HOW OLD DOES MY CHILD HAVE TO BE TO JOIN THE TEAM?

Swimmers must be 4 years old as of May 1st of the season to swim for the Orcas.

HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE TEAM?

Registration for the 2026 season will open in early March 2026. Please register by date TBD in order to guarantee your swimmer will receive a team shirt. The board has to place the orders for team merchandise by this time in order to receive the shirts in time for the season.

WHEN CAN I SIGN UP FOR PRACTICE SCHEDULE?

In May before school is out, practices are in the afternoons. After Memorial Day, morning practices are available at Pine Brook and Brookwood pools. Please see the practices page for more information on dates, times, and locations.

WHICH POOLS WILL WE BE HOLDING PRACTICES?

Pine Brook Pool (afternoon practices, summer morning practices, home meets) - 16220 Park Center Dr, Houston, TX 77059

Brookwood Pool (select summer morning practices) – 11730 Mighty Redwood Dr, Houston, TX 77059

Please see the practice schedule for more information.

WHEN IS THE FIRST PRACTICE?

First practice will be TBD. Bring goggles and a towel. Caps are not required for participation. We do not recommend that you wear your meet suit to practice as practicing in the suit will cause wear. Parents are required to stay for practices if your children are 8 years and under. For those kids over 8 years old, it is up to the parent if they wish to stay and watch practice. Parents must watch outside of the fence at the Pine Brook pool.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH TRYOUTS?

In order for your swimmer to make the team, they must attend tryouts. Tryouts will be held the first week of practice. All new swimmers must tryout, that are new to our team, unless you are a USA swimmer, and demonstrate they can swim across the pool by end of the first full week of practice. Due to the nature of our practices, your swimmer needs to be safe in the water and an independent swimmer. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

WHEN CAN WE BUY OUR SUITS?

Team swim suits information can be out on the Orcas Gear page. Swimmers may wear the team suit or a black suit at meets.

WHAT DAYS DO WE PRACTICE?

Practice is up to 5 days a week (Monday - Friday). Please see the practice schedule for more information on dates, times, and locations.

DO I NEED TO ATTEND EVERY PRACTICE?

We understand that everyone has busy schedules; especially this time of the year while school is winding down. We encourage you to attend as many as you can make to ensure that your swimmers are ready for the meets! We find that swimmers compete better the more that they are practicing.

DO I NEED TO ATTEND EVERY MEET? AND ARE THERE FEES TO ATTEND MEETS?

No, your swimmer is not required to attend every meet however, we would like each swimmer to attend at least 2 meets. There are no additional fees to attend meets. However, if your child ends up qualifying for the Reserve and/or Champ meet at the end of the season (qualifying times are set by the Clear Creek Swim League and the meets are hosted by the Clear Creek Swim League), they must have swam in 2 regular season meets in order to attend.

DO I HAVE TO VOLUNTEER?

Yes! We are a volunteer-run organization. We require one person to be signed up to volunteer from your family if your child is swimming in the meet. You will register for your volunteer position when you register your swimmer for a meet.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT JOBS THAT ARE TYPICALLY AVAILABLE AT MEETS?

• Ready Area - This team helps to keep the meet flowing smoothly. Several parents must corral and organize swimmers before their races.
• Timing & Running - Timers will be provided a stop watch and swimmers’ times are manually recorded on heat sheets. An experienced head timer will coordinate all timers and the runners. Runners are needed to run heat sheets back and forth to the clerk of course.
• Set up/Clean up - This team helps set up tents and facilities used by the team during the meet.
• Concessions - volunteering and providing donations.
• Floaters: Filling in as needed during the meet.

WHAT ABOUT CONCESSIONS?

We will be running our own concessions this year at our home meets. Please be on the lookout for more information.

WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE MEET?

1. Make sure that your swimmers get to the ready area for their events.
2. Make sure that you communicate to the coaches and the board if there are issues. Remember, we have over 175 swimmers so we need you to initiate communication with us.
3. VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER - The meet is run ENTIRELY by parent volunteers. We require you to sign up, show up, and work your shifts so that our kids can enjoy the meet. Registration for volunteer positions happens as part of registering your swimmer for each meet and you are responsible for working if you have a swimmer in the meet.

WHAT IS THE 2025 MEET SCHEDULE?

See 2026 Meet Schedule for more information.

WHERE ARE OUR HOME MEETS?

Pine Brook Pool - 16220 Park Center Dr, Houston, TX 77059

WHO CAN SWIM IN THE MEETS?

All registered and paid swimmers can declare for the meets.

HOW DO I DECLARE FOR THE MEETS?

You will be able to declare for meets on our website on the meet signup page. The overall 2026 meet schedule is available on this page.

WHEN DO I DECLARE FOR THE MEETS?

The deadline for registering for the meet is one week prior to the meet (Sunday at 11:59 p.m.). (Example: The deadline for the meet on May 23rd will be May 17th). If something changes up to the deadline, you may come back and re-enter your information. We will take the latest submission. If something changes after the deadline, you will need to send an e-mail directly to the Orcas Clerk of Course. Please double check that you have registered! We cannot guarantee that we will be able to add your swimmer if you miss the deadline.

WHEN SHOULD I ARRIVE FOR THE MEET?

All swimmers should arrive at the meet pool at 6:30 AM for check-in and warm-ups. Late arrivals can lose their place in an event. You must have your swimmer check-in at the Orca tent or designated check-in spot. If you are not checked in by 7:00 A.M., your swimmer will be scratched from all events. This is a hard deadline and we have no ability to add your swimmer if you are late.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING?

The following is a recommended list of things to either bring or have available:

• Swimsuit
• Googles
• Towels
• Clothing for in between events
• 10 x 10 tent (For outdoor set-up)
• Chairs
• Blanket, air mattress, sleeping bag
• Drinks
• Sunscreen (If outdoors)
• Bug Spray
• Gatorade or Powerade (Energy drinks are not recommended as they can make you sick in the extreme heat)
• Food – Meets typically last 5-6 hours (There is usually a concession stand available with food and drinks)
• Entertainment, as there is lots of downtime for some of the kids.

WHAT IF I HAVE TO LEAVE DURING THE MEET?

It is imperative that the coach and the Orca Clerk of Course be notified of any early departure. Please remember that if your child swims on a relay, his/her absence will affect 3 other swimmers. Please don’t leave 3 other teammates, who may have waited hours to swim, hanging. Also remember, sometimes your child may be placed in an individual or relay event as a replacement swimmer during the meet – or may have forgotten that they are swimming in the last relay. Please check with the Orca Clerk of Course before actually leaving.

WHERE SHOULD THE SWIMMERS BE DURING THE MEET?

During meets, swimmers should stay near the team in the designated Orca area if one is provided. They will be notified when it is time for them to report to the ready area for an event. When swimmers arrive at the ready area, they must check in with the Ready Area person and be listening for their event and heat. Junior coaches and the Ready Area volunteers assist the swimmers in getting in their appropriate heats. Ultimately, it is the swimmer's responsibility to be in the ready area at the appropriate time or they could be scratched from the event and possibly the meet.

WHAT IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS?

During swim meets, any questions or complaints about actions of the officials or the opposing team must be directed to any board member, who will relay the question or complaint to the Meet Referee. CCSL rules prohibit parents or swimmers from approaching Judges and/or the Referee directly. Only an official league representative may do so. Disregarding this rule could cause the team to incur sanctions or prompt your removal from the competition. Please represent yourself, your swimmer and the team well by being courteous and respectful of officials as well as all other meet volunteers

WHAT ARE THE EVENTS?

At meets, swimmers compete against other swimmers of the same gender, age group, and general ability. There are six age groups: 6 and Under; 8 and Under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, and 15 - 18. A meet includes competition in seven event types. There are five individual events: Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Individual Medley. There are two relays: Freestyle Relay and Medley Relay. Each age group participates in each event type with the following exceptions: 8 and under do not swim Individual Medley; and 6 and under only swim Freestyle, Backstroke and Freestyle Relay. The order for a Medley Relay is Back, Breast, Fly, Free. The order for an Individual Relay is Fly, Back, Breast, Free. For this year, swimmers are limited by CCSL rules to five events per meet. These could include three individual events and two relays or three individual events and one relay. Because of time constraints, not all swimmers will swim five events at every meet. We will target at least four events for each swimmer.

HOW MANY EVENTS WILL MY SWIMMERS PARTICIPATE IN?

While a swimmer can be entered in a maximum of five events per regular season meet (3 individual, 2 relay), the Coaching staff may not be able to enter all swimmers in five events. We may limit events to 2-3 per swimmer to expedite timely meets or when there is a large discrepancy in the size of the teams. We try to have the events posted on the website by Friday afternoon. If not, you will find out your events when you check in at 6:45 a.m.

DO THEY GET RIBBONS?

Swimmers are awarded ribbons in all heats in regular season meets. The event and time will be recorded on the back of the ribbon. The ribbons will be distributed near swimmer check-in at the beginning of the following meet (and each regular season meet thereafter). Have a special place to show off your ribbons!!

CAN THEY BE DISQUALIFIED?

Swimmers are judged according to the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations for competition with the following exception. One false start is allowed before disqualification. Unfortunately, swimmers are sometimes disqualified during a race, usually for executing a start, stroke, turn or finish illegally. They may also be disqualified for early takeoff in relays. The starter, stroke and turn judges, and the referee may disqualify swimmers. It is important to remember that the meet referee has the ability to disqualify individual competitors for poor sportsmanship and conduct as well. These officials are parent volunteers who have received specific CCSL training. Their purpose is to assure that no swimmer gains an unfair advantage over another swimmer. When time permits, an official will seek out the swimmer or their coach to explain the reason for disqualification. Do not, under any circumstances, approach any official regarding a disqualification. By CCSL rule, only an official league representative may do so. Disregarding this rule could cause the team to incur sanctions or prompt your removal from the competition. As with any concern, please approach a board member for assistance. Please represent yourself, your swimmer and the team well by being courteous and respectful of officials as well as all other meet volunteers.

As always, please see a Board Member or contact any of the Boards members listed on this page with any other questions or concerns!