DISTANCE SWIMMING
We are always looking at our Waves team goals and defining what we are trying to do. We look to USA Swimming and their recourses, experts, national coaches, and people whose entire careers have been dedicated to the sport of swimming. They have departments of doctors, coaches, and very successful swimmers that look at what works best, what makes better athletes, what makes the great swimmers great. We use all this information to guide the team, how to coach to the highest level of success for each swimmer, how to make the experience of competitive swimming more rewarding for you (or your swimmers).
USA Swimming has decades of statistical data from around the country that shows a high correlation between young swimmers participation in distance events in all strokes for their age group and their overall long-term success in the sport of swimming. This research demonstrates the benefits of the “more-is-better” mentality. Most high school swimming programs tend to highlight sprinting due to the event list. USA Swimming and much of college swimming have a higher interest in a more varied list of longer events. The mile, the 1000, the 400 IM, the 200’s of fly, back, and breast are all worthwhile recognized events starting at age 11 and will continue to be valuable through a swimmers USA swims, college career and beyond. The advent of open water swimming and triathlons in adult challenge competitions and even in the Olympics give more motivation to distance swimming.
As a part of the Waves we strive to encourage swimmer to swim the longer distance races. We have found many swimmers that are OK at most shorter events and most high school events, but they are dynamic, successful distance swimmers.
There are two programs that serve to encourage swimmers to embrace the longer tougher events, the GO THE DISTANCE award program and the IM Xtreme challenge (and its developmental step the IM Ready). We want to encourage all Waves to take part in both of these programs.
The GO THE DISTANCE program swimmer forms
can be found right here with one of these buttons
and is kind of self-explanatory.
The IMX program is tracked by USA Swimming, all you have to do is swim the events. In order to have an IMX score you must have a legal time in all of the events for your age group you can complete the events in the age you started in each year. Your scores in these events will be tracked with all swimmers around the country. There are prizes and awards for our team our district and the country for those with the top IMX scores. The Waves will use your IMX scores as one of the criteria for our team awards at eh end of the season.
The IM Ready events are intended as a stepping stone to get to the next level.
IMX Age Groups and Events
The following single age groups and event combinations will be tabulated and scored for both men and women:
9 & Under; 10-year olds:
200 IM - 200 Free - 100 Back - 100 Breast - 100 Fly
11-year olds; 12-year olds:
200 IM - 500 Free - 100 Back - 100 Breast - 100 Fly
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 -year olds:
200 IM - 400 IM - 500 Free - 200 Back - 200 Breast - 200 Fly
IM Ready (IMR) Age Groups and Events
The first phase in the IMX Challenge is called IM Ready (or IMR) and is comprised of a series of five events at shorter distances. The following single age groups and event combinations are tabulated and scored for both male and female:
9 & Under; 10-year olds:
100 Free - Back - 50 Breast - 50 Fly - 100 IM (SC) or 200 IM (LC)
11-year olds; 12-year olds:
200 Free - 50 Back - 50 Breast - 50 Fly - 100 IM (SC) or 200 IM (LC)
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, & 18-year olds:
200 Free - 100 Back - 100 Breast - 100 Fly - 200 IM
