Eligibility

Swim Team Eligibility

• The Swim Team is open to swimmers who are age 5* or older and under 19 years of age on June 1^st. (*If on Day 1 of Pre Season a 4 year old shows that they can complete the required standards of safety/criteria, they will be able to join the first week of Pre-Season practice. After that, they will need to meet the same criteria to make the team re: time qualification).
• You must be a current member of Overlee Community Association. Inactive members are not eligible for Swim Team.
• During Pre-Pre Season (May 10-14^th), Coach Katie, Coach Beth and their assistant coaches will spend time assessing 8&unders to evaluate whether a swimmer meets the initial Swim Team eligibility criteria for safety reasons. All swimmers must demonstrate that they can continually swim the entire length of the pool without stopping and/or hanging on lane lines or the wall in both freestyle and backstroke without assistance. Swimmers must also be able to tread water for 30 seconds on Day 1 (May 10) and for a minute by the end of the week (May 14) for safety reasons.
• 8&unders who can pass this initial safety requirement will be placed in the appropriate practice group. Group lessons will be available for those who cannot meet minimum safety requirements. Coach Katie and Coach Beth are happy to reevaluate any swimmers throughout the summer.
• At the end of that first week, a second assessment/time trial will be performed as detailed below. Attending the assessment is mandatory. Please contact the Team Reps if your child will be absent for the swim test due to illness or a school event. Make-up times should be arranged prior to the test. Overlee provides an extensive swim lesson program for those working towards meeting eligibility requirements. 

If your swimmer is registered for Swim Team and after assessments the coaches determine that he or she does not meet the eligibility requirements for Swim Team, your swimmer will be put on a waitlist and told that more lessons are needed to progress to the level of Swim Team. If your child is asked to take more lessons in order to be eligible for the Swim Team (due to safety reasons), your child may ask for an assessment later in the season to qualify for Swim Team.

• Swim team qualifications will be based on a time standard or cutoff determined by the coaches after the time trial. The cut off times will depend on a variety of factors including how many 8&unders we have swimming and COVID restrictions on how many swimmers we can put in each lane. As guidance, in 2018 the freestyle time range for 8&u on Swim Team was 21.09-32.17 and for backstroke it was 25.99-40.17. But please remember this range is subject to change and determining what the 2021 cut off times are will be a number driven situation. 
• Swim Team swimmers must be able to meet the following standards: 
• Successful completion of 25 meters of Freestyle.  Head-first starts are desired and expected to compete in Saturday meets but coaches’ discretion will be used in final determination of selecting Saturday swimmers.  
• Side breathing is required.  Swimmer must maintain a horizontal body position at all times, swim the entire length of the pool without stopping, and may not stand, grab and/or pull on the lane lines.
• Successful completion of 25 meters of Backstroke.  Swimmers must stay on their backs for the entire length of the pool, and must be on their backs when they touch the wall at the finish.   Swimmer must maintain a horizontal body position at all times, swim the entire length of the pool without stopping, and may not stand, grab and/or pull on the lane lines.
• One minute of treading water.  The head must stay above the surface for the entire minute.
• Once a child has passed the swim test, he or she does not need to take the test again. However, the coaching staff reserves the right to re-test any swimmer at any time.
• For safety reasons, swimmers who do not meet the Swim Team eligibility criteria will be placed on a “needs lessons” list as there is no School of Fish for 2021.