Pine Mill Ranch Swim Team

The Pine Mill Ranch Rays Swim Team is a non-profit that was founded in 2012 to bring local competitive swimming to Pine Mill Ranch. The mission of the team is for the kids of Pine Mill Ranch to love the competitive spirit of swimming, enjoy a sense of community and to have fun swimming for life. The swim team is made up of kids who are age 4 - 18 by May 1. The team practices daily (Monday - Friday) after school in May and before 10am during the month of June. There is a practice meet/time trials and usually 4-5 regular season dual meets in June along with a division level Meet of Champions for the top swimmers on the team. The team has 4-5 paid coaches who have completed a full background check, are Lifeguard, CPR and First Aid certified and have a wealth of experience and knowledge about swimming. The team also utilizes junior high and high school seasoned swimmers that volunteer to help with ages 4-8. The team is overseen by a board of parent volunteers and receives HOA guidance but does not utilize any HOA dollars as they are entirely self-funded.

The team is a member of the West Houston Aquatic League (WHALe League). The WHALe league consists of 31 teams in the Katy area with over 4500 kids competing in 6 divisions, therefore making it the largest sporting league in Katy. Pine Mill Ranch Swim Team competes in division 2 of the league.

Before you decide if swim team is a right for your family, please read the Team Handbook. There are mandatory volunteer shift requirements (3 shifts for 1st child, 2 for each additional child) as well as mandatory swim meet participation requirements (must swim in a minimum of 2 dual meets). Swim team is a commitment for the entire family.

The team holds 2 tryouts every year on Saturdays in February at Texas Swim Academy's indoor pool at 3514 Greenbusch Rd. The tryouts are not to see how fast a child can swim but if they can swim as the swim team is not a Learn to Swim Program. A swimmer must be comfortable remaining in the water independently. While coaches will teach strokes, dives and turns, each age group should have a certain amount of swim knowledge before trying out for the swim team. If in doubt, it is highly recommended that swim lessons be taken before tryouts. We highly recommend swim lessons at Texas Swim Academy. They do a fantastic job there and they know what swim team requirements are for all four strokes.

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Tryout requirements are as follows:

Age 4-6: Freestyle swim any which way but must get across the length of the pool without any assistance, panic or turning over to float on the back.
Age 7-8: Freestyle swim but must get across the length of the pool without any assistance, panic or turning over to float on the back. Should also know Backstroke.
Age 9-10: Confident Freestyle and Backstroke swim across the length of the pool. Preferred to also know at least Butterfly or Breaststroke.
Age 11-18: Confident Freestyle and Backstroke swim across the length of the pool. Should know at least Butterfly or Breaststroke.

Registration includes approximately 8 weeks swim instruction/coaching, team t-shirt, team swim cap and insurance. Please email the team for registration costs.

Prior year team members are given priority registration and typically register for the new season in February. Pine Mill Ranch residents who are new to the team and have successfully completed tryouts will then register in March filling any remaining spots. After this time if there are still spots available, priority is given to residents in nearby neighborhoods that do not have a swim team such as Silver Ranch, Cardiff Ranch and Hawks Landing. The swim team is always in need of kids age 13-18 and welcomes any members of the Tompkins Swim Team.

Please go to www.pmrrays.com for more information or email pmrswimteam@gmail.com
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