Pool Locations, Training Groups, & Practice Schedules

• Pool Locations - We swim at three different pools in Portland. The Dishman location is for the Senior, Pre-Performance and Performance groups. Development groups swim at Southwest Community Center (temporarily relocated to West Hills due to an emergency pool repair) or Mount Scott Community Center.
• Training Groups - Detailed information on training groups is on the Training Groups page. Group placement is based on stroke technique and legality, practice attendance and participation, practice ability (including intervals), competition participation, age and coach discretion. Group promotions are based on swimmer development and typically occur between seasons.
• Practice Schedules - You can find the practice schedule on the Schedules page. This page has links to google calendars for each pool which are kept as up to date as possible. It includes any planned schedule changes or pool closures. These calendars are a great resource especially if you normally use google calendars to plan your family schedule. You can also view the team calendar in commit once you are logged in. Click on "Calendar" on the left navigation bar. This does show the schedule for the entire team and all pools, so some find the google calendar easier to use. Last-minute schedule changes, including unexpected pool closures, will be communicated by email, sometimes on the same day.
• Mentor Practices - Mentor practices are held once a month on Saturday mornings at Dishman from 8 to 9am. Developmental swimmers in our Bronze, Silver, Gold, Pre-Performance, and Senior groups train alongside and are mentored by swimmers from our Performance group. Through shared workouts and mentorship, swimmers develop relationships with teammates across the club while gaining confidence, motivation, and a stronger sense of belonging to the PAC community. Check Commit or the Google Calendars for dates and please RSVP in Commit if possible. You can always show up even if you forgot to RSVP! Learn more on the Mentorship page.

Swim Meets

• Meet Schedule - Swim meet information can be seen on our Meet Schedule, but is best viewed in Commit where you can "commit" to meets, view event details and add notes about attendance.
• Meet Details - Once it is available to us, there will always be a meet information PDF attached to the meet on both the Meet Schedule page as well as in Commit in the Information & Settings tab of each meet. This document includes critical information about each meet: where, when, costs, and the event schedule by session including check-in and warm-up times.
• Meet Registration - Registration deadlines are FINAL. You can register for one session or all sessions of a meet. If you have preferences to only attend particular sessions, please add a note when you commit to the meet. Once registered (and after the registration deadline has passed) you are financially committed to the meet.
• Meet Heat Sheets - A few days before the meet (1-3 days), timelines and heat sheets will be posted in the Information & Settings tab. Heat sheets will tell you which heat and lane your swimmer will compete in for every event. Heat sheets are also posted to the Meet Mobile app about 24 hours prior to the start of the meet.
• New to Swim Meets? - Learn more about swim meets on our Swim Meet FAQs page and our Your First Swim Meet page.

Team Uniform & Equipment Requirements

Gear consists of what is needed for practice (suits, caps, goggles, and gear) as well as the competition uniform (Arena team suits and team caps). Optional merchandise is also part of what is available including parkas, sweats and more. Here's a summary of what you will find on the Team Uniform & Equipment Requirements page of the website. You can purchase most of this equipment in our team store on SwimOutlet.com.

• Team Uniform - Uniform consists of team cap, team t-shirt, navy Arena brand competition suit (team logo optional), navy arena brand warmup jacket (performance only) - every swimmer is given a team cap and team t-shirt at the start of each year or upon joining the team.
• Equipment Requirements - These vary by group, but all groups require goggles, gear bag, kickboard, pull buoy and fins.
• Practice Attire Guidelines - Fairly flexible, but ready more on the Team Uniform & Equipment Requirements page.
• Team Store and Shopping Tips - Store is on SwimOutlet.com and includes many team branded items for purchase.

Measuring Performance

There are a few official ways we measure performance other than comparing a times throughout the season against previous swims of the same event (which is a wonderful way because even though times can get faster and on occasion slower, swimmers usually continue to improve and get faster as they practice and grow!).

• Competition Time Standards - Time standards are the times swimmers achieve during sanctioned competition for each event. They are a benchmark to track progress and performance. The OSI State championship meets use the Oregon Swimming “A” standard per age. There are found on the Oregon Swimming website. Higher level meets such as Regionals, Zones, Sectionals, Futures, and Nationals all have qualifying standards, typically found on the USA Swimming website. You can learn more on our Time Standards page.
• Practice Time Standards - Gold, Senior, and Performance groups also have training standards. These are earned by meeting target times during designated test sets in practice. They are one of several factors coaches consider when evaluating swimmers for advancement. Some of these requirements are spelled out on the Training Groups page which was mentioned above.
• IMR and IMX - these are swim incentives from USA Swimming that support athlete growth and development. They involve swimming a set of events throughout the season based on your age group. Learn more on our IMR/IMX Challenge page.

Fees & Commitments

Our Fee Agreement is outlined on our Fees & Commitments page. You'll find details on the following:

• USA Swimming Registration Fees - allows your swimmer to compete in sanctioned swim meets, covers liability insurance and supports athlete development
• Dues and Commitments Schedule - explains and outlines our fee structure by group, payments and family multi-swimmer discounts
• Fundraising Commitment - outlines fundraising requirements by group and family caps, there are a few big fundraising opportunities:
• Silent Auction (whatever your item sells for counts toward your commitment)
• Swim-A-Thon (happens in April, swimmers fundraise per lap swam during the event)
• Extra Service Hours (volunteer more than your required hours to earn towards your fundraising commitment)
• Service Hour Commitment - explains volunteering requirements and charges for unfulfilled service hours - billed August 1 at $35/hr
• Volunteer/Service hours are automatically recorded in Commit if you sign up for jobs there
• Non-Commit service hours should be reported on our google forms on the Log Service Hours page (these hours will be transferred to Commit at the end of each month by a board member)
• You can see your remaining annual obligation as well as your jobs recorded so far for the year under the Jobs tab in Commit
• Meet Fees - meet fees vary by meet depending on the facility hosting the event as well as the number of events your swimmer swims
• Invoices and Payments - invoices are sent by PAC monthly with fees dependent on how you pay (ACH is encouraged as fees are lower) and your meet participation for the month (meet fees are billed the month following the meet) - if you join mid-month, your dues will be prorated accordingly
• Closures and Cancellations - we abide by Portland Parks and Recreation facility closures and cancellations when they occur
• Leave of Absense and Withdrawal Policies - we have official policies for leave of absences as well as midseason withdrawals
• Scholarships - PAC is committed to reducing barriers to participation and helping make competitive swimming accessible to more families - our scholarship program provides support for families who may need financial assistance with team fees and related swimming expenses - learn more on the Scholarships page

Resources & Support

Always remember that this team is a community. We are run not only by our paid team of coaches (who very much go above and beyond every day to support our swimmers), but also by the families (all of us) who make up an incredible group of volunteers to help this team to run. Everyone wants the best for your family and your swimmer. If you need help, reach out to the appropriate person found on the Contact page. You can also use these resources:

• Pool Parents - Pool parents are your best resource as you're getting to know the team. Find them on deck at practice or reach out to them by email (see the Contact page)
• Coaches - Introduce yourself to the coaches before or after practice. Remember that during practice and swim meets, they are very busy coaching our kids!
• Apps and Websites - There are a lot of digital resources at your disposal:
• Commit Team Portal (go to Login at the top right of the team website) - find meet schedules and registration, billing and payment information, results from competitions, practice attendance, account and contact information, team announcements and updates - this is best viewed on a computer or using a browser on your mobile device (the app is mostly useful for coaches only)
• Meet Mobile - a mobile app (~$12/year that is well worth it!) - allows you to access heat sheets, and view live meet results for your swimmer and others - details found on the Download Apps page
• Oregon Swimming Website - this is our local swimming committee (LSC) - OSI supports clubs, coaches, officials, and athletes - resources include meet calendars, championship meet information, and time standards
• USA Swimming Website - this is our national governing body - as a member we follow its rules, safety standards and athlete development guidelines - resources include educational content for parents and swimmers, Safe Sport information and athlete protection policies, membership information, and more
• SwimCloud website - this is an online platform that allows swimmers to track performance over time - specifically used for college swimming recruitment