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Gators Swim Club
The Gator’s Swim Club is a USA Swimming team that has a history spanning over 40 years. Gator’s are dedicated to providing a fun and challenging program for most ages that will enable swimmers to improve their ability and excel in the sport.
Questions? Please email Gators Head Coach Blake at bunderhill@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us.
Gators 23-24 Swim Season Information
- The 23-24 Gators swim season is from September 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024.
- Registration for the 23-24 Gators swim season is Wednesday August 9th beginning at 9am.
- Everyone that wants to continue swimming Gators MUST register for the 23-24 swim season.
- If a swimmer does not wish to continue swimming into September or Fall, do not register for the 23-24 swim season. The last day of practice is Thursday August 31, 2023 and there will be no penalty or cancellation fee for stopping swim team on this date.
- Gators is an auto-debit activity. Auto-debit charges the credit card you sign up with on the first of every month.
- After registering for the 23-24 swim season, if at any time you would like to cancel please send an email at least two weeks prior to the 1st of the month to recreation@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us. There is a $24 cancellation fee.
- NEW! The Caiman Swim Academy is a program designed to prepare children to become a part of our competitive swim team. Swimmers will learn the basics of competitive swimming including stroke technique, interval training, turns and dives, and much more. The Caiman Swim Academy is split into two different groups - Green and Black - which are each designed for kids of different skill levels. Please see below for descriptions of the different groups.
Parent Meeting
No parent meetings are currently planned. Please check back here for the next parent meeting date and time.
Try-Outs
Gators Caiman Black is currently full. Try-outs are being held for Stroke Development, Juniors, and Seniors.
Please fill out this form if your child is interested in trying out: Gators Try-Out Form
USA Swimming registration
All Groups except the Caiman Swim Academy (formerly Pre-Team) are required to have a USA Swimming membership (Caiman is highly encouraged!). You can register by visiting the following link: https://omr.usaswimming.org/omr/welcome/856BF8CB110447.
Gators Information Packet
Updated Gators information packet coming soon!
Practice Times:
- Caiman Green: 6:15pm-7:00pm Mon-Thu
- Caiman Black: 6:15pm-7:00pm Mon-Fri
- Stroke Development: 6:00pm-7:00pm Mon-Fri
- Juniors: 4:30pm-6:00pm Mon-Fri
- Seniors: 4:30pm-6:15pm Mon-Fri & 9:00am-10:45am Sun
Fees:
Auto-Debited the 1st of every month. 15% sibling discount offered.
- Caiman Green: $18 Resident / $21 Non-Resident per session
- Caiman Black: $82 Resident / $96 Non-Resident
- Stroke Development: $110 Resident / $128 Non-Resident
- Juniors: $164 Resident / $192 Non-Resident
- Seniors: $221 Resident / $257 Non-Resident
Why are the prices so different this year? Great question! Gators will be taking the month of August 2024 off, which is reflected in the monthly pricing. For Senior Group, there is also an additional practice on Sundays this season (except on swim meet days) that is reflected in the prices.
Questions? Please email Head Coach Blake at bunderhill@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
Please note:
High-Use Facility: This is a high-use facility with multiple programs happening at a time. During your reservation time, other programs may be occurring that have loud music or amplified sound.
Verification of Residency: Proof of household address may be requested at any time to verify residency. This may be in the form of a utility bill or rental lease.
Green Group: For kids with limited swimming experience who are able to swim 25 yards without stopping.
- The Green Group is split into 4 different one-week sessions, each focusing on a different aspect of competitive swimming. Each session is 4 days long (Monday-Thursday) and swimmers are encouraged and expected to attend all 4 days in each session in order to promote their success and development!
- While you may register for as many or as little sessions as you like, the more you register for the better your technique will get.
- Session dates/times:
- Session 1: 09/11-09/14: Freestyle
- Session 2: 09/18-09/21: Backstroke
- Session 3: 09/25-09/28: Breaststroke
- Session 4: 10/02-10/05: Skills and Drills
- Session 5: 10/09-10/12: Freestyle
- Session 6: 10/16-10/19: Backstroke
- Session 7: 10/23-10/26: Breaststroke
- Session 8: 10/30-11/02: Skills and Drills
Black Group (Previously Pre-Team): For kids with some experience swimming – able to swim 50 yards of freestyle with side breathing, 25 yards of backstroke, 25 yards of breaststroke with correct kick, and demonstrate proper dolphin kick.
- Black Group swimmers must pass a swim test in order to qualify. The Black Group meets 5 days per week for 45 minutes per day. Swimmers register for the whole season and are billed monthly. Swimmers are encouraged and expected to attend at least 3 days per week in order to promote their success and development as a swimmer!
Stroke Development: The El Cerrito Gators Stroke Development is a great group for younger children with some experience on a competitive swim team. This group builds upon what children learn from the Pre-Team. It is designed to prepare children for swim meets and more advanced groups by introducing them to how competition works, improving their speed and endurance, and learning many physical and mental strategies to keep them healthy and happy.
- Must be able to demonstrate the following to qualify:
- Swim all four competitive strokes with no major technique flaws.
- Comfortably swim 200 yards of freestyle, 100 yards of backstroke and breaststroke, and 50 yards of butterfly; demonstrating proper underwaters, flip turns, and touch turns throughout.
- Swim 50 yards of each different kind of kick (dolphin, breaststroke, and flutter) in under 1 minute and 15 seconds.
- Stroke Development meets 5 days per week for 1 hour per day. Swimmers register for the whole season and are billed monthly. Swimmers are encouraged and expected to attend at least 4 days per week in order to promote their success and development as a swimmer!
Junior Group: The El Cerrito Gators Junior Group is designed for children with a moderate amount of competitive swimming experience. It is focused on refining technique, improving speed and endurance, and working towards achieving personal goals set by swimmers. This group utilizes longer and more intense practices to help build speed and endurance, and both physically and mentally prepare swimmers for competition at a higher level. As with previous groups this is still designed to be a fun and engaging environment that helps swimmers work on important life skills and educates them in how to maintain and improve their physical and mental well-being.
- Must be able to demonstrate the following to qualify:
- Swim 4x100 of freestyle on an interval of 1 minute and 40 seconds.
- Swim 4x100 of backstroke on an interval of 1 minute and 50 seconds.
- Swim 4x100 of breaststroke on an interval of 2 minutes.
- Swim a 100 of butterfly faster than 1 minute and 50 seconds.
- Swim 4x50 of flutter kick on an interval of 1 minute.
- Swim 4x50 of dolphin kick on an interval of 1 minute.
- Swim 4x50 of breaststroke kick on an interval of 1 minute.
- Good technique for all 4 strokes with no major flaws.
- Correct flip and touch turns with no major flaws and utilize them correctly when swimming.
- Correct underwaters for each stroke and utilize them when appropriate.
- A thorough understanding of interval training, swimming sets, and common language used with a competitive swim team.
- Junior Group meets 5 days per week for 1 hour and 15 minutes per day. Swimmers register for the whole season and are billed monthly. Swimmers are encouraged and expected to attend at least 5 days per week in order to promote their success and development as a swimmer!
Senior Group: The El Cerrito Gators Senior Group is designed for swimmers with a large amount of prior competitive experience. It is a serious competitive group focused on increasing the competitive performance of its members. This group is designed to help swimmers achieve their competitive goals and help them reach their full potential as an athlete. As with all other groups there is an emphasis on learning how to improve physical and mental health, as well as facilitating personal growth.
- Must be able to demonstrate the following to qualify:
- Swim 4x100 of freestyle on an interval of 1 minute and 20 seconds.
- Swim 4x100 of backstroke on an interval of 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Swim 4x100 of breaststroke on an interval of 1 minute and 35 seconds.
- Swim a 100 of butterfly in under 1 minute and 15 seconds.
- Complete 4x100 of flutter kick, breaststroke kick, and dolphin kick on an interval of 1 minute and 45 seconds.
- Demonstrate refined techniques for all strokes, turns, starts, and underwaters.
- Senior Group meets 5 days per week for 1 hour and 30 minutes per day. Swimmers register for the whole season and are billed monthly. Swimmers are encouraged and expected to attend at least 5 days per week in order to promote their success and development as a swimmer!