Scenic City Aquatic Club

Consistently Coaching Chattanooga

since 1991

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Swim Lessons

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between year-round swimming and summer swimming?

    Year round swimming provides the opportunity for swimmers to practice and compete September-July each year.  This longer season allows for more chances to set and achieve goals each season.  Year round swimmers develop a knowledge of the sport that allows them to develop a long term focus toward improvement.  The year round swimming community is more focused on sharing individual success/accomplishments than on beating teammates.

What are the benefits to year round swimming?

    All year round coaches are USA swimming certified coaches & the head coaches of Scenic City coach swimming as their profession.  Technique is our primary focus with all of our Age group swimmers & having a professionally certified staff and smaller groups allows us to teach our swimmers how to swim correctly.  Conditioning is added as swimmers advance through our groups - having a staff that has coached Olympic swimmers, state champions, dozens of All-Americans, and Top 16 swimmers gives swimmers on SCAC the advantage of years of knowledge and experience.

Do I get a discount for having more than one swimmer?

    Yes.  Starting this season we are giving price breaks to families with 3 or more swimmers.  Here is the new pricing structure:

    1st Swimmer - USA Registration + Team Registration + Monthly fee

    2nd Swimmer - USA Registration + Team Registration + Monthly fee

    3rd Swimmer - USA Registration + Team Registration + 1/2 Monthly fee

    4th and more - USA Registration + 1/2 Monthly fee

**The highest group will always be the 1st swimmer, so the 1/2 price would be for the lowest groups.**

How does the billing work?

    When registering your swimmer(s), please pay the registration fees only.  At the beginning of the month, you will be billed for the previous month swam.

    Please return the top portion of the statement with a check as soon as possible. 

    Make separate checks for all uniform orders, meet entries, goggles, fins - this money goes into different accounts.

How do I sign Up? 

     You can join Scenic City by picking up a registration form (SCAC & USA swimming) & bringing it the 1st time that you come to practice.

Do I have to start in September or can I join anytime? 

    Scenic City is a year round swim team - you can join any time through the year.  It usually works best if you join at the beginning of a month.

Do I need to give up other sports?

    No!  It is a misconception that your must quit other sports if you join year round swimming.  Swimming enhances performance in just about every sport & cross training can often be beneficial to swimmers.

Do we have to join USA swimming?

    Scenic City is a member of USA swimming and all of our swimmers must be registered with the governing body (USA swimming).  USA swimming provides our insurance coverage, as well as other services (website, rules, etc).

What group will my child be in? 

    We will use the 1st week or 2 to place our swimmers into the right group.  The groups are by abilities, but the trend is this:

                          3-7     Swim Lessons

                          5-8     Pre-comp

                          6-8      Superstars

                          6-12    Homeschool

                          8-10    Green Group

                          9-12    Blue Group

                          13-18  Pre-senior or Senior

    We would rather your child start in a lower group and move up (not start in a group that is too hard and have to move down).

If my swimmer starts in one group, when can he or she move to the next level? 

    We will move swimmers up anytime through the year.  After the first month, we try to have people move up at the beginning of a month.

How many practices a week are required?

    We do not require practice attendance during the school year.  To get the maximum out of the program we encourage our swimmers to attend the practices that are offered.

Are meets required?

    All of our swimmers are expected to attend the local meets.  As a swimmer advances through our program, participation in out of town meets is encouraged.  Competitions give the coaches a tangible way to measure improvement and help direct the focus of the groups practices.

What equipment do we need?

    Each swimmer will need a suit, goggles, and a cap if your hair gets in the way.  Each group will use fins at least once a week - we have fins at each pool, but do not have all the sizes.  If you would like to purchase fins, we sell them at McCallie for $21.50 (make checks out to Stan Corcoran).  Each pool has a supply of kick boards and pull-buoys for the swimmers to use.  At the McCallie pool we have goggles, fins, and boys practice suits for sale.  Scenic City has a wide variety of products for sale on the SCAC Store page.

How do I sign-up for a meet?

    Meet information will be at the pool & on the website.  On the meet registration form, fill out which events you would like to swim and the times (if you know them) and return the form to the coach.  **Note - 3 events per day is a good minimum so your swimmer is not bored.**

What is the Meet Surcharge?

    The meet surcharge fee includes: $3 surcharge to SES swimming and a $5 Scenic City meet fee.  The Scenic City fee will help cover relay expenses, coaches travel and expenses for the meets.

What do we need to wear at swim meets?

    The only uniform required at swim meets is a team cap.  We have team suits and clothing available, but you are not required to buy them.

Do we really need to be at the pool for meet warm-up? 

    Yes.  Each swimmers should check with their groups coach to find out what time warm-ups will start.  The coaching staff is aware of each swimmers ability and designs a warm-up to help each swimmer swim to their potential at the meet.

What are Southeastern Qualifying times?

    Our championship meets are the District Meet in March, Southeastern Championships in March, & Southeastern Championships in July.  Southeastern qualifying times are an average of the last 3 years championship meets 32 place time (don't worry, we have a flyer with all the times posted at each pool).  If a swimmer achieves a qualifying time in an event, they are not eligible to swim that event at the District meet.

What about relays at the meets?

    When relays are offered at the meets, the coaches make the decision about who will participate in which relays.  Each swimmer should ask a coach if they are in a relay before leaving a meet.  Do not sign-up and pay for relays when you register for the meet (if your child is on a relay, we will bill you after).

Why doesn't my child have a best time every race?

    It would be great if swimmers always swam best times, but the reality is that swimmers will often go through periods where they stay the same or swim a little slower.  Patience and a long term view of swimming improvement are needed.  Here are a couple reasons that your child might not swim a best time:

            1.    Technique - A change in technique that will make your child faster can

                                      sometimes take time to learn & occasionally cause a swim to

                                      be a little slower at first.  A swimmer can swim a slower time,

                                      but have improved their technique a great deal.  Sometimes

                                      focusing on technique goals (not time goals) can be good in

                                      the early season.

            2.    Sleep -        Rest is very important - If swimmers are not getting enough

                                      sleep, swimming performance can be affected.

            3.    Nutrition -   Eating too little, too much, or too poorly will impact your

                                      swimming.  Swimmers need a balanced diet (A senior

                                      swimmer in high training needs to eat enough to provide fuel

                                      for the workouts).

            4.    Growth -     Growing stronger and getting taller will help swimmers get

                                      faster, but the body must adjust to longer arms and legs.

                                      Technique must be constantly refined as the swimmers grow

                                      older.

            5.    Kids are Kids -

            6.    Confusion -   Sometimes swimmers get conflicting advice from so many

                                        people that they do not know who to listen to or what

                                        way is correct.

            7.    Fear -           Swimmers are often so afraid of failing that they are unable

                                        to perform well.  Swimmers can also fear the pressure of

                                        succeeding. 

What can parents do to help our kids swim faster?

    Providing unconditional support for your swimmers will create an environment where your child is not afraid to fail or succeed.  Support the coaches so your child knows who to listen to for swimming instruction.  A long term view to swimming improvement will help both swimmer and parent get through the tougher times in swimming.

What can I do to help at a meet?

    The meets that Scenic City hosts are very important to our club.  A lot of work and many different jobs go into putting on a successful meet.  Selling ads for our heat sheets & our website is an area we can use everyone.  The money generated from the meets goes toward our activities such as Six Flags & the Lake Party and it helps us keep our fees lower (Check out Nashville or Birmingham fees sometime). 

    We will have a volunteer sign-up form at each pool about a month before each meet.  Most jobs can be learned quickly, so you do not need any experience.

    Each team is required to have officials - a team can never have too many certified officials.  If you are interested in officiating for USA swimming meets please get in touch with John Woods or Roger Dahlke.

What kind of suit do we need?

    Girls need a one piece competition style suit & boys will need either a jammer or a speedo.  Scenic City has team suits, but they are not required.

What other activities do you all do?

    We do many other activities throughout the year: 

            1. Swimmers in the superstars-seniors have dryland offered a couple times a week to help strengthen the core

                muscles.

            2. Christmas parties for each group.

            3. The blue and green group went to the movies twice during the school year.

            4. We participate in a couple of local runs (Race-For-The-Cure).

            5. We have a Lake Party the end of May every season (@The McCallie Lake).

            6. This summer we rafted the Hiawasee & Ocoee Rivers.

            7. We swam in meets at some of the nicest facilities in the Southeast.

            8. We took a bus to Six Flags this summer.

            9. Team Travel Meet - This year the team swam in a meet in Sarasota, FL & last summer we went to Puerto Rico.

           10. Distance Challenge Meet

           11. Swim with you clothes practice

    Scenic City is a team and we believe that doing activities outside of the pool helps build a sense of team.  The secret to having fun is .... getting involved and participating as much as possible at practice and other activities.

Can we take a month off during the season & what do we need to do to inform SCAC so our billing is correct?

    We encourage our swimmers to swim throughout the entire season, but we are aware that it is impossible to do everything.  You can take off during the season - we ask that you write a note to your coach with your name and when you will stop swimming and when you plan to return to practice (this will help us with the billing).  Also write a note on your bill and mail it to the business office.