Upcoming Tryouts for the Skagit Valley YMCA Aquatics Swim Team

The Skagit Valley YMCA Aquatics (SVYA) swim team will be hosting tryouts for the 2022/23 season for swimmers ages 7 – 18 on Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19.  

There will be 4 blocks of time each day when tryouts will take place: 6:30-7:00pm, 7:00-7:30pm, 7:30-8:00pm, 8:00-8:30pm. Each swimmer’s tryout will take approximately 10 minutes. Please show up at the YMCA (1901 Hoag Road) at least 5 minutes prior to the tryout block your swimmer will be attending. There will be a person in the Welcome Center to guide you to the pool deck and Head Coach Joseph, who is completing evaluations on both days. Swimmers should bring a swimsuit, a pair of goggles, and a towel with them. 

Each swimmer will be asked to do the following as part of the tryout: 

• Swim 25 yards (the length of the lap pool) of the 4 competitive swim strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly (100 yards total) 
• Complete a competitive start/entry/dive into the pool (either from the starting block or from the side of the pool) 
• Complete a flip-turn (or somersault if unable to do a flip-turn) 

Swimmers don’t need to have a perfect stroke, dive, or flip-turn in order to be considered for the team. These three tasks will help with the selection process and inform our coaches on the best group placement that fits the needs of the swimmer. 

There are a limited number of spaces available on the SVYA team, so we can’t guarantee that a swimmer will make the roster. However, we will make sure all that show up are given an opportunity to try out. We will notify all participants of the results a few days after tryouts. 

Any swimmers that have passed the Skagit Y’s Stage 5 of swim lessons may apply directly to the team and will not need to complete the swimming tryout. These individuals should email Coach Joseph at [email protected]. We recommend swimmers who have gone through our group swim lessons have at least attempted Stage 4 or 5 if trying out. 

If you have any questions, or are unable to make the times above and wish to schedule another time to try out for the team, please contact Coach Joseph at [email protected]. 

More information on the SVYA team, including our practice groups/schedules and pricing can be found here.