Saluki Swim Club FAQ

Why Saluki Swim Club? Swimming is more than just a summer pastime. It’s a life skill. Based on principles of safety, swimming can save lives in any season. Reinforce to your child that water safety is crucial year-round. It’s not just limited to beach vacations. Consistent swimming will instill a deep understanding of water safety, ensuring students remain secure in water throughout the year.

Competitive swimming is one of the best full-body workouts available. It builds strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness while being low-impact, reducing the risk of injury. Swimming engages all major muscle groups, promoting balanced muscular development. 

Numerous studies have shown that student-athletes often perform better academically. The discipline and focus required in swimming translates to the classroom, where kids learn to apply the same dedication and perseverance.

How to Join and Registration Schedule an evaluation with Saluki Swim Club by contacting Coach Thomas at [email protected]. We offer 3 levels of swim lessons and our year round competitive team has 5 levels.  All levels are based on skill and not age. The evaluation process allow us to see which level is right for your swimmer.

Once you know which level is right for your swimmer, Go to our website’s home page and click on the green registration button for the competitive team and the red swim school button for lessons. Be sure to contuse until you see the “success” message.

SIU Rec Center While most of our workouts are at the SIU Rec Center, we are not affiliated with SIU. We rent out pool space from the Rec. Parents that wish to use the Rec,  to workout during practice must purchase a membership from the member services desk. 

Parking at the Rec The number one rule on campus is to never back into a space. This is a $150 ticket. Parents should never allow young swimmers to walk alone through the parking lot. Escort your swimmers to the door or pool deck. College drivers are not the best at looking out for young swimmers.

What does my swimmer need to bring to practice? Beyond suit goggles and towel, all swimmers should bring a water bottle. There is a list of required equipment on our website under the swim groups tab labeled “equipment by group”.

Billing

• • How do I view my bill? You can view and pay your bill at any time by logging in to our website, click the “my account” icon in the upper right and then click the “billing summary” tab. From here you can view past payments, see current charges and make online payments.
  • How do I pay for meets? Fees will be billed to your account the day after a meet. If you have set up your account to make automatic payments your credit card or bank account will be charged on the date you have selected. Note, if you have a credit card or bank account on file, I cannot see the specific amount information only the name of your type of payment. I also cannot edit this information. You must do this by logging into your account and manually editing it. So if a credit card expires it is up to you to go in and put in the new information.

How do I make a donation to the team? All families are asked to make a donation to the team. This can take one of many different forms. Swimathon, team sponsorship from business, or an in-kind donation of food for a swim meet. 

How to sign my swimmer up for meets To sign your swimmer up for a meet, go to our events page and click on the name of the relevant meet. The first thing to do is read the meet letter. Make sure that the times and location of the event work with your schedule before committing your swimmer to the event. Next to the right of the name of the meet, you'll see a box labeled commitment. Click on this box and under your swimmers name there will be a drop-down tab saying yes or no to committing for the meet. You do not need to pick events for your swimmer, instead in the comments box, please write which days your swimmer will be able to attend. Most of our competitions are three day meets. If you leave this box blank your Coach will assume that your swimmer will be there all three days.

How do I sign up to work at home meets? As a parent, you are required to work at all home meets. Sign up is just like signing your swimmer up for meets. Go to the events page. Look for the event that we are hosting. Click on the green button that says jobs. The most common job that we need parents for is timer. This takes very little training, but is essential for running a home meet.

What do we do if our swimmer is sick If your summer is only going to be out of the water for one or two days, there is no need to contact your coach. However, in the case of something more serious like a broken leg, please let your coach know what is going on and why they will be out of the water.

What do I do if we move or leave the team before the end of the season? The Saluki “season” is August through July. Your fees are calculated to cover one year. If you choose to withdraw your swimmer before your financial obligation has been made your account will be charged a $100 early withdrawal fee.

How will we know when our swimmer is ready to move up? When your swimmers’ coach feels they are ready to move up to the next group, you will be contacted by your coach to let you know of any differences in practice time and/or fees for that group. We will never move your swimmer up without first notifying you. Please be aware moving from one group to the next is not cut and dry. What a swimmer may need to move up in September is very different from what they will need to move up in April or May.

How do I become an official? Each fall we host an officials clinic. No experience or background as a swimmer is necessary.  Becoming an official is a very valuable way to contribute to your child’s sport. The first step is an officials clinic, followed by apprenticing in 4 sessions of meets. This is the best job to work at meets as it gets you an on deck view of the pool and free food during meets.

What are “championship” meets?  Championship meets are end-of-season meets where swimmers must have earned a qualifying time.  Age group swimmers can qualify for Age Group Championships (Ozark Champs), and Zone Championships.  Senior  swimmers (defined as 12 and up but not competing in an age group) can qualify for Ozark Senior Champs, Sectionals Futures and Nationals.  Time standards are listed on the Documents page of our website.

Not seeing the question you are looking for? Contact Coach Thomas Huggins [email protected]