymous]

There are no swim teams with 2 people, usually 40 to a few hundred.
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Here are the swim team numbers for some countries for the 2016 Rio Olympics

Argentina - 5
Austria - 6
Mexico - 3
New Zealand - 9
Singapore - 3
South Africa - 12

[Anonymous]

You people are twisting yourself into knots. Former collegiate swimmer here. Swimming is an individual sport fundamentally, in certain circumstances your team becomes important, but most swimmers set individual goals above all others. Winning a personal championship or getting a personal best time or setting a personal record is almost always more important than any team goal. There are exceptions, but not too many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So, I'm the meh poster...thanks to the one who said they were insufferable First - diving (make All Stars every summer), swimming - same always divisionals/All Stars during summer - swim and dive at a lighter level during winter to "keep up". baseball and soccer.

Yikes! I just think that with soccer your team is so critical to your individual success. While the team is important in swimming and gymnastics - not the same. Diving really just feells like a cheer squad - which is good!
They don't have to be hardcore about it at all. But the team dynamics are going to vary a lot when you are a dabbler vs an established team member.

I don't want to quibble but do tell what league you're in to have a kid make it to all stars every summer after swimming a "lighter level" during the school year? While it may appear it is going off track- it isn't. It you're not upfront with he basis for your statements then your statements should be discounted. After the age of 8, no kid is making it to all stars without hard core training year round. (Divisionals is no big deal since crappy kids can make that dependent on the makeup of the team.) to make all stars, you're taking the top 18 kids per age division and sex and stroke - out of thousands of kids. Hundredths of seconds often separate the 21st kid and the 16th kid. We've been a big family swim team for years and I've been an a-meet rep. I have never seen a non serious year round swimmer go to all stars except, on rare occasion, someone less than 8. (You indicated your kids are older than that).

I was more than 100% sure you were lying.