Practices

Hey Swimmers!

Here’s where you’ll find all the info you need about practices – schedules, pool locations, activation, dryland, and more! So keep reading, please…

Please read the schedule carefully, and check back here regularly since the schedule is subject to change.

Swimmers should arrive 15 minutes early (or at the time their coach advises) for dry land exercises before swim practice.

Parents, for safety reasons, please make sure the pool is open before you drive away after dropping your child off. There has been the odd occasion where the pool has had to close unexpectedly. Please be on time to pick up your children. The coaches are only responsible for their swimmers during scheduled practice time.

The coaches generally remain at the pool for fifteen minutes after the end of practice so if you need to talk to the coaches about your child’s progress, this would be a good time to do so. No parent should be on deck talking to the coaches during practices!

Historically, the Vikings have practiced out of seven different pools in Vancouver. We use abbreviations to refer to each pool, as follows:

LB: Lord Byng Community Centre
KE: Kerrisdale Community Centre
SGS.: St George's Senior School
JCC: Jewish Community Centre
HC: Hillcrest
UBC: University of British Columbia
REN: Renfrew Pool

For all these pools, swimmers should follow these basic rules:

Don't wear outdoor shoes on deck
Do shower before your enter the pool
Do double-check after practice to make sure you haven't left anything behind

In addition to the above, here are some reminders that apply to specific pools. Please PLEASE respect these rules. Our use of these facilities is a privilege, not a right.

If the front door is not open, you may have to access the pool through the back entrance on 43^rd Ave.

SGS

Parking/Dropping off swimmers

The School is entering a multi-phase, multi-year series of construction and re-configuration of the school grounds. The School’s parking lot has now been permanently reduced in size and is restricted to staff only and various construction needs.
Parking must occur on one of the neighboring streets: 29th Ave or Camosun Street or other.
Drop offs on site are not permitted. There is simply not enough room for multiple "turn-a-rounds" in the smaller area with many pedestrians. Parents can park on the street as above. The entrance is Door I, the entrance door to the Athletics Wing and the Pool. The back door to the pool is no longer accessible for entrance or exit. Groups will meet on 29th Avenue and walk up to the entrance together with their coach. Children should not be walking on campus without an adult. NO LATECOMERS are allowed for practice.
These guidelines may change throughout the year as we enter various construction phases, we will update groups asap in case of these changes. We appreciate your cooperation and flexibility with the above.

Entrance to the school/pool

Groups will walk to the entrance with their coach. Groups will meet on 29th Avenue.
To be made exclusively through DOOR “I” at the NW corner of the school.
Please ensure all members only access the Athletics hallway that leads to the pool entrance when inside the school.

WiFi

There is minimal access to WiFi in the pool area. The School does have guest WiFi available during daytime hours only by asking for a daily login from the main front office. The pool office and lifeguard staff cannot provide this.

Changerooms

Generally not in use for our practices.
Please respect the facility and leave the changeroom in tidy order.
Please report immediately any issue inside the changerooms to a coach or lifeguard. If the lifeguard is required to attend to a matter, swimmers may need to exit the pool for that duration.

Bags and valuables

St. George's is not responsible for lost or missing items so please ensure your swimmers take care of their belongings. Best option is to bring all bags and gear on deck and place on the bleachers/storage shelves during your sessions.
As a service we do have a Lost & Found with dedicated bins for 1st, 2nd and 3rd week of items. After 3 weeks any remaining items are repurposed or donated to charity. Please call the pool office or stop by during pool hours to check on items.

Shoes/footwear

We do not have (yet) a specific "no shoes" policy like most other pools. Please respect this daily by ensuring they wipe their shoes at the School entrance door and the Pool door, and remove them if in fact they are dirty. As the wet weather begins this fall, grass on shoes becomes more prevalent and we wish to reduce amounts on deck and into the pool system.

Cellphones and picture/video

Prohibited in and around the changerooms
Allowable inside the pool only if 1 single group is renting at that time, and only if ok within the policies of your particular group. No St. George’s logos or marks may be used or displayed in the pictures/videos for any promotion or advertising purpose without permission of St. George’s School.

General

Please arrive on site no earlier than 30 minutes before your practice and do your best to vacate within 15 minutes after your practice ends.
You are prohibited from using any of the school facilities other than the pool area. You may not warmup, play, run, loiter on or otherwise use the school field, parking lot, or hallways in any way.
Activation is not permitted in the hallway(s) near the pool - activation happens on deck ONLY, and only within the 15 minutes prior to practice.
Swimmers and coaches may use the kickboards, pullbuoys and mats found on deck. Please make sure to put this gear away at the end of practice.
Fins, stretch cords and the other gear that is contained in the storage room at the deep end of the pool are NOT to be used at any time.

JCC

Your coach will advise as to what entrance to use for this facility - either the main entrance or through the back patio doors that can be accessed from the lane behind the JCC building.
Currently, all practices will meet on the pool deck after entering through the main entrance. Advise the person at the desk next to the entrance to the sporting area that you are attending a Vikings practice and you will be let through the door.

UBC

Access to the facility is through the main entrance. Access to the locker rooms is via the turnstile located to the left of the front desk – please check in with the front desk first. The participant list is located at the front. All athletes must access the pool area from this entrance and via the change rooms. Doors to the facility are not to be propped open and entrance to the deck is not permitted through the gate in the viewing area.
Participants are granted access through the turnstile in the front lobby 30min prior to the start of your rental. Deck access is permitted 15min prior to your rental.
Lockers: There are coin day use lockers available for $1 or $.025 depending on the size of the locker. There are also cubbie holes on deck to store your items.
On-deck dry-land / warm-up areas:
- 50m: North end under the LED screen;
- 25m: North end between the diving boards and the change rooms
Equipment storage: There is no dedicated storage space at this time.
Paper copies of workouts are not be a left on the natatorium deck, walls nor ceiling.
Outside footwear is not permitted on the pool deck or shower areas. Bare feet, aqua shoes or deck sandals/shoes only.
ALL participants must shower before entering the water.
There is no food or beverages, aside from water, are allowed on deck. No glass containers.
UBC Aquatic Centre is not responsible for lost or stolen items.
All Vikings should familiarize themselves with the new UBC Aquatic Centre rules and etiquette as well as the UBC Recreation Policies updated fall 2016. General information can be found here.

Group 1/P1:

Tue 7:00-8:00 pm (UBC) January 14th-March 11th (no practice on March 18 and 25th) (April Schedule TBA)

Thur 6:30-7:30 am (HC) January 16th-March 13th (no practice on March 20th and 27th) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 2/P2:

Tue 6:30-7:30am (HC) January 14th-March 11th (no practice on March 18th and 25th) (April Schedule TBA)

Fri 7:30-8:30 pm (SGS) January 10th-March 14th (no practice February 14th, March 21st, and 28th) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 3/P3:

Tues 6:30-7:30 am (HC) January 14th-March 11th (no practice on March 18th and 25th) (April Schedule TBA)

Sun 6:00-7:00 pm (LB) January 12th- March 9th (no practice February 16th, March 16th and 23rd) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 4/P4:

Fri 7:30-8:30 pm (SGS) January 10th- March 14th (no practice February 14th and March 21st and 28th) (April Schedule TBA)

Sun 6:00-7:00 pm (LB) January 12th- March 9th (no practice February 16th, March 16th and 23rd) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 5/P5:

Fri 6:30-7:30 pm (SGS) January 10th-March 14th (no practice February 14th, March 21st, and 28th) (April Schedule TBA)

Sun 5:00-6:00 pm (LB) January 12th- March 9th (no practice February 16th, March 16th and 23rd) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 6/P6:

Fri 6:30-7:30 pm (SGS) January 10th-March 14th (no practice February 14th, March 21st, and 28th) (April Schedule TBA)

Sun 5:00-6:00 pm (LB) January 12th- March 9th (no practice February 16th, March 16th and 23rd) (April Schedule TBA)

Group 1/P1

Tue 7:00-8:00 pm (UBC) September 10th to December 10th

Thur 6:30-7:30 am (HC) September 12th to December 12th

Group 2/P2

Tue 7:00-8:00 pm (UBC) September 10th to December 10th

Fri 7:30-8:30 pm (SGS) September 6th to December 6th (no practice October 11th, November 8th)

Sat 5:00-6:00 pm (SGS) December 14th

Group 3/P3

Tue 6:30-7:30 am (HC) September 10th to December 10th

Sun 6:00-7:00 pm (LB) September 8th to December 1st (no practice October 13th, November 10th)

Sun 5:00pm-6:00pm (SGS) December 8th and 15th

Group 4/P4

Fri 7:30-8:30 pm (SGS) September 6th to December 6th (no practice October 11th, November 8th)

Sun 6:00-7:00 pm (LB) September 8th to December 1st (no practice October 13th, November 10th)

Sun 5:00pm-6:00pm (SGS) December 8th and 15th

Sat 5:00-6:00 pm (SGS) December 14th

Group 5/P5

Fri 6:30-7:30 pm (SGS) September 6th to December 6th (no practice October 11th, November 8th)

Sun 5:00-6:00 pm (LB) September 8th to December 1st (no practice October 13th, November 10th)

Sun 4:00pm-5:00pm (SGS) December 8th and 15th

Sat 4:00-5:00 pm (SGS) December 14th

Group 6/P6

Fri 6:30-7:30 pm (SGS) September 6th to December 6th (no practice October 11th, November 8th)

Sun 5:00-6:00 pm (LB) September 8th to December 1st (no practice October 13th, November 10th)

Sun 4:00pm-5:00pm (SGS) December 8th and 15th

Sat 4:00-5:00 pm (SGS) December 14th

Here is the Vikings' position on private swim lessons during the summer season:

The Vikings as a Club, including our Coaches, have endeavoured to create a summer swimming program that meets every swimmer’s training and development needs, ideally eliminating the need for VIK families to seek supplemental swim instruction for their athletes.
If a Vikings family wishes to hire a coach (whether a Vikings coach or a coach not working with the Club) to provide private lessons, the Vikings will not get involved in that family’s decision. It is up to each individual parent/swimmer/family to make choices about their child’s need for additional training. If a family is unsure about a swimmer’s need for additional individual instruction, parents are welcome to discuss this issue with their Group Coach to get his/her input.
The Vikings Coaches are available to provide private lessons to Vikings swimmers on request. They have agreed to set a standard price at $50 per one hour private lesson, or $40 per hour per swimmer for a semi-private lesson (i.e., the total fee for a one hour semi-private lesson with 2 swimmers is $80), plus the cost of any pool rental, as well as a $10 administrative fee paid to the Vikings. All payments are to be made by cash to the coach. The Vikings do not provide additional pool time for private lessons. (We have used up all the pool time we can find on practices!)
If a Vikings family requests private lessons from a Vikings Coach other than the particular swimmer’s Group Coach, the “private lesson” Coach will likely speak to the Group Coach prior to the private lesson about the planned focus of the lesson so that both Coaches are working together to support the swimmer.
We encourage all VIK parents and Coaches to deal with the issue of private lessons openly, transparently, respectfully, and collaboratively. For any family that does decide to seek private lessons, we would also strongly encourage you to schedule these at a time that does not interfere with your swimmer’s ability to participate in his/her scheduled VIK group practices. If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact our Club President at president@vancouvervikings.com or Head Coach at headcoach@vancouvervikings.com

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact our Club President at president@vancouvervikings.com or Head Coach at headcoach@vancouvervikings.com