US Guides
Swim team guides
Practical, plain-English guides for US swim teams. Written for the parents figuring out their first season and the volunteers keeping a team running, not for software people.
For parents
New to swimming? Start here. These cover what happens before your child joins a team, and what happens once they start racing.
Joining a US swim team
How US swim teams work, from finding a team and tryouts to USA Swimming registration, the season, costs, and gear.
How swim meets work
Events, heats and lanes, reading a heat sheet, seeding, officials, and timing, ahead of your child's first meet.
Swim meet events and age groups
Which events each age group races, the medley and relay stroke order, short course vs long course, and B to AAAA times.
For boards, treasurers and coaches
Running a team is mostly admin nobody trained you for. These cover the governing body, the money, and the tools.
USA Swimming and Safe Sport explained
What USA Swimming is, how teams affiliate through their LSC, membership basics, and how Safe Sport and MAAPP work.
A treasurer's guide to collecting dues
Which fees to collect, setting a billing cadence, card and ACH payments, late payments, and keeping clean records.
Choosing swim team management software
How US teams choose software for registration, billing, attendance, and parent communication, without the jargon.