Petawawa Predators Swim Club

A competitive club and member of Swim Ontario which is part of Swim Canada.

The Petawawa Predators Swim Club is dedicated to developing aspiring young athletes by offering inclusive developmental and competitive programs that incorporate and build upon principles from the Long-Term Athlete Development Strategy. The Club strives to offer all members access to swimming, fair competition, and high standards of coaching. Our program focuses on stroke development, technical skill mastery, strength and conditioning, endurance, competitive swimming rules and the importance of health and fitness in everyday life.

Swimmers are monitored and mentored by trained and accomplished coaches. Coaches will assess the swimmers and assist parents in selecting the right starting point to match their current abilities. Swimmers are placed in levels that are best suited for them to ensure the growth and success of each athlete. Swim levels include programs for beginners in our developmental suite of programs; FUNdamentals and Pre-Competitive. Our competitive (based on a registration type, competition is not mandated for any swimmer) athletes then move onto programs for more advancement and skill development - Intro to Competitive, Junior Competitive, Senior Competitive, and Performance Swimming. They train 1 to 6 times a week depending on their level and interest. Fees and timings vary according to program.

Swimmers will also have the opportunity to compete in several swimming competitions throughout the year in Eastern Ontario. Our Club has developed athletes that have competed in regional, provincial and national championships.

Our Club coaching is provided by With Chela, a local provider of strategies for small town solutions, offering us the full scope of coaching staff development and support. Our Head Coach, Chela Breckon is the firm’s owner and is passionate about creating lasting solutions through meaningful programs in smaller communities that bring prosperity for all who participate. Chela brings more than 20 years of experience to the deck, working alongside her robust team of Student-Athlete-Coaches who have each trained, developed and become thriving supporters of young people under her leadership.

Get in touch with us for more information or to schedule a free no-obligation tryout with our coaching staff and team.

Club Program Levels

Competitive swimming is a dynamic and full-body sport that provides an opportunity for personal growth and development. Swimmers workout horizontally, through water and without much oxygen - there is no other sport like it for the fitness and skill outcome. The swimming experience also lends itself to the development of life skills; skills that readily transfer to all aspects of life, including education, leadership, and healthy daily habits. The sport allows individuals to challenge their abilities, both physically and psychologically, on a routine basis. Although competitive swimming is primarily an individual sport, training and competitions are conducted in a team environment. Through a strong team environment friendships are established and maintained for a lifetime.

You will quickly see that all the swimmers train…A LOT.. and they love it! As a club, we believe in youth leadership and giving great kids the chance to develop in their work while training. All of our senior athletes are somehow involved in supporting the younger swimmers, as we demonstrate the need to approach team development as a unified force, each contributing to the success and support of the other.

Our club has a different series of levels, to which we are able to match your swimmer’s current abilities. Depending on the maturity, experience, skills, and commitment of the swimmer, your child will be placed in the most appropriate level suited to them.

FUNdamentals: Learn through Play and Practice

1.5 hours per week
The FUNdamentals program is.. FUN! Swimmers love this program because it is designed to provide self-supporting swimmers with the foundations of competitive swimming in a fun and dynamic way. Students will be coached to perform competition-style technique while they learn how to build confidence and endurance in the water. We teach Freestyle, Backstroke, and dolphin kick primarily in this program for stroke development. Basic skills for competing will be taught, including starts, turns and relays. We love to have fun while we learn in this program, engaging our specialty of learning through play and practice! This program is suited for your child and your family’s schedule. New swimmers progress while swimming twice a week as they build skills at their own pace. We coach 3-4 individual ability groups per program timing and so that multiple skill and confidence levels within this program are no issue for your child. Progression in the program can also take place without changing the nights of the week or time they swim.
Pre-Competitive: Prepare to Compete and Skill Development

4.5 hours per week
Preparing to compete in the Pre-Competitive program involves learning a more detailed stroke technique, increased kicking drills, and significant practice of applying technical skills in competition. We teach all four strokes; Freestyle, Backstroke, Breastroke and Butterfly, along with the seven technical turns and 3 competitive starts. Swimmers will learn how to build endurance and speed with their new skills, being able to apply them in competition, training, and leisure. This group also has a variety of ability levels among the lanes, but within a closer range in order to encourage athletic growth and inspire excellent results in technique development at the appropriate rate for your child’s development in the sport. Swimmers in this program are invited up from the FUNdamentals group based on the desire to continue as a developmental swimmer.

The Pre-Competitive program is also designed to provide your experienced swimmer with the tools necessary to thrive in the sport of competitive swimming. The two practices during the week plus our dynamic Saturday morning workout provides variety and balanced spacing between workouts. The Saturday practice provides a more detailed clinical coaching opportunity for these budding swimmers, working with our Head Coach directly. The coaching staff strongly encourages that each swimmer compete three times per season in this program, at a minimum.

The foundations of their career in competitive swimming are set in this program and the athlete can accelerate at this stage only with mastery of the techniques. A well-developed skill set is crucial to move into the Intro to Competitive or Junior Competitive program from the Pre-Competitive program. The coaching standard to advance past this program is robust. Each swimmer must demonstrate a complete 200m Medley event and 200m Freestyle event with time standard in order to advance to the competitive program groups.
Intro to Competitive: Love to Train

4.5 hours per week
These swimmers are our budding competitive swimmers, more accomplished multi-sport athletes, or those who have picked up that new job but still want to get that time in the water to do what they love. Intro to Competitive is geared towards the athletes who are approximately the age of 12 and have mastered the fundamental skills, all four stroke techniques, competition skills and the 200 free and 200 IM events in a time standard set by coaching.

These swimmers have already been fine tuning their skills over previous seasons and have a desire to keep up the hard work. Sometimes this group has swimmers who are just advancing from Pre-Competitive and swim the recommended 4.5 hours per week because of their development age. The other athlete types in this group are those who train in other sports, have part-time jobs, or wish to take a more casual commitment to their training time.

Athletes training at this level should attempt to attend every possible swim competition that is available throughout the season and continue to maintain and improve upon their previous performances.
Junior Competitive: Learn to Train

6.5 hours per week
These swimmers are the rookies of our competitive team, and they are training to become our future top athletes. These athletes are ages 12 and under only and have mastered the fundamental skills, all four stroke techniques and competition skills. THey also have a roster of meets under their belts. Junior Competitive programming focuses on the mastery of the 400m Free and 200 IM events, along with obtaining a base time in as many other events as possible, including introduction to distance events like the 800m Free.

Kick training sets are now routine and being performed at a timed pace. An official, high performance activation routine is introduced and practiced daily. The athletes have increased expectations, including attendance to the clinics and practices on Saturday mornings whenever possible. Coaches also recommend that the Junior Competitive athletes compete as often as possible, a minimum of four times per season. These athletes often experience the largest growth rates with regards to speed performance, and must rely on their strong fundamentals to continue reaping the rewards of training. Swimmers can expect to learn finer skills of competing, including preparations to endure at faster speeds.
Senior Competitive: Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

6.5 hours per week
Train-to-Compete Swimmers registered in the Senior Competitive program have committed to a healthy training schedule and are competing as often as possible, a recommended six to eight times per season, not including championship meets. Swimmers are expected to learn about their own standings as an athlete and be familiar with their own personal measurements and intervals. Kick training is increased and more breath control drills are introduced. Every swimmer is coached on a 400 IM/Free base and is expected to swim a variety of events based on the coaches’ recommendations. Athletes training at this level fine tune their skills at practices and develop strong camaraderie on the deck at meets. Coaches expect strong sportsmanship, self-discipline with routine and equipment care, and a demonstration of commitment to the training regularly. Swimmers in this program are expected to have swum every possible event by the end of their first complete season in the program.

Senior Competitive swimmers are the top athletes, and often also the Student-Athlete-Coaches, of the club who are dedicated to maintaining that status. They train the most of all the groups and they often reap the largest rewards. Building on the increased responsibility, these athletes will demonstrate a significant commitment to the sport and to their performance coach. This is coached in a very detailed, athlete specific, clinical format. Athletes are expected to perform practices demonstrating mastery of the fundamentals and intermediate skills of competitive swimming while they train to perform these skills as fast as possible. Increased detail is added to the technique, taking into consideration underwater views of the swimmer for minor yet crucial adjustments. Top athletes should compete as often as possible, attending every meet in the schedule that is appropriate for his or her ability level. Performance at this level is truly in the hands of the athlete as they are provided with the utmost of resources in order to facilitate greatness in the sport of competitive swimming.
Performance Competitive: Train-to-Win
Performance Competitive… These swimmers are the best of the best. They are swimmers who are already competing at a Regional, Provincial and National level and require that extra time in the pool to keep improving. These swimmers have mastered the four stroke techniques, competition skills and are attending Regional, Provincial and/or National Competitions. These swimmers are mature and self-sufficient and require little development, rather refinement, of their techniques.

Swimmers in this program are often expected to commit to a dry-land training protocol, including other fitness and resilience activities that enable them to emerge as leaders in the program. We see our athletes in this group taking the podium at championship meets, taking on high rankings in their complementary sports, qualifying for national meets, and becoming well-balanced Student-Athletes.
Many of our performance athletes are also our Student-Athlete Coaches. They offer our younger swimmers the change to see what swimming can bring to their lives and support intergenerational development.

Head Coach discretion will be required for admittance to this program.

Petawawa Predators Swim Club

Club Program Levels

1.5 hours per week

4.5 hours per week

4.5 hours per week

6.5 hours per week

6.5 hours per week

Club Bylaws and Meeting Minutes

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Petawawa Predators Swim Club

Club Program Levels

Club Bylaws and Meeting Minutes

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