Novice Age Group I Age Group II Age Group III Senior I Senior II National

Swim Level - Novice FAQ

How does my swimmer advance?

The main goal of Novice is to prepare swimmers for competition by becoming “Competition Certified”. We will prepare swimmers for all aspects of competitive swimming. We will be judging swimmers on their proficiency of swimming skills using the USA Swimming rules and regulations as our guideline. We want them to be able to perform legal strokes as defined by USA Swimming. Once they have their certificate we can move them into the appropriate Age-Group level. Moving from Age-Group to Novice will only occur during the first two weeks of the session. Advancement criteria between all other levels can be found on the Swim Levels page of the website.

What is the mock swim meet?

The mock swim meet is run during the 7 th week of the session. Swimmers will compete against the clock with swim meet like conditions. The coaching staff will attempt to run swimmers through all aspects of swim meet procedures. The times recorded during the mock swim meet will not count as real times as they require a sanctioned swim meet to count.

How do I sign-up for swim meets?

Swim meet information will be posted on the Meet Information page of the website. The first page usually contains the dates, times of warm-ups and competition, and the site for the meet. The fees for competition can be found on subsequent pages. The event order will be listed on the last few pages of the document. To complete the sign-up process you will need a meet sign-up envelope. Coaches will be handing these envelopes out at the pool 2-3 weeks before the meet depending on how quickly meet information becomes available to the coaches. The coaching staff will pick suggested events for the swimmer. If you have questions about events that were selected please email the coach or talk to the coach after practice. Some events may seem difficult and intimidating, but the coach has the best intentions for picking events. Please return the envelope to the coach with a check for all meet fees. Please remember there is a $10 processing fee for each swimmer entered in a meet and all checks are made payable to ACAC.

Is there a team uniform?

You will be given a T-Shirt and a cap for your very first registration with ACAC. Team suits are not required. However, we strongly encourage them as it is very important to look like a team during competitions. Wearing a team cap and team suit during swim meets will also help you to identify your swimmer at meets. There is no swim suit uniform for practices. We suggest that females wear a one-piece swim suit. We suggest that boys wear jammers or briefs. Board shorts or trunks for boys are very large suits and can weigh down a swimmer making it hard for them to perform technique correctly. All practice suits can be ordered online. We have a link to our vendor, “Action Accents”.

How can I obtain more information?

Please visit our parent’s page on the website. We have posted several articles that will help you better understand the sport of swimming.