Competitive Swimming, Debunking the Myths

Big Blue is all about supporting happy and confident swimmers. We provide children with skills that promote confidence and safety, but we also give them a great foundation for competitive swimming. We love to see our Big Blue kids continue to grow their love for swimming. 

Competing in swimming as a sport can be very different than taking swim classes. Some of our Big Blue locations offer a competitive swim team, which is a great way for your kids to jump into the competitive swimming world. Before you jump, here are some common myths and misconceptions about competitive swimming:

1. “Swimming is not a team sport. “

Swimming is very much a team sport! Club swimming, high school swimming, and college swimming all take part in competitions with individual and relay points counting toward a TEAM SCORE! Relay events are really fun, and they encourage a great deal of team effort, cooperation, and preparation. In addition, we also travel to meets and have team outings to foster a greater sense of community among teammates. The great thing about our sport is you can have both: Individual recognition as well as team recognition.

2. ” Swimming is not a good sport for fitness”

Swimming is continually ranked as one of the best overall workouts. It may sound crazy, but a recent study conducted by USA Swimming reveals that 40% of non-swimming parents do NOT see swimming as a good source of fitness. If you are after a total body workout, the pool is the place. Swimming doesn’t focus on one part of the body. In a single practice, you use your entire upper body, lower body, core, and an incredible amount of cardio! Not only is swimming one of the best ways to find fitness, it is also not weight-bearing, which means less pounding on developing joints.

3. ” Competitive swimming is an intimidating sport for my child to start. “

At Big Blue, we focus on the FUN! Each swimmer is encouraged to do their best, and we seek out the things each swimmer did well while competing. Individual improvement and a smile are always the goal at our competitions. Our team has grown greatly in the past year due to all of the exciting changes that have occurred at Big Blue Aquatics. Parties, team outings, private lessons, and active parent committees are a few of the reasons our swimmers and parents are so happy to be a part of Big Blue Aquatics. A recent study with parents with active children revealed that swimming actually outperforms baseball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer in the areas of fun, health, social interaction, coolness, and learning curve.

4. “Swimming is too expensive.”

The cost of youth sports is definitely increasing. However, relative to other sports, parents rarely report significant costs associated with swimming. The National Council of Youth Sports conducted a study of parents with children between the 6th and 12th grade. Below is a chart of the most to least expensive youth sports according to parents:

• Football 27%
• Baseball/Softball 12%
• Hockey 11%
• Other 10%
• Basketball 9%
• Soccer 8%
• Gymnastics 7%
• Golf 6%
• Track and Field/Cross Country 4%
• Volleyball 3%
• Swimming 3%

We can’t wait to see you jump in!