Corvallis Aquatic Team

How can I Join the Team?

STEP ONE: Call 766-6306 to make arrangements for your swimmer to visit the team. One of the coaches will watch your child swim and determine which practice group your child would be placed. This is based on ability as well as age.

STEP TWO: Take advantage of our free trial week and have your child come to practice for a week!

Here are the basics your child will need;

At practice:

  • Goggles
  • Cap for anyone with shoulder length hair.
  • Polyester or lycra suit
               boys- Speedo or jammers, no trunks or shorts, they become to heavy and make it hard to learn proper technique.
               girls- One piece, no ties.
  • Be happy and have fun.  A child that is happy will strive to improve, one that is not is likely to become stagnant and not move forward.  If you notice a change in this area it is important that you talk with your child and your child's coach.
At meets:
  • Goggles, possibly two pairs.
  • Team cap, one will be given to each swimmer for each season.  Additional caps are $3.00.
  • CAT shirt, one will be given to you when you join the team.
  • Sweats and two towels, even at indoor pools it is important to stay warm and dry.
  • The willingness to try your best.  We might not always swim as fast as we did last time.  Young bodies are constantly changing and our ability to perform can be affected by these changes.
How can I find all these items?  In town the most consistent place that I have found to buy suits, other than at Osborn, is Big 5.  The team can order you a suit with a team discount through the CAT den.  Contact Sandie Ashland if you are interested.  She can get bags, parkas, shirts, water bottles, or just about anything else.

STEP THREE: Obtain a membership package from the coach or download, print, and fill out the following four forms:  (pdf - requires adobe)

Information Sheet
Parent Agreement
Swimmer Code of Conduct
Medical Release
USA Swimming Registration Form
     Swimming all year
     Swimming during the summer only

Have your swimmer return these sheets to his or her coach along with the appropriate registration fees. Be aware of your meet support commitments to the team.

STEP FOUR: If you have not received a Team Handbook within two weeks of registration, contact Laura Pfeifer.

STEP FIVE: Send an email to Laura Pfeifer as soon as you can to get on the email list for last-minute practice cancellations, meet information, and our team newsletter. This is the very best way to get up-to-date information.

STEP SIX: Have fun! Swim Fast! Make lasting friendships!
CAT Registration FAQ
Is my child ready to join the team?
Our requirement is that the child be past level 6 in Swim America, can swim the length of the pool freestyle, and backstroke, and is comfortable in deep water.

How often should we come to practice?
We only allow our new 10 and unders to attend three practices per week.  Our new 11 and older swimmers can attend up to five practices per week and should make a minimun of three.

How much does it cost?
Dues vary according to practice groups. Monthly dues for 2006-2007 vary from $45.00 to $100.00 depending on the practice group. You can include your first month's dues with your registration fee and thereafter you will be billed monthly by mail.

What are the registration and Osborn fees?
The registration fee is required by USA Swimming for liability insurance reasons and is $46.00 annually. The Osborn fee covers the rental of lane space for practices.  CAT has an annual contract with the city and the cost is split by all swimmers.

Does my annual Osborn fee allow me to swim during open rec?
The Osborn fee covers the rental of lane space for practices.  You either have to buy an annual membership or pay each time you want to come other than our designated practice time.

Do you prorate your fees?
USA Swimming registration fees can not be prorated.  However, USA Swimming has a seasonal registration for athletes only participating during the summer.  If you start to swim with CAT in the middle of the month, you will only need to pay 1/2 of that month's dues. The Osborn fee will also be prorated depending on the time of year you start swimming.

How often do the swimmers compete?
Ideally, swimmers should try to compete at least once a month. Competition is not mandatory. The ability of the swimmer will determine which meets they will attend. Many meets require advanced registration, and these notifications are done by email, posted on our website (meet schedule) and placed in your mailbox. CAT typically hosts 5 to 6 meets a year.

What do you mean by meet support?
Meet support means specific jobs or duties during our home swim meets. These jobs include activities like timing, concessions, officiating and more. Families are expected to volunteer for 4 hours per home meet (excluding duals). Volunteering is a wonderful way to meet other CAT families and to get the whole family involved. There is almost always the opportunity to watch your swimmers race while you are volunteering. If you have questions about meet support, you may contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Laura Pfeifer.  At away meets all visiting teams are required to provide back-up timers for each lane.

Who do I contact about my bill?
Contact our team treasurer, Jeannie Schoper.

I have a question about my child's swimming ability/coaching. Whom do I talk to?
Please contact the child's coach. While parents are not supposed to be on deck during practice due to insurance reasons, you may catch the coach before or after practice, or contact them by phone or email. Contact information is always available in the newsletter.

I have a general question about CAT and don't know who to call, or I have a question about registration.
Please e-mail Laura Pfeifer (membership).

Welcome to CAT!!!
What to expect when you decide to Join

Hello, and welcome to the exciting world of swimming! By joining CAT you are also becoming a member of USA Swimming, in which your child will become a member of one of the country's largest, most organized, and competently coached youth sports. There is a lot to learn about being the parent of a competitive swimmer.  I hope that all of you will feel comfortable approaching me, or any of the coaching staff, with any questions you have about the team and the new sport that you are getting involved in.  This section has been prepared with the goal of acquainting you with the sport of competitive swimming. It contains information that will help you and your family to get the most out of participating in age group swimming. With a positive attitude and a willingness to lend a hand, you will also have a great impact on your child's athletic environment, and his or her love of swimming.


There are many reasons to swim on a competitive swim team.  You can look at the awards, new friends, the health benefits, learning life skills, but every time USA Swimming polls the athletes the #1 answer for both boys and girls of all ages is that it is FUN!


The thing that I like most about swimming is that every athlete can be successful.  The level that they compete at is determined by their commitment to the sport, work ethic in practice and the belief in themselves.  The world we live in is full of instant gratification, but swimming takes time and commitment to reach the highest levels.  It takes time to learn how to be successful.  So, what do new swimmers have to do in order to  be successful in their new sport?  Simple...

  • be happy
  • have fun
  • learn proper technique from their coach
  • attend meets on occasion
  • be able to count on support from you when they fail.
Why are these things important?  The answers are, not so simply, the following:
  • If they are not happy, they will not want to excel and will probably become stagnant in their growth within the sport… If you feel your child is not happy, talk with them about it.  If that does not work, talk with your child's coach to see if they have any suggestions or insights to the situation.  Swimming isn't always for everyone, unfortunately :), but we will never give up on someone and will do our best to figure out what's up if someone is unhappy.
  • This one kind of ties in with the one above, but in many ways it also can be separate.  "Fun" can be very different from child to child and as your child matures mentally, as well as within the sport, you can expect their definition of fun to change.  I have had 11 year olds tell me the greatest possible thing that we could do in a practice is 3 x 1650 for time (seriously!); while others would like to do nothing else but do cannon balls off the side for an hour.  Bottom line, the coaches will mix it up to try and satisfy everyone, BUT Not To The Deterrent Of The Practice Group.  Again, if a problem in this area arises and leads to #1 going down the drain, talk with your kids about it and then don't be afraid of talking with us about it.
  • Bottom line THE MOST important thing a beginning swimmer can do when they first start is to learn to swim with proper technique.  Children, when they start swimming, are NOT in the bodies they will be in when they are done with their maturation process.  So, really, how FAST they swim Now means NOTHING of how fast they will swim later on in their lives.  This "later on" is what we are worried about.  If a child Mentally learns how to manipulate their body and to swim the strokes correctly they will be MUCH better off in their future swimming careers.  If a child just worries about hammering the water to death every time they get in and never really thinks about HOW they are swimming, they probably will be faster NOW.  However, in the future, because they are used to only swimming incorrectly will very likely will hit a barrier that will be super challenging for them to overtake.
  • Competing in a meet from time to time is really one of the only ways an athlete can see how they are progressing.  Knowing they have that upcoming swim meet can also be a huge motivation for an athlete to make sure they are practicing on a regular basis and making the appropriate changes to their strokes.  Think about this for a second--- (not true for everyone I am sure, but….) If you knew you didn't have a test, would you have ever studied for one anyway?
  • This will be off the subject at first, but please don't ever be afraid of having your child fail.  Of the, literally, 100's of swimmers at particular meets, only one of them gets first.  Of the, literally, 1000's of employees that apply for a particular position only one, in the end, gets hired.  If you are not that "one," you learn to try harder to succeed; you learn to find more within you; you learn that with enough effort you can and will win.  Individuals would not know the meaning and feeling of success if they do not know the meaning and feeling of failure.  ----  As coaches our job is to tell the swimmers, this was good and this was bad.  The swimmers will come to expect this, and will know there will more than likely be something their coach wants them to continue to improve upon.  In a way, this makes us kind of the bad guy… because of this YOU have the opportunity to be the ever ready good guy.  No matter what the situation, even when inside you where cringing at the performance you just saw, be the person that says "You did fantastic honey.  I know that next time you will do even better!"  If they get "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah your turn was bad" from coach and "blah, blah, blah, blah your start was horrible" from mom and dad, they walk away with two negatives.  Be the ever persistent positive.  I am not saying that we will be the ever persistent negative, far from it, but as coaches, even when they are Champion of the World we will give them something to work on; we want YOU to help us and be the individual(s) that will always give them the pat on the back (without that something else to work on…that's our job).

If you are still looking for more information check out this from USA Swimming.
Dues Structure
[Effective September 1, 2004]
 
Annual Osborn rental fee:                 $150.00 – 1st swimmer
                                                            $150.00 – 2nd swimmer
                                                            $    0.00 – 3rd & 4th swimmers
 
USA Swimming dues:                                       
Annual: (Sept-Dec)          $49.00 per swimmer
                        Seasonal: (May-Aug)       $25.00 per swimmer
 
Monthly dues:                        practice fees & office fees – 10 month billing cycle* –
                                                                                                                     (11 month swimming)
                       
                                                                        October – July
            Practice group              Monthly payment          Annual payment       (5% discount)
                                                                                                                    Savings
                  Novice                        $ 45.00                      $ 422.50                 ($22.50)
                        Jr. I                             $ 50.00                      $ 475.00                 ($25.00)
                  Jr. II/ Sr. I                   $ 65.00                      $ 617.50                 ($32.50)
                  Sr. Prep                      $ 85.00                      $ 807.50                 ($42.50)
                  Sr. II                           $100.00                     $ 950.00                 ($50.00)
                  Masters**                   $ 40.00                      $ 313.50                 ($15.00)
 
*    Masters dues will include 11 months of billing.  Half of September will be included in October bill.
**   Non CAT parents are requited to purchase an Osborn Aquatic Center membership before joining the CAT masters Practice Groups.
  
Summer League:  practice fees, USA Swimming dues, trophy meet entry fees
(May, June, July, August)
                  Novice / Jr. I / Sr. I                  $240.00
 
Questions contact CAT treasurer
 Jeannie Schoper  752-7279
            jschoper@comcast.net
CAT Masters Program

Practice times
          5:30-7:00 am M-F   coached by Rick Guenther
         12:00-1:00 pm M-F  coached by Greg Bostrom
          5:30-6:45 pm M,W,F  coached by Nathan Boal

OMS Dues        $38 per year per swimmer (liability insurance)

Practice group                         Monthly payment                Annual payment       (5% discount)
                                                                                                                      Savings
                  Masters**                   $ 40.00                               $313.50           ($15.00)

*    Masters dues will include 11 months of billing.  Half of September will be included in October bill.
**   Non CAT parents are requited to purchase an Osborn Aquatic Center membership before joining the CAT masters Practice Groups.
  
Questions contact CAT treasurer
 Jeannie Schoper  752-7279
            jschoper@comcast.net
Welcome to the Team

In deciding to join our team, you will need to know more about us. This summary will explain dues and other fees, meets, organizational structure, and other general information.

CAT Organization and Board of Directors
CAT is a parent run, volunteer organization.  The Board of Directors is a parent elected representative body that meets monthly and decides policy for the team. The 2006-2007 President is Bill Boyce.  Issues that have to do with the organizational aspects of the team should be addressed to him. The Board meetings (second Wednesday of the month) are open to all parents. Each family is required to help the team with fundraising events and organizational tasks throughout the year.  Should you decide to join the team, you will be asked to sign up for volunteer committees at a later New Parent Meeting.  Email communication, the monthly newsletter and flyers placed in your family mailbox will keep you informed.
 
Coaches
CAT coaches are paid employees of the parent Board.  They are highly trained professional individuals committed to developing excellence for both the team and the individual swimmers.  They are happy to talk to parents and swimmers about concerns and issues.  Coaches may be contacted by leaving a message on the CAT office phone, (766-6306) and they will return your call. Please do not disturb the coaches while they are on deck with the swimmers, as they are focusing on the swimmers and the workout, the most important aspects of their job.  They are often available to parents immediately after workouts are completed.
 
Handbook
CAT publishes a handbook containing in-depth information about the team and swimming.  Please read your copy of the handbook.  It will answer many questions for you.  If you have additional questions, feel free to ask other CAT parents, the coaches or Stephanie Olbrich (Administrative Assistant) on deck or by email at .
 
Swim Meets
Each season, the coaches publish a list of area swim meets considered important for the team. Different meets are appropriate for different levels of swimmers. The meet entry information and forms for these meets are placed in family mailboxes several weeks before each meet. Entry procedures, deadlines, and fees are explained on these flyers. Swim meet attendance is entirely optional, especially for new and inexperienced swimmers. Coaches will recommend appropriate meets to individual swimmers as skills improve.

Administrative Assistants
Laura Pfeifer, a CAT parent, and Greg Bostrom, Age Group Coach, are the Administrative Assistants in the CAT office. Questions concerning any details of the team may be addressed to them. Messages may be left at 766-6306 or via email at catofficemanager@aol.com. In deciding to join our team, you will need to know more about us. This summary will explain dues and other fees, meets, organizational structure, and other general information.

Welcome to the team! We hope you and your swimmer(s) will find this experience to be a rich one, full of personal growth, accomplishment and fun.