MARS Store
General Try-Out Information
We offer open try-outs every evening, Mon-Thur, at 5:30pm at all pools.
Try-outs for the MARS swim team are a very informal affair. We make every effort to insure that the prospective new swimmers are made to feel at ease during this process. During the try-out, each swimmer will be in the water for only approximately 5 minutes. Our try-outs are more of a placement test. If a child has the ability to swim across the 25 yd pool, on top of the water, with some semblance of a stroke, we have a place for them. If a swimmer does not yet have the necessary skills or comfort level in the water we can offer them swim lessons to bring them up to the level they need.
Most of our new swimmers start in our Novice Group. In this group we teach the swimmers the four competitive strokes - Freestyle, Butterfly, Breaststroke, and Backstroke. We also teach them turns and starts. When the swimmer is proficient in all four strokes we promote them to our Age Group 1 group. At this level the swimmers become ready to begin competing. Typically this process takes about 3-4 months, depending upon the level of the swimmer when they enter the program. We promote them individually, not as a group. Since we are a year-round program we can keep a swimmer in this group as long as they need.
We start our swimmers in the Novice groups at two days per week for 40 minutes. In our many years of experience we have found that at this age and ability level 40 minutes is perfect to keep them excited about swimming and to give an appropriate amount of instruction. We have Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday classes in the evenings with times ranging from 4-7:30pm, depending upon pool location and level.
The cost of the program is $55 per month. All of our coaches and athletes must be registered with USA Swimming (USAS). This registration provides insurance for all of our members. There is an annual registration fee of $155, which includes both USAS and MARS registration fees. Each of our swimmers receives a MARS team t-shirt and swim cap upon registration. The total cost to get started in our Novice program is $210, including the first month's tuition. After that, it is $55 per month.
No money is due at the time of the try-out unless you want to sign up for a timeslot and get started.
We also offer swim lessons for those children not quite ready for our Novice groups. Click the swim lesson link for more information.
During the try-outs there will be plenty of time to answer any and all questions you may have about our program. Just ask one of the coaches or a MARS parent.
Thanks for your interest in our program.