Summer 2014 ( July 5 Sep 06 ) Dear Parents / Guardians Welcome to another great season of swimming and waterpolo at the Sirens Swimpolo Club. The nursery is once again launching the summer programmes which cater for children of all ages as well as other programmes fit for older members. The coaches and volunteers are sure your child will experience waves of fun, excitement, camaraderie and team spirit! Since swimming lessons have increased in popularity, it is recommended that you make your bookings on the registration dates indicated so as to avoid disappointment. Sirens have tried to hold sessions in both mornings and evenings to suit the needs of all including those with the busiest of schedules! We will help you find time for swimming. The main objective of the swim school is to teach children between the ages of 3 years and 18 years the correct basic swimming techniques, which are essential for all young athletes aspiring to take up any water-sport, like swimming, water polo and triathlon. We cater for different needs, for all those who would like to take up swimming sport seriously, for those who target improving fitness or simply for fun and leisure. Participants are split into groups depending on ability. If you are unsure which level would be best for your child, take a look at our Swim Level Prerequisites or contact us and we would be more than happy to help. Detailed schedule is available on request. We look forward to meeting each of you and working with you this summer! Neil Galea Sirens Swimpolo Nursery
Swim Tadpoles An introduction to water for children between 6 and 36 months of age. A parent or guardian must work in the water with the infant/toddler under the direction of the instructor. Children are encouraged to feel comfortable in the water in a fun and safe environment through the use of songs, activities and lots of toys! This is a great program for parents or guardians to bond with their child, and families often take each class as an on-going activity. Saturdays ( Morning ) Equipment: Swim suit. Swim Guppies The Guppies group is designed for young children of over 36 months of age who are ready to be in a class without their parent or guardian in the water. Children will learn basic swimming skills such as getting their face in the water, blowing bubbles, exploring the water with their instructor and practicing skills with support to build water confidence and be aware of safety in the water. Children must have confidence participating without a parent in the pool. Equipment: Swim Cap and Swim Noodle. Swim Goldfish Skills from Guppies are built upon in this class and children are encouraged to try more skills such as, floating and kicking on their front and back with limited support from the instructor as well as unaided swimming over short distances. Children must be able to comfortably and voluntarily submerge their nose, eyes and mouth in the water to enroll in this class. Completion of Guppies or an equivalent class is required to enroll in Goldfish. The ratio for Goldfish is one instructor to six sstudents. Equipment: Swim Cap & Goggles and Swimming Noodle. Swim Turtles This group runs in conjunction with the Goldfish group, however swimmers take part in more advanced exercises. Children should be able to perform skills like floating and submerging underwater comfortably without any support before enrolling in this class. Participants will practice floating and swimming on their front and back, kicking techniques, basic stroke development, and underwater skills. The instructors will encourage swimming without support from instructional devices over short distances. The ratio for Turtles is one instructor to six students. Equipment: Swim Cap & Goggles, Swim Noodle and Kickboard.
Swim Seals Skills from Turtles will be reviewed and swimmers will focus on building strength in the water by swimming without support. To enroll in this class, students should be able to float, glide, and swim 15 meters on their front and back without support and be comfortable in deep water. Students will learn coordination necessary for front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke development, improve kicking technique in all four strokes, and deep water skills. The ratio for Seals group is one instructor to six students. Equipment: Swim Cap, Goggles, Swim Fins and Kickboard. Swim Dolphins This group works in conjunction with the Seals group, however swimmers will participate in more advanced exercises. Swimmers will focus on building strength by swimming longer distances in deep water. To enroll in this class, students should be able to float, glide, and swim 25 meters on their front and back without support and be comfortable in deep water. Students will learn and improve their coordination and technique in front crawl with rotary breathing, backstroke, breaststroke and be introduced to the butterfly stroke. The ratio for Dolphins is one instructor to eight students. Equipment: Swim Cap, Googles, Swim Fins and Kickboard. Swim Development The Development groups is aimed for swimmers who are of 8 years of age or older and aim to take up swimming as a sport on a competitive level. Swimmers applying for this group need to be proficient in swimming front crawl, backstroke and breaststroke over distances of over 50m, and have basic butterfly stroke technique. Swimmers need to be capable to consistently perform advanced and long training sets in practice, and work towards becoming development finalists and Junior group qualifiers. Swimmers can expect to be challenged on aerobic and anaerobic levels while improving their stroke technique, both in and out of the pool all season long. Monday Friday ( Evening ) Swimmers will be placed in this group at the Coach s discretion. Equipment: Team Suit, Team Cap, Goggles, Swim Fins, Paddles, Kickboard, and Pull buoy.
Junior Squad The Junior group consists of predominantly 11 year old and older swimmers who have the ability, desire and commitment to continue and develop their competitive swimming career with Sirens. The program includes training sessions focusing on building strength, stamina and endurance both in the water and on land, as well as improving stroke technique. In addition, many members of this group swim concurrently with their school swim teams. More Details will be issued during parents meeting. Swimming with this group will work hand in hand to provide the additional training needed for qualification to the National Sport School and participation in ASA competitions. Equipment: Team Suit, Team Cap, Paddles, Pull Buoy, Kickboard, Snorkel, Standard Fins, Water Bottle, Skipping rope, Mat. Senior Squad The Senior squad is for swimmers who have already trained in the Junior group, and whose goal is to ultimately move on to our Elite squad. Training in the senior squad is highly intensive, highly technical, and focused on the three main areas of improvement in swimming: Technique, Strength, and Endurance both in the water and on land. More Details will be issued during parents meeting. Equipment: Team Suit, Team Cap, Paddles, Pull Buoy, Kickboard, Snorkel, Standard Fins, Water Bottle, Skipping rope, Mat. Elite Squad The Elite Squad is the highest training and commitment level at Sirens Swimming. These swimmers have made the commitment to be full time swimmers and take full ownership of their commitment to the sport. These swimmers have the drive to succeed and work closely with the top squad coach to advance in their career, and reach their goals. Elite Squad swimmers compete regularly in ASA time trials, and aim to qualify for international competitions such as FISEC Games and the Coji Island Games. More Details will be issued during parents meeting. These swimmers are considered team leaders and support the goals of all their team mates and the philosophy of the top squad coach and the Sirens Swimming family. Equipment: Team Suit, Team Cap, Drag Suit, Paddles, Pull Buoy, Kickboard, Snorkel, Standard Fins, Water Bottle, Dryland Gear, skipping rope.
Swim Synchronise This class is designed for swimmers with no previous synchronized swimming experience and who want to learn basic skills. Students will be introduced to sculling, the eggbeater kick and the support scull. Beginner movements will be taught including the tub turn, ballet leg, and walk over. Students will also learn a basic routine set to music. Wednesday and Saturday ( Afternoon ) Prerequisites: : Must be comfortable in deep water and able to tread water for at least 4 minutes Equipment: Swim Cap, Nose Clip, paddles and Pull Buoy. Swim Masters Whether you're a complete beginner to swimming or just looking to improve your skills, our adult classes are a perfect fit for you. Small groups guarantee personalized attention to focus on the areas you need the most. Apart from the safety aspect alone, swimming is also a great form of exercise with overall heart healthy benefits and has no damaging impact on your joints. Wednesday & Friday ( Evenings ) Equipment: Paddles, Pull Buoy, Kickboard, Standard Fins, Goggles Water polo training commence Tuesday 1st July till 6th September Swimpolo - Introduction In the water polo class participants will get a beginners look at the exciting and fast-paced game of water polo. Participants learn ball handling, shooting and player positions, as well as several types of treading water for maximum agility in the game. Mini scrimmages may be held as this class prepares participants for enrollment in the water polo age group. Tue 1600 17:30 Wed 10:00 11:30 Frid 11:00 13:30 Sat 16:00 17:30 Participants must be comfortable swimming in deep water for extended periods. Coach Dejan Simenovic Youth Waterpolo U13 Development and Fundamental Drills are the focus of every practice session. "Correct" skill technique and fundamental repetition is the process required for the TRUE development of a player in the game of water polo. This category will be trained to compete in the ASA summer and winter competitions plus friendly games against teams of a similar level. Mon 10:00 11:30 Tue 08:30 10:00 Thu 11:30 13:00 Fri 08:30 10:00 Coach Dejan Simenovic
Youth Waterpolo U15 Youth Water Polo - sometimes referred to as AGE GROUP. We have Intermediate & Advanced Water Polo Boys and Girls - Ages 12 to 15. This category will be trained to compete in the ASA summer and winter competitions plus friendly games against teams of a similar level. Mon 08:30 10:00 Tue 10:00 11:30 Thu 08:30 10:00 Fri 10:00 11:30 Coach Dejan Simenovic Youth Waterpolo U17 We teach a disciplined approach with "QUICK" decisions and aggressive style. We develop high school players both physically and mentally. We aim to increase the players intelligence of the game producing positive results. This category will be trained to compete in the ASA summer and winter competitions plus friendly games against teams of a similar level. Mon 11:30 13:00 Tue 11:30 13:00 Wed 19:00 20:30 Thu 10:00 11:30 Fri 19:00 20:30 Coach Marco Risso Youth Waterpolo U20 We teach a disciplined approach with "QUICK" decisions and aggressive style. We develop high school players both physically and mentally. We aim to increase the players intelligence of the game producing positive results. Sat 11:30 13:00 Sun 19:00 20:30 This category will be trained to compete in the ASA summer and winter competitions plus friendly games against teams of a similar level. Players will get the chance to play in the senior squad competition. Coach Bogdan Rath General Note During the first week of lessons at the nursery, coaches evaluate all swimmers /waterpolo players and see that they satisfy the basic swimming abilities required for the group they are registered in. If the coaches see that an athlete is in the wrong group level, in the interest of the athlete, he or she will be placed in a group suitable to her abilities. This will maximise his/her learning capabilities. Time table is subject to change due to waterpolo matches. Please check our notice board regularly to ensure you have the correct information.
Training session fees There are costs associated with any serious club sport. The club training session registration fees that you pay go towards offsetting pool costs, operating costs, marketing, advertising, training equipment, coaches certification and coaching stipends. We are very fortunate to have a wide variety of excellent coaches and we continue to develop our coaches as they endeavor to develop your athletes. Prices ( full term tuition ) Group 1 lesson 2 lessons 3 lessons 4 lessons 5 lessons + Swimming 60 115 145 175 195 Waterpolo 60 115 145 175 195 Synchronise 60 115 Discounts - ( single discount apply ) Discounts on training and lesson fees are applied to families with more than one swimmer registered in Swimpolo program. The 2nd swimmer is charged 10 less the full rate and the third swimmer is free of charge. Sirens Swimpolo offers a reduced registration fee for competitive swimmers and waterpolo players. Withdrawals and Refunds Swimmers must notify their coach as soon as possible if they decide to withdraw from the program. There is no refund for non-competitive swimmers who do not complete their session, except in cases of extended illness with a medical note. Registration Dates: 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th June (10 am 1:00 pm ) Staff will be available to answer questions you may have and help you register your children for summer swim lessons.
Registration deadlines are firm. We will not accept any registrations after the deadline is passed. Calendar of Events Maltese Night 27th June Summer Break: A short Sta.Marija break is scheduled between the 11th and 15th of August. Swimathon: All Groups 9 th August Award Certificates During the last training session certificates will be presented to each child. Annual Gala Selected Groups 5-6 September
Policies and Procedures Due to the limited number of swimmers that the swim school can take, registrations will only be accepted upon payment on a first-come, first-serve basis. Late registrations will only be accepted subject to availability of vacant places in the various swimming groups and no partial payment will be refunded for children who are absent or decide not to continue the term. Based on previous years experiences, for the benefit of the children, parents/guardians will not be allowed to switch lessons from one group to another, unless instructed to do so by the coach in agreement with the parents/guardians, as this disrupts our swimmers/coach ratio. Our coaching staff will only take responsibility for the swimmers health and safety during the time of the lesson. Coaches and pool staff will not be held responsible for those young swimmers, who are left unattended by the pool before and/or after the lessons. The Swimming School fee entitles children to swim only during the swimming lessons. Therefore, those parents/guardians, who are not Club Members, and would like their children to make use of the pool prior to or after the swimming lessons need to purchase a Student Season Membership for their children from the office. PARENTS/GUARDIANS are STRICTLY PROHIBITED from interfering during the swimming lessons by passing comments to their children or coaches. Parents are kindly asked to seek advice or clarifications, regarding any shortcomings after the lesson has ended. Parents/guardians should ensure that SUN BLOCK is applied to the children prior to sending them for their lessons. On the first day, Swim School participants will be given an Entrance Card, (different from Club Membership Card) to be presented at the pool entrance prior to the lesson. No swimmers will be allowed onto the pool deck unless the Entrance Card is presented at the door. Parents/guardians, who are not Club Members, will only be allowed to watch from the pool deck (the area in front of the public toilets) and the bar.