Placement in a particular squad is at the discretion of the coaches and may be influenced by factors other than the swimmer’s current technique.
ACADEMY 1 (OR SILVER)
Requirements to join squad
- Preferably 8 years old (7 if very strong swimmer, clearly able to complete all elements of trial and mature enough to focus for 45 minutes and change independently)
- Demonstrate good water confidence
- Demonstrate a handstand and a forward somersault in water (does not have to be perfect but need to demonstrate confidence and orientation underwater)
- Can swim underwater for 5 metres
- Swim 25 metres of basic front crawl and back crawl without stopping
- Swim 25 metres of basic breast stroke without stopping
- Swim 25 meters of basic butterfly without stopping
- Swim 100m of any stroke
- Tread water for 30 seconds using any leg kick maintaining position in pool
- During a trial session demonstrate good stamina and focus throughout, following instructions and keeping to the pace of other swimmers in the lane.
(Equivalent to Wave 6)
Focus of squad
- Developing basic strokes
- Improving stamina
- Working on core aquatic skills (breathing, rotation, streamlining)
- Introducing diving and other starts
- Developing lane discipline, focus and concentration
- Introducing fins
- Working towards Academy Gold criteria
ACADEMY 2 (OR GOLD)
Requirements to join squad
- Demonstrate an underwater push and glide with 3 dolphin kicks into 25m continuous front crawl
- Demonstrate an underwater push and glide with 3 dolphin kicks into 25m continuous back crawl
- Swim 25m breaststroke demonstrating the correct stroke sequence – pull/breath/kick/glide
- Swim 25m head led dolphin kick (assisted with fins)
- Swim 15m continuous butterfly
- Swim 50m any stroke, following basic stroke rules, with a legal turn and finish
- Demonstrate a forward somersault underwater turning straight over the central axis
- Perform a sitting and standing dive from poolside
- Demonstrate strong focus concentration and stamina throughout the session
(Equivalent to wave 7)
Focus of squad
- Continuing to develop basic strokes
- Introducing basic FINA rules (starts, stroke, turns, finish)
- Improving stamina ready for 90 min training session
- Continuing to develop core aquatic skills
- Improving dives/starts/turns
- Working towards criteria for Development
DEVELOPMENT
Requirements to join squad
- Demonstrate an underwater push and glide on front with 3 dolphin kicks into 50m continuous front crawl with a tumble turn
- Demonstrate an underwater push and glide on back with 3 dolphin kicks into 50m continuous back crawl with a legal turn
- Demonstrate an underwater push and glide with 3 dolphin kicks into 25m butterfly following FINA stroke rules
- Swim 50m breast stroke with correct stroke sequence and turn/finish
- Swim 100m continuously of any stroke demonstrating good basic technique and legal touches/turns
- Swim 100 medley in correct order with legal touches/turns
- Perform a basic dive from the block
- Demonstrate strong focus, concentration, and stamina throughout the session
Focus of Squad
- Work to move strokes from basic to efficient with a greater focus on breathing/timing
- Continue to develop competitive starts and turns and introduce the BR underwater phase
- Develop stamina and work towards a 400m continuous swim in front crawl and a 200m continuous swim in back crawl
- Develop ability to independently follow a coach prescribed set using pace clock and demonstrating good technique, including starts and turns
- Work towards criteria for advanced development
ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT
Requirements to join squad
- Demonstrate the correct underwater phase for each competitive stroke
- Demonstrate a racing start into each competitive stroke
- Legally swim 400m of front crawl and 200m back crawl from a racing start demonstrating efficient technique with correct touches and turns
- Swim 100m of breast stroke as above
- Swim 50m butterfly as above
- Demonstrate an understanding of swimming off a time by swimming an 8 x 50m set of front crawl off a time set by the coach using the pace clock
- Swim at least 15m underwater fly kick from wall (with Fins) holding streamline
Focus of squad
- Focus on different types of training (aerobic/speed)
- Introduce proper sprint training
- Focus on improving all strokes to become efficient
- Use warm up and cool down effectively
- Use consistent and effective drills to improve strokes
- Improve stamina by introducing longer main sets and increasing overall distance
- Improve effectiveness of underwater phase
- Working towards criteria for Regional Performance
REGIONAL PERFORMANCE
- Demonstrate a racing start for each competitive stroke with correct underwater phase and smooth transition straight into a 25m sprint with legal finish
- Swim 400m front crawl following FINA rules from a racing start with legal turns and correct finish in less than 7:00
- Swim 200m back crawl following FINA rules from a racing start with legal turns and finish
- Swim 200m breast stroke following FINA rules from a racing start with legal turns and finish
- Swim at least 20m underwater fly kick from wall (with fins) holding streamline
- Swim 200m medley from racing start in correct order following FINA stroke rules and with legal turns and finish
- Demonstrate that all 4 strokes are efficient and #1 stroke is moving towards effective
Focus of Squad
- Develop strokes towards effective
- Achieve regional qualification times
- Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of stroke and race rules
- Continue to develop fitness and independence in training
- 400m FC time trial – improve stamina
- Introduce threshold training to older swimmers using 10 x 100m threshold sets at a coach set pace