Parent Information
New Parent Information:
Our swim program is designed to focus on the development of young swimmers and enhancing both competitive skills and proper stroke technique. It is not basic swim training and therefore, it is a requirement that swimmers are able to swim unassisted across the pool.
Greenway Village Aquadux is a non-profit summer swim team that is part of West Houston Aquatics League (WHALe). We serve the Cinco Ranch 1 neighborhoods and swimmers must live in Cinco Ranch 1 to be eligible to swim on the Aquadux team. It is a great way to improve your swimmer’s skills and to connect with other young swimmers in your neighborhood.
All practices are held at the Greenway Village pool. The meets locations vary each year. Practices start May 1 and go until the end of June. Swim meets occur at the end of May or during the month of June.
Communication:
Weekly emails will be sent to communicate any current or upcoming information. Please make sure that you have a working email address and watch for these emails to prevent missing any important information or deadlines. If you miss a deadline to declare for a swim meet, your swimmer will not be able to participate in that meet. The SwimTopia app will also be used for reminders and to communicate and weather delay or cancellations. Please make sure you have the app downloaded and notifcations enabled on your phone for the app. The current season schedules and other important information can be found on the team website.
Swim Team Eligibility:
A swimmer must be at least 4 years old and not older than 18 years old by May 1. They must be able to swim across the length of the pool (25 yards) unassisted (any stroke or mixture of strokes) by the 5th day of swim team practice without pulling on the lane rope or touching the bottom of the pool. Also, the swimmer must live in the Cinco Ranch I home owner's association area in order to participate. (Cinco I is the part of Cinco that is East of Katy-Gaston Road.) It is the responsibility of swim parents to contact the Cinco Ranch I HOA to verify that they are Cinco Ranch I residents prior to registering. You can verify at [email protected].
Parent Meeting:
A brief parent meeting will be held on the first day of swim team practice at the beginning of practice. In order for parents to hear the meeting and to prevent distractions for the coaches and swimmers, the practice will occur just outside the pool gates by the large tree. Please attend the meeting even if you are a returning swimmer. Any new information/changes for the season will be discussed and it is a great opportunity for addressing any questions that families of swimmers might have. Please read our Policy and Procedures that can answer many of your questions. Please see go to our Policies and Maps page to view the document. It is the parents' responsibility to be aware of our current policies and procedures.
Safety Policies:
Swimmers under the age of 11 must have a designated adult/guardian with them at all times during the swim team practice. No swimmers under the age of 11 may be dropped off for practice. Swimmers 11 and up may come without an adult/guardian to practice. Siblings/babysitters 13 and up may bring younger swimmers to practice and act as their guardians with parental approval. This in compliance with HOA pool policies.
Parents may not approach or address coaches during practice or meets. The coaches act as your swimmer’s life guards and may not be distracted during practice at any time. During meets, the coaches are organizing the races and are not available for questions. If you have a concern or question, please contact the director or board member. There will be a director or board member at every practice for all swimmers under the age of 11, except for in extenuating circumstances. There will also be a director or board member at the practice for 11 and up frequently. During meets, most (if not all) of the directors and board members will be present. The coaches will also be in close contact with the directors and board members for any occurrences during practices or meets.
During the first week of swim practice, the coaches and older teen volunteers will be in the water assisting the younger age groups as needed. After the first week of practice, the coaches will be on deck to have a better visibility of all the swimmers in the water since the coaches also act as the life guards during practice. The exception to this will be if the coaches feel further hands-on instructions are needed. This will be at the coaches’ discretion.
Due to insurance requirements, no one is allowed in the pool or on the pool steps other than the registered swimmers, coaches, and lifeguards during practices and meets. Please do not allow anyone (swimmers or siblings) to climb on the trees, wade in the baby pools, climb/sit on the dolphins, or climb on any other pool equipment during practices or meets. These items are not covered by insurance. The HOA currently allows unregistered siblings to be present at practices as long as these rules are followed.
All HOA pool rules must be followed during practices and meets. This includes, but is not limited to, no pets, bicycles, skateboards, scooters, and roller skates inside the pool fence. No running is allowed on deck.
Swim Practice (See our Schedule page):
Swimmers should bring water, goggles, sunscreen, and a towel to every swim practice. A one-piece swim suit for girls and swim trunks/swim jammers for boys. The team swim suit is not required for daily swim practice.
Swimmers should make an effort to attend as many practices as possible. We understand that circumstance come up that make a swimmer unable to attend practice. Missing too many practices could result in a swimmer missing important instruction on new strokes/skills the swimmers are learning, especially during the first couple weeks of practice.
Please speak with a director prior to having a swimmer attend a practice that is not his/her assigned practice. In order to attend a different age group, that swimmer must be able to keep up with that age group (example, a 6 and under should not be attending an 11 and up practice). Practices are designed specifically for that age group, having a swimmer in a younger age group may have that swimmer missing important instruction while having a swimmer in an older age group will be too challenging if that age group is working on a stroke the swimmer has not yet learned.
Open Practice is offered when morning practice begins after school is over for the summer. This is an opportunity for the coaches’ to focus on improving form/technique in a particular area. Usually one day each is spent on butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and dives/flip turns. Any age group swimmer may attend open practice at 7 am in addition or in place of the assigned age groups swim practice at the parents/guardians’ discretion.
Swim Team Picture Day (See our Schedule page):
Swim team picture day is not mandatory. See the schedule for the date, time, and location. Current season team swim suit is required to participate in the swim team picture day. Swimmers not wearing the current season team swim suit will not be allowed included in the team swim picture. There are no exceptions to this rule.
Swim Team Luau (See our Schedule page):
The Aquadux Luau event is a social event for the swimmers to have fun and celebrate the start of our swim season! There is no practice on this day! The Luau takes place at the Greenway Village pool. There will be designated times for registered swimmers to play in the pool and there will be yard games for everyone (registered swimmers and their siblings) to play with during the whole event. There will be music and fun for all! See the schedule below for designated pool times for the swimmers. Due to insurance requirements, only registered swimmers are allowed in the pools during this event. The same rules apply as during practice – no siblings or swimmers are allowed to climb on pool equipment, trees, or the dolphins. Food, raffle tickets, and Spirit Ducks will also be for sale; however, swimmers may come enjoy the fun for free! Please bring cash for the food, raffle tickets, and Spirit Ducks. The Luau also functions as a fundraiser for the swim team. Money from this event will be used to replace any necessary equipment for the team, including tents, kickboards, and other items used during practice and meets.
Swim Team Time Trials (See our Meet page):
Swim Team Time Trials allow the coaches to time the swimmers to obtain a recorded time in order to seed the swimmers into the events at the meets. It is also a good time for swimmers to practice knowing when it is time to dive in for a race as the event functions as a mock meet. This is especially important for new swimmers. Not every stroke is practiced at time trials due to time constraints. Often, only freestyle and backstroke will be timed during this event. This is also a great opportunity for new volunteers to obtain required hands-on training/shadowing with an experienced volunteer for specific jobs. These jobs include Console operator, stroke/turn judge, and starter/announcer. We will also request parents who are present to time for this event. There will be no practice this day! The time trial takes place at the Greenway Village pool. Time trials have been done a number of different ways in the past. For the 2025 season, Time Trials will occur during your swimmer’s normal practice times. This is to make it as convenient as possible for our swimmers and volunteers.
Swim Team Coaches’ Clinics (See our Schedule page)::
Coaches’ clinics is a low-cost opportunity for your swimmer to have one on one or one on two instruction with a coach. These are individual lessons are $20 for one swimmer and $30 for two swimmers. Please bring cash to the lesson and pay the coach directly. It is your responsibility to find another swimmer who wants the lesson if unexpected circumstances occur and your swimmer can’t make the lesson. If you cancel last minute or do not show for a lesson, you are responsible to pay the coach at the next practice for the missed lesson. Swim team is our coaches’ summer jobs and coaches’ clinics are a major part of their income for their position as your coach. Coache's Clinics are typically held on Mondays/Thursdays in June after the team has changed to morning practice times.
Withdrawal from Swim Team:
We understand that unexpected circumstances occur and occasionally a swimmer is unable to complete a season with us. In the event that a swimmer is unable to start or continue the season after being registered, please contact the director and the registrar to notify that a swimmer must be withdrawn as soon as possible. This allows swimmers who are on a waitlist to able to join the swim team. Please note, if you withdraw after the 5th day of practice, you are still responsible to complete your volunteer requirements. Consequences for not completing your volunteer requirements includes not being able to register for any Cinco Ranch Swim Team in the future. See the Policy and Procedures form under Policies and Map for further information.
Behavior Policy:
Parents: do not approach coaches on deck. Please do not coach or instruct swimmers or coaches during practices or meets to prevent any disruption or distraction to our coaches for the safety of our swimmers. Please contact a director or board member for concerns or questions (see safety policy above). Be respectful of others on the pool deck and be an example of good sportsmanship for our young swimmers. Please be patient with the directors and board members, we are all parent volunteers working very hard to make this season the best experience possible for all the swimmers! If you have concern about a specific swim team policy, we can direct you to the appropriate swim team or WHALe board member to answer any questions. All pool and Cinco Ranch 1 HOA rules will be enforced during practice and meets. Parents will be contacted if there are any behavior concerns regarding a specific swimmer. The Safety/Discipline policy was provided/signed during registration and can be found on the Aquadux website under the Policies and Map tab in the Cinco Ranch Swim Team Policies and Procedures pdf. Anyone causing a disruption or not conducting themselves in an appropriate manner during practices or meets may be requested to leave the pool area.
Swimmers: disruptive, unsportsmanlike, or dangerous behavior will not be tolerated. This includes pushing others in the pool, bad language, making fun of others, not listening to the coaches’ instructions or talking back to the coach. This behavior can result in being asked to sit out of practice or being sent home from practice. Depending on the severity/frequency of the behavior, the swimmer may be suspended from practice for several days or ultimately expelled from the team without a refund. Any decision to suspend or expel a swimmer is made by the coaching staff and swim team board. Suspended swimmers may not be on the pool deck or participate in any swim sponsored activities during suspension.
Weather Delay/Cancellations:
The coaches will make the decision to cancel or delay a practice in the event of extreme weather involving thunder, lightning, or severe rain. Practice will continue for light rain without thunder or lightning as long as the bottom of the pool can be easily visualized. In the event of thunder or lightning, the practice will be delayed for 20-30 min from the last thunder/lightning. Coaches will make the decision for safety purposes if the swimmers need to leave the pool area and remain outside the pool fences in extreme weather. During a meet, it is the responsibility of the lifeguards to make the decision regarding extreme weather delays/cancel. During a meet, all volunteers, swimmers, and parents must exit the pool area until the “all clear” signal has been given. All events through the 15-18 year breaststroke must be completed to determine if the meet has “completed and official”. If the meet can’t be continued due to weather as determined by the WHALe reps for both teams, then an announcement will be made, and a make-up meet date will be scheduled if necessary. Communications regarding delayed or cancelled practices or meets will be sent out by email or remind app.
