1. Can my child try the Wahoos without cost to see if he/she likes it?
The Wahoos offer a "Try-it" week run by Coach Sam Hafele, The cost is a $25 nonrefundable fee. Try-it week is the opportunity to determine if a child is ready for swim team or needs to take swimming lessons. Fill out the Try-it Week registration form and include check for $25 made out to the Wahoo Swim Team. Mail to PO Box 842, Friendswood, Texas 77549-0842 or bring it to registration April 5th.

2. What are the Wahoos' registration fees? What does the team do with the fee money?
Fees are $125 per swimmer with a family max of $250.. The Wahoos use the money to rent meet pools, buy insurance, pay coaches and life guard salaries, purchase trophies, ribbons and buy team equipment.

3. What if my child doesn't know how to perform all of the strokes well?
Training intensity and duration varies by skill level, age, maturity, etc. The coaches will help make this assessment. Everyone was a beginner once. Our coaches remember that and will help your child improve his/her technique.

4. If I have children in different age groups, will I have to go to different locations for practice?
No, each group has a dedicated leader during each practice at the same practice pool.

5. Can my 9-year old swim with my 12-year old at practices?
As a rule, no; but it could change with the coach's opinion of swimmer's ability. A swimmer may be swimming below age group level, or above age group level. Your child will nominally receive the most effective age-group-specific training when he/she is practicing within his/her own age group.

6. Will my child be required to attend swim meets?
Yes. Participation in meets is the reward for all those practice hours! Swimmers must participate in two of the five regular-season meets to swim in the post-season Champ Series meets and receive a Wahoos’ year-end trophy.

7. Will my child swim with others his/her own age? What will they do during the season?
The Wahoos are a team of  approximately 150 swimmers, ages 5-18. Your child will swim against his/her own aged swimmers. At practice sessions, he/she will be coached by certified coaches who will strive to improve his/her swimming skills and endurance. Your child will practice with other swimmers of similar ability. At meets, there is the opportunity to compete against swimmers from other Clear Lake-area swim teams. The emphasis is on each swimmer's improvement, not on scoring points. In meets, girls swim against girls and boys swim against boys.

8. My child knows how to swim, but is not experienced as a competitive swimmer. Are the Wahoos right for him/her?
We believe so. The Wahoos are committed to teaching/developing talent and good technique in every swimmer, no matter what the starting point.

9. My child cannot swim currently. What can the Wahoos do to help?
The Wahoos require swimmers to be water-safe and be able to swim the length of the pool without touching sides or pool bottom unassisted. "Try - it" week is the time to determine if your child is ready for swim team or needs more lessons. This decision will be made by the Head Coach.

10. How can I get involved with the Wahoos as a volunteer?
Don’t worry, we’ll ask!! One of the Wahoos’ greatest strengths is its large group of talented parent volunteers. We welcome new additions with open arms, and all parents are required to volunteer at the home meets in some respect. Just ask the Board Member on Deck about what the meet volunteer positions are.

11. Who are the Wahoos’ coaches?
The Wahoos have a group of coaches with a great depth of swimming experience up to and including NCAA Division I. All have coaching experience with age-group swimmers in summer league swimming and all have swum for the Wahoos.

12. Do the Wahoos require fundraising?
There are no fundraising fees. We encourage, however, each family to find a sponsor. Securing a sponsor will reduce registration fees $25.00 for every $100.00 in sponsor donations.

13. How long does the Wahoos’ season last?
Practice runs from May 12 thru June 20. Those swimmers who are competing in the Champ Meet Series will continue to practice up until the day before the Champ Meet Series begins.

14. Where do the Wahoos practice?
We practice at Heritage Park Terrace Pool which is located on Beacon View in the Heritage Park Terrace subdivision.

15. How often does my child have to practice?
No one ever has to come to practice; however, very few swimmers improve their techniques and times if they don't come to practice. And you do want your money’s worth, don’t you? Practices are held every weekday and swimmers are encouraged to attend as many as possible. We know there will be instances to cause a missed practice occasionally.

16. Who manages the Wahoos?
The Wahoos are managed by a board of directors consisting of swimmers' parents. The board hires the team's coaches and takes care of the administration of the team.

17. How do I find out if practice is cancelled?
With approximately 150 swimmers, making that many phone calls is impractical. We utilize group email lists and our website as the main means of communicating with parents quickly throughout the season. Thus, it is imperative to submit your email address when registering and to check our  website frequently.  “Practice cancelled” signs will also be placed at the pool.  We do not practice if there is thunder/lightning, but DO hold practice if there is only a mist or drizzle and it is not too cold.

18. Can my child be a member of the Wahoos and still swim for a year-round USA Swimming team?
Absolutely! We are happy to have USA Swimming athletes as part of the team.

19. Do I have to be USA Swimming-registered to swim?
No, we do not require swimmers to be USA-registered. USA Swimming is an organization based in Colorado Springs, CO. It is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States and selects the Olympic swimming team and its coaches. Although the Clear Creek Swim League follows USA Swimming rules, joining that organization is not a requirement.
 

20. Can my child swim for the Wahoos and still play soccer, basketball, do dance or gymnastics and play piano?
Yes! Many Wahoos swimmers are active in other sports and activities. How much you decide to practice is your decision. And because the swim meets have events on only Saturday, you can even swim one day of the weekend and do another activity the other day.

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Questions About MEETS
 

21. Where are meets held?
Most meets are at neighborhood pools and high schools in the Clear Lake area. The best way to get an idea of exactly where meets are held during the season is to check this website’s maps page.

22. When are the meets held and how long do they last?
Regular-season meets are held every Saturday late May through late June. We hold pre-season Time Trials for new swimmers only in mid-May. Post-season meets, the CCSL Novice Meet, Reserve Meet and the Champ Meet, follow the regular season. Although the start times are pretty consistent [8 am], the finish times vary widely depending on the number of swimmers entered. Swimmers can swim up to five events per meet. The meets follow this standard order of events.

23. How much does it cost to enter a meet?
There is no additional cost for regular-season meets. Meet entries are included in your regular-season registration fee. There are usually meet entry fees for the “Last Chance” meet, if one is scheduled, to be paid by individual swimmers. This meet is a post-season meet sponsored by a non-CCSL organization as a fund-raiser, and as an opportunity for swimmers for a “last chance” to achieve champ/reserve times. There are also entry fees for the Champ Series meets, which must be paid by individual swimmers. These are about $5/event per swimmer. Fees such as these can be paid to the Wahoos clerk-of-course, who will then submit payment to the meet focal point when submitting entries.

24. Where do my times come from that are on the meet entry sheets?
The team keeps a database of all times swum by each swimmer. When the events you've chosen for a meet are entered into the computer, it selects your best time for that stroke and distance to use as your seed time.

25. What is the meet called "Last Chance meet"?
This is the last meet of the season where you can get a champ qualifying time prior to the Champ Meet entry deadline. Entries then have to be sent to the team hosting the Champ meet. It's exciting to watch swimmers trying to earn their way to the Champ Meet. This meet is held before the Champ Series meets. The meet is held only if a sponsoring team comes forward to host. 

26. What are "novice,” “reserve" and "champ" times?
The CCSL publishes a series of time standards for boys and girls by age group that are used as a scale to gauge a swimmer's level of achievement in each event. They are, from slowest to fastest, novice, reserve and champ time. Trying to reach the next level in a particular event can be motivational to swimmers. If the swimmer has not swum fast enough to achieve a reserve time, then by default he has a novice time.

27. What are the Novice, Reserve, and Champ Meets?  Who attends?
These are the post-season meets that allow our swimmers to compete against swimmers from all 18 other teams across the CCSL in one meet. There are sometimes as many as 800 swimmers at these meets. The novice is meet is open to any swimmer that has not achieved a reserve or champ time. If a swimmer has swum fast enough to achieve a reserve time, then he may participate in the Reserve Meet. Only swimmers who have swum fast enough to achieve a Champ time may participate in the league’s championship meet, the Champ Meet, the last meet of the season. Frequently, novice or reserve swimmers achieve champ times at the novice or reserve meets and may then move onto the Champ Meet!! The Champ Meet is held after the Novice/Reserve meets. The three meets combined — novice, reserve and champ — are called the Champ Series.

28. How do I find out if a meet is postponed due to rain, etc.?
With 150+ swimmers, making that many phone calls is impractical. We utilize group email lists and our website as the main means of communicating with parents quickly throughout the season. Thus, it is imperative to submit your email address when registering and to check our website frequently. It is updated almost daily during the season, and meet results are posted on the website.

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