Elite Swim Team powered by Swim America INTRODUCTION WELCOME TO ELITE SWIM TEAM KUWAIT Welcome to Elite Swim Team Kuwait! We look forward to working with your swimmer(s) as all of us progress through our swimming/coaching careers. Our club is a year-round, competitive swimming team offering instruction, training, and competition to young people of all ages and abilities. The team is financed and supported by Elite Swim Team parents. The director, team manager, head coach and the coaching staff supervise the management and operation of Elite Swim Team Kuwait. Elite Swim Team Kuwait has established itself as the top team in Kuwait as well as one of the top teams in the GCC Region. The team competes in local and international competitions. This portfolio will help familiarize you with a basic view and initial understanding of ELITE s program. As you look through the following pages you will be introduced to our history, philosophy, team policies, and to the basic information concerning your day-to-day participation in the ELITE program. ELITE SWIM TEAM UNLEASHING THE FURY HISTORY Elite Swim Team Kuwait (EST), founded in 2005 by Cal Jungquist, developing a Middle Eastern reputation for a first-class, year-round swim program. We offer a guided age-group youth program for children age 4 and up, from the beginning swimmer to the most competitive and skilled swimmer. When a young person becomes a member of the Elite Swim Team he/she learns the values of sportsmanship and teamwork. Swimming, through ELITE, provides physical, emotional and intellectual skills that will last a lifetime. THE MISSION: to share our knowledge and passion for swimming, to inspire and empower our swimmers to dream big, and to encourage excellence in all that we do while providing a safe environment for all to develop. THE VISION: Utilizing the unique strengths of each member of our swimming family, to build upon our past success and evolve into a national model committed to individual and team success from the age group to the Olympic level.
TEAM PHILOSOPHY Elite Swim Team, view swimming as an important part of the overall development of a young boy or girl. Besides the most obvious benefit of physical conditioning, swimming fosters the personal discipline required to persevere, the confidence building of progress in competition, the social growth from travel, learning to accept winning and losing with equal grace, and the sense of values gained from competing as both an individual and a team member. The ELITE program strives to instill in young swimmers an understanding of, and appreciation for such concepts as high self-esteem, personal accountability, constructive self- motivation, goal-setting, and goal achievement as their ideas relate to their success in training and in competition. It is our belief that the process of achieving is as significant as realizing the achievement itself. At each level of the ELITE program, swimmers are instructed to strive for excellence. Excellence in this sense represents the achievement of that level at which each swimmer knows that they have done their utmost to become the best they are capable of becoming. This philosophy is consistent throughout the program in every swimmer, novice through Olympian. We want every swimmer to swim to the best of their own ability and seek the opportunity to attain the level of excellence to which their desire and ability will move them. We believe swimmers and their parents alike should enjoy swimming and remember it is a positive experience. Personal and Physical Development OUR LONG RANGE OBJECTIVES To provide an opportunity for young people in Kuwait and the GCC Area to engage in a wholesome, lifesaving, lifetime sport and recreational activity. To promote physical fitness and encourage proper conditioning and health habits. To provide opportunities for healthy social, emotional, and educational development, and to encourage peer and family participation. To foster the development of high self-esteem and help cultivate positive self-images. Competitive Development To create an environment in which the desire for self-improvement and goal achievement motivates the individual to fully develop their natural abilities and help others to do likewise. To provide opportunities to learn the values of hard work, dedication, self-discipline, and perseverance. To promote the ideals of honesty, integrity, good sportsmanship, and team loyalty. To provide quality instruction, training, and competition at all peer and ability levels. Community Involvement To cultivate the support of community-oriented individuals, corporations, and foundations to help fund programs and improve facilities. 2
ELITE SUCCESS STORIES Elite Swim Team Kuwait is very proud of its team accomplishments since its inception in 2005. In its 8 years of existence, Elite Swim Team has proven itself as the top competitive team in the state of Kuwait and one of the top 3 programs in the Middle East, by producing high level swimmers and individual champions across all ages in the program. ALL TIME TEAM ACHIEVEMENTS. Dubai Open 2006 Elite Swim Team Ranked 2 nd Place with 13 swimmers out of a total of 18 Teams. Muscat International Open 2007 Elite Swim Team Achieved 3 Overall First Place Trophies and broke 15 new records. Hamilton Aquatics Invite 2007- Elite Swim Team came in 2 nd Place out of 14 Teams. Dubai Open 2008 Elite Swim Team ranked 4 th out of 35 Teams. H20 Autumn Spring Cup 2009 Elite Swim Team Ranked 3 rd out of 39 teams total. Dubai International Cup 2010 Elite 10 and Under girls smash Dubai Records. H2O Autumn Spring Cup 2010 Elite Swim Team Ranked 3 rd out of 27 Teams. H2O Autumn Spring Cup 2011-2012 Elite Swim Team Ranked 2 nd out of 35 Teams German Championship 2013 ALL TIME ATHLETE ACHIEVEMENTS In June 2013, Edith Lingmann (15) took part in German Nationals in Berlin, Germany. Edith placed 2nd in the Final of the Womens 100m Freestyle with a time of 57.54, a fantastic achievement for somebody so young. Olympics London 2012 First Kuwaiti Female Swimmer to ever represent Kuwait at the Olympics. London 2012, Faye Sultan, a born and raised Elite Swim Team Swimmer, shocked the entire gulf and made world headlines being the first female swimmer to ever participate in the swimming category at the Olympic Games in London. Faye placed 38 th in the 50m Freestyle achieving a time of 27.92s. 3
British Championship 2008 Bradley Price, an Elite superstar. The fastest male swimmer, born and raised in Elite Swim Team, while still holding records across Wales, Qatar, Oman, Bradley Price is still pushing to reach his goal of becoming an Olympian. Ranked 5 th in the British Championship 2008, and always placing top 2 across all competitions in the Gulf States. Arab Championship 2013 Only recently joining the Kuwait National Team, Mohammed Razouki also born and raised in Elite Swim Team, has developed tremendous results across various competitions in the Gulf Region and abroad. Mohammed s biggest achievement was placing 2 nd in the 50m Freestyle and 2 nd in the 50m Butterfly at the Arab Championships 2013 in Amman, Jordan. Mohammed is currently swimming for ASU a Division I University. TRAINING PROGRAM TEAM STRUCTURE / TEAM HIEARCHY In keeping with our philosophy of providing a well-rounded, quality, competitive swimming program for youngsters of all ages and abilities, Elite Swim Team generally offers eleven levels of professional technique instruction and training. The levels are split into three categories; 1- Learn to Swim 2- Pre-competitive 3- Competitive LEARN TO SWIM POWERED BY SWIM AMERICA The Elite Swim Team Learn to Swim is a full and complete program. The Learn to Swim Program, is licensed by Swim America. SWIM AMERICA: Since 1988, Swim America has grown over 630 Program directors, creating over 2000 swim programs in all 50 states in the US, with over 3 million people having taken Swim America lessons each year. Swim America has the fastest growing Learn-to-Swim program in the world today. We will teach your child water safety and all the competitive strokes. This program starts from as young as four (3) years old! Swimmers from this program can later on progress to our Elite Squad, should they wish to participate in competitive swimming. 4
Elite Swim Team ensures that an ideal environment is provided for your child to gain water confidence and subsequently develop excellent swimming technique. We work within a structured program and our coaches are highly qualified and trained. This means you can trust that Elite Swim Team will provide you with the BEST swimming development program in Kuwait. To enhance the learning experience for our beginners, our classes are operating at a 5:1 swimmers to coach ratio. We do not normally fill our classes because our continual assessment methods demand the provision of spaces for those swimmers who are moving up classes. PRE-COMPETITIVE The Elite Swim Team Pre-competitive level is the most important level in the program. All swimmers within this level must be able to legally swim each of the four competitive strokes. Furthermore, sharpening of the competitive strokes through drills and kicking will be emphasized. Starts, turns, and mental skills for training for the next level will also be emphasized. Swimmers in this level move from primary stroke and technique instruction to more emphasis on training. Drill work and kicking will continue to make up a large portion of the practices; however, swimming sets will be added. At this level, goal setting will be introduced and swimmers will be expected to be more accountable for their progress in swimming. Consistent practice attendance is necessary for continued improvement and advancement to the next group. COMPETITIVE A much more rigorous training load than the PRE-COMPETITIVE program, while continuing to build upon the skills acquired at the previous levels. Practice times are longer in conjunction with higher kilometer requirements. The increases in physical demands require that swimmers regularly attend practices. Swimmers will be expected to understand interval training and will learn how to train at different effort levels and speeds. There will also be a greater emphasis on race strategies. The TORPEDOES represent the final step in the ELITE program. 5