lakeridgeswimteam.com

Lakeridge Swim Team

About our program

Thank you for your interest in Lakeridge Swim Team, an atypical year-round competitive USA Swimming program since 1989. First, Lakeridge Swim Team is a program that recognizes and embraces the compatible nature of not one, but two sports: swimming and triathlon. Lakeridge is comprised of both lesson and competitive swimming and triathlon programs for children, ages 2 through young adult. From blowing bubbles to US Olympic Team Trials, USAT Junior Elite National Championships (ages 16-19), and Youth Elite National Championships (ages 13-15), Lakeridge Swim Team provides aquatic opportunities to children of all abilities and levels of commitment in both disciplines.

Next, the Lakeridge staff brings many years of coaching and athletic experience. Lakeridge Swim Team has had the same head coach for longer than any swim team in Northern Nevada; since 1989, Head Coach Sharon Weiss has been working with all levels of the team. Similarly, Senior Coach Nenad Rodic has been with Lakeridge since 1997. A strong knowledge base in human development, sports performance, swimming, and triathlon facilitates the process of developing young athletes, beginning with basic swim instruction; throughout its history, a vast majority of Lakeridge Swim Team’s fastest swimmers and record holders were taught how to swim at Lakeridge, beginning in the lesson program, and advancing from Stroke Class, to Bronze, Silver, and Gold. From basic instruction to national competition, for over twenty years the staff of Lakeridge Swim Team has been guiding children and adolescents through childhood and through adolescence, and consistently with excellence and fun. In addition, the staff’s successful integration of appropriate and effective training for both competitive swimming and triathlon offers mutual benefit to swimmers and triathletes alike.

What’s in a Swim Season?

Given the technically and physically demanding nature of swimming, we train year round, with one week off in August (aptly named ‘Week 52’). Regular attendance at training sessions for all levels is always encouraged and promoted, as it is believed that consistency is essential for maximizing individual potential. In addition, swimmers who attend regularly also tend to have better rates of improvement, connection with their teammates, and maintained interest in participating than swimmers whose attendance is less consistent. At the same time, the level of commitment that each swimmer and family has to this consistency is entirely their own and we appreciate a full range of commitment levels to swimming. While we certainly offer recommendations and guidance in this regard throughout each swimming career, we have no attendance requirements, with two exceptions: 1) Swimmers are expected to maintain appropriate levels of fitness for the group to which he or she belongs (e.g., make intervals, etc.) and 2) Team travel for senior competitions.

Based on the specific and individual needs of our swimmers and team, we participate in local, regional, and national meets as indicated. We travel as necessary for the development of our athletes, but we also keep travel to a minimum so as to minimize the financial burden on our families. We are active participants in USA Swimming competitions, from local Zone 4 meets to Pacific and USA Swimming competitions throughout the year. Swim meets are a fun and rewarding way of measuring and fostering personal improvement, applying race strategies, and spending time with friends, teammates, and family. While many young swimmers enjoy personal improvement and best times throughout each season, senior swimmers come to focus on personal improvement throughout a season, but best times at the end or peak of each season.

How to Register

Upon joining Lakeridge Swim Team, we ask that you do the following to complete your registration.

Step 1 Lakeridge Swim Team Registration Form
Please fill out form completely and return hard copy, including all pertinent medical information about your child.

Team Registration Form

Step 2 Safe Sport Policy & Acknowledgement
Safe Sport – The US Center for SafeSport is a national nonprofit organization providing education, resources, and training to promote respect and prevent abuse in sport. In accordance with SafeSport and USA Swimming, Lakeridge Swim Team also provides this education and abides by the guidelines that have been set forth. As such, we require acknowledgement of our Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy. Please review the policy and materials provided on our SafeSport page and submit a signed copy of the Acknowledgement form with your team registration form.

Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy

Safe Sport Acknowledgement Form

Step 3 USA Swimming Athlete Registration
Lakeridge Swim Team is a member in good standing of USA Swimming (LSC – Local Swim Committee, Pacific Swimming), our governing body. Accordingly, all of its swimmers and staff members maintain current annual registration in order to be eligible for training as well as competing, etc. USA Swimming has no grace period for athletes and non-athlete members to comply with this important requirement.

Email Sharon (sharonaw@sbcglobal.net) for our team registration link with USA Swimming. All swimmers in Stroke Class, Bronze, Bronze Advanced, Silver, and Gold groups must be registered regardless of competition status.

Lakeridge Swim Team
Club Code: LAKE
Local Swim Committee (LSC): Pacific Swimming (PC)

FEES	Monthly Dues Effective 9/1/24	Monthly Dues Effective 9/1/24	Monthly Dues Effective 9/1/24	2024 Annual Team Fee	2024 Annual Team Fee	2024 Annual Team Fee
Group	1st Swimmer	2nd Swimmer	3rd Swimmer	Full Year (Jan-Dec)	2nd Half (Jun-Dec)	*High School
Gold	$312	$265	$198	$380	$190	$170
Silver	$247	$210	$158	$310	$155	$170
Bronze Advanced	$202	$172	$151	$260	$130	$170
Bronze	$182	$155	$117	$260	$130	$170
Stroke Class	$117	$108	$95	$140	$70	$170

1.  Annual Fees – To cover the costs of running our program, this is a fee everyone pays based on the training group they are in at the time the fee is due (either upon joining or at the start of a new year). This cooperative team fee covers everything from our pool use fees to special events (e.g., Annual Awards Banquet, Black & Blue Meet, etc.), equipment, and the like. This fee can be made in payments. See Sharon.

2. Monthly Dues – Please see above. Payable by the 10th of each month. Thank you.

3. USA Swimming – Please see above.

*High School-only swimmers are welcome at Lakeridge and pay a reduced annual fee for training during the high school season. High-school swimmers are welcome to begin training as early as December and their annual fee is good through May. In the event a high school-only swimmer wishes to continue training year-round, and we hope they do, the same reduced fee works great for this first year and they can pick up the full annual fee for their group the following year.

Fundraising

Lakeridge Swim Team Mission Statement: With inspiration from the aims of our governing body (USA Swimming) and the Olympic Movement, Lakeridge Swim Team strives to provide a positive and safe swimming environment for young people, combining an emphasis on the technical, psychological, and social aspects of swimming as a sport and as a lifelong skill. We are committed to excellence as well as the enrichment of our sport. In the spirit of Olympism, we “seek to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”. Our mission begins with a love of swimming, and extends to the broad range of individual goals and abilities of our members.

What has Lakeridge Swim Team accomplished? Since 1989, when Lakeridge Swim Team began as a year-round program, our goal of providing a swim program to a diverse group of young athletes has been achieved in many equally unique ways. First, our athletes have acquired a host of the finest skills necessary to compete locally, regionally, and at the state and national levels.  From Stroke Class through the Gold Group, many swimmers have gone on to swim in college, some on academic and/or athletic scholarship. Lakeridge swimmers, most of whom begin their careers in our Stroke Class, are among the hardest-working and best conditioned student-athletes at a meet, as well as often being cited as having exceptional stroke technique. This has been evidenced over the years by Pacific and USA Swimming Age Group Rankings and Scholastic All-America; Junior Olympic, Far Western, and Nevada State Championships finalists, champions, and record holders; High School Zone and State finalists, champions, and record holders; Junior National Championships qualifiers, finalists, and a champion, US National Championships qualifiers; and US Olympic Team Trials qualifiers. In growing numbers, beyond age group swimming & meet results, Lakeridge Swim Team Alumni comprise an extraordinary group of adults making important contributions in myriad disciplines and social spheres.

Whether swimmers choose to swim as a means of exercise, training for competition, or devotion to full potential, Lakeridge Swim Team welcomes swimmers who present unique ability levels and goals.  With a focus on an individual’s personal improvement, Lakeridge swimmers have enjoyed success at all levels of swimming, while they have developed lasting friendships, a strong work ethic, discipline, commitment, and the understanding that success is a process, not a mere destination.

Taking our program on the road: Each year our competitive program is structured so that our swimmers have an opportunity to compete in approximately one swim meet per month, with the swimmers’ training being geared toward 2-4 championship meets per year. Lakeridge coaches also attend approximately 1 meet per month, and travel when necessary, to out-of- town meets deemed appropriate for suitable competition not available locally.

Travel assistance for coaches and swimmers: Lakeridge Swim Team espouses many of the ideas and goals of USA Swimming, for example, a commitment “to excellence and the improvement of our sport”. Specific to competition, USA Swimming (through its local swim committees – ours is Pacific) “helps defray the travel costs of athlete members competing in the National Championships, Trials classes of meets, and the U.S. Open.”  Individual swim teams around the country supplement this travel assistance through a variety of fundraisers (i.e. hosting several swim meets throughout the year, swim-a-thons, and so on).  Lakeridge Swim Team’s need for swimmer and coach travel assistance is considerably lower than average swim teams, due in part to its relatively small size, and coupled with our philosophy that a swimmer’s Championship swimming should be limited to 1-2 meets per season. With this, Lakeridge hosts 1-2 fundraisers (e.g., Donner Lake Swim with Sierra Nevada Masters) annually to supplement our Annual Team Fee, especially useful in travel costs. Our membership both appreciates and rallies for each effort, knowing that fundraising efforts are team building as well as essential for opportunity.

Fundraising at Lakeridge Swim Team:  As stated above, our annual budget is kept to a minimum for several distinct reasons, the first of which is the fact that our relatively small team size precludes us from having an excess of Junior & Senior National qualifiers. Second is our belief that qualified swimmers should be adequately prepared for their championship meet.  With this in mind, a swimmer only receives travel meet support, for example entry fees, if he/she has met the 80% attendance requirement. We understand the many financial and time commitments that families are devoted to every year, from our local schools to other extracurricular groups to charities. With this, we keep it simple; we provide opportunities for swimmers to go as far as their work and ambition take them. We also support the coaches whose job it is to guide the process. Just as Lakeridge swimmers train in a cooperative environment, we rely on the cooperative principle when it comes to fundraising; we encourage willing and enthusiastic participation by all, starting with our parents. In this way, the many hands that comprise Lakeridge Swim Team make light work and a strong collective.

Thank You.