The Bexley Marlins Swim Team is a is a recreational competitive swim team operated through Bexley Parks & Recreation and participates in the Tri-County Aquatic League. The upcoming season will operate May-Jul 2022 and is open to swimmers ages 5-18 interested in competitive swimming. Coaches will work with swimmers to develop four competitive swim strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly). The Swim Team is open to all Bexley residents; a pool membership is not necessary.
Registration and Costs – Online registration begins April 25, 2022 , 2022 (and ends May 23, 2022).
<WILL BE POSTED> – Coach Taylor and her staff are excited for the summer!
Code of Conduct – For the 2022 season, this will be in place for all parents, 10+ swimmers and all varsity swimmers.
<WILL BE POSTED> – PDF reference of all materials shared at the 2022 Parent Meeting.
<WILL BE POSTED> – Covers practice schedules.
Program Requirements:
Swimmer safety is the top priority of the Bexley Marlins Swim Team. Coaches will observe and evaluate swimmers the first week of practices. To ensure a safe environment for all, swimmers must be able to meet the following minimum requirements:
- Swimmers must be able to enter the water on their own and without a parent on deck
- Swimmers need to be comfortable swimming in deep water
- Swimmers must be able to continuously swim a minimum distance of freestyle without stopping or treading water
- Ages 5-6: 25 yards
- Ages 7-8: 50 yards
- Ages 9 & older: 100 yards
If the coaching staff feel that a swimmer does not meet these minimum requirements and is not yet ready for competitive swimming, the swimmer will be referred for additional swimming lessons and parents will receive a pro-rated return of the program registration fee. We encourage all parents to objectively consider the swimming ability of their child and the program requirements before registering him/her for the team.
Team Divisions & Age Groups
The Bexley Marlin Swim Team will be divided into two team divisions, Varsity and Junior Varsity. Swimmers will compete within their age groups at meets, but the team divisions will practice separately and have different levels of expectations for practice intensity and attendance.
Ages 5-6:
- All swimmers in this age group will participate in the JV division
- Swimmers will practice two days a week
Ages 7-8:
- All swimmers in this age group will participate in the JV division
- Swimmers will practice three days a week
Ages 9-10:
- Swimmers will generally participate in the JV division, though experienced competitive swimmers (e.g., club level swimmers) may request an evaluation from the Head Coach if they would like to practice with the Varisty division
- The Head Coach will have sole discretion on the assignment of 9-10 age group swimmers to the Varsity division
- Swimmers will practice five days a week
Ages 11 & older:
- All swimmers will participate in the Varsity division
- Swimmers will practice five days a week
Practice Schedule By Division
Swimmers should arrive at the pool 15 minutes before practice start time to stretch and get ready. Swimmers are expected to enter the water at scheduled practice start time.
- U6 group will practice on Monday/Wednesday 8-9am
- U8 group will practice on Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 8-9am
- U10 group will practice Monday-Friday 8-9am
- U12-U18 groups will practice Monday-Friday 7-8am
Swim Meets
There will be an Intersquad meet and six swim meets during the regular season. Parents will receive an email to a link to a Google survey approximately 10 days prior to a meet so they can indicate if their swimmer will attend the meet. Parents with multiple children on the team will need to complete a survey for each.
Coaches will determine event assignments and will strive to give each swimmer a chance to participate in multiple events over the course of the season.
Any changes or updates to a meet (e.g., inclement weather) will be communicated through the Remind app.
TCAL Championship Meet
The league championship meet is the final meet of the season. Qualified swimmers may swim up to two individual events and two relays. Swimmers must swim in at least three league meets during the regular TCAL season to qualify for the Championship meet.
Swimmers must have TCAL sanctioned times for Championship events, meaning that swimmers can only be entered into a Championship event that they have swum legally during the a TCAL meet.
If a meet is cancelled due to inclement weather, the meet will still count towards the Championship requirements so long as both coaches agree to the cancellation and an alternative date was unavailable.
Tri-County Aquatic League
Founded in 1971, the Tri-County Aquatic League is a not-for-profit, summer youth swim league composed of community teams in three central-Ohio counties: Fairfield, Franklin and Licking. The goal of the league is to develop young competitive swimmers in a fun, family-friendly environment. League season begins in early June and ends in July. Teams participate in a variety of meets throughout the season. Dual and tri-meets are typical and occasionally an invitational is held. The season ends with a league championship meet for all teams. With a few league modifications, the swimming rules are those of United States Swimming.
The league composed of 13 teams: Baltimore, Bexley, Canal Winchester, Chevington Woods, Granville, Groveport, Huntington Hills, Johnstown-Northridge, Moundbuilders Country Club, Muskingum, Pataskala, Pickerington, and Valley View Country Club.