Welcome to the Hampden Heights Hurricanes Swim Team, located in Denver, Colorado. The team is organized by parent volunteers and the team's only paid staff are the coaches. Team fees cover coach salaries, administrative costs, league fees, insurance and awards. From time to time the team must purchase equipment. We currently raise funds by running the concession stand at home meets.  

Registration and Swimmer Fees

Registration usually opens in April and closes 1 week prior to our first swimmeet. The registration fee for one swimmer is $150, $145 the second swimmer in a family,  $140 for a third swimmer, and $135 for each additional swimmer. Swimmers who are 15-18 years old can swim for a reduced rate of $75. You do not need to be a HHST member to join! Any family that is not a member of the Hampden Heights Swim and Tennis club will need to pay an additional Non-Member fee of $100 per family.

Communication

This Swimtopia website is a great source of information and the site we use for registrations (usually opens mid-April and closes late May).  Check back frequently and look around!! News and announcements will be communicated via email and on the website. Please make sure that you register with your most current e-mail address.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Parent Reps or a coach.

Swim Meets

There are five (5) swim meets scheduled during our regular season. Each week, on Saturday morning, we will compete against a different team from our league. We usually have 2-3 home meets and 2-3 away meets.  Each meet consists of 90 events. Every swimmer is allowed to swim in three (3) individual events and two (2) relays in his/her age group. The age group in which your child will swim is defined by their age at 12:01 am on June 1st of the current year. In order to participate in a meet, a swimmer must be on the roster and have an insurance waiver on file with the league.

It is assumed that if you have a swimmer on the team, they will swim in each meet. If they are unable to swim in a meet, please let the coaches know ASAP by changing your status on the website for that particular meet. If your swimmer is able to attend only part of a meet, it is important that you let the coaches know what time you are leaving or arriving. We will do our best to accommodate your schedule.

The coaches make every effort to enter swimmers in events the swimmers want to swim, and the events the coaches believe they will do well in. Meet Entries are emailed to the team every Wednesday. Please check these sheets carefully to see what events your child is swimming. All changes are due by Thursday mornings, no exceptions.  We spend a great amount of time choosing events for swimmers. Please be aware of the burden it puts on the coaches and officials to make last minute changes. Also, a change in your schedule can affect many swimmers. Please be respectful and considerate of how a change may also affect swimmers on a relay team.

Insurance Note

Due to Hampden Heights Civic Association insurance and liability issues, siblings and family members of swim team participants are Not Permitted to swim or use the pool facilities during swim team practice time. The pool does not have lifeguards on duty during swim team practices. Our swimmers are covered during practice time by Rocky Mountain Swim League insurance. Again, this does not cover siblings or family members.

If you have a question or concern that you need to speak to a coach about, please do not present it to the coach during practice time. They will be happy to talk with you before or after practice. The time slated for practice is short and the coaches need to give their full attention to the swimmers.

Additionally, all swimmers and families must leave the pool area when their swim practice is over. Coaches cannot be responsible for swimmers before or after their appointed practice time. Our pool open up right after practice, so swimmers and families need to make it a point to clean and tidy up upon exiting as there is no gap time for guards to ready the pool before guests arrive. Also, due to insurance and liability issues, the coaches will not be able to drive swimmers to any swim team function.

Items to Bring to Swim Meet

Swimmers should bring extra towels, sweats, chair, sleeping bag and a tarp (for wet ground) since it is cool in the mornings, especially after warm-ups. It is important that all swimmers have warm clothes to put on after warm-up and early events to keep muscles warm. Warm muscles reduce injuries! It is also best if swimmers wear shoes between races, again to prevent injuries. Umbrellas or shade tents also make the meet more comfortable. Games or other activities for your child to play with during the meet are encouraged. While there are concession stands for food, many families like to pack small coolers with energy snacks. Label all personal items with swimmers' name.

Photos

A team photo and an individual and sibling photos will be taken by a professional during a morning this summer. Watch the calendar for the date to be determined.

Practice

Practices are essential to a swimmer's success. Without regular practice, there would be little improvement in personal best times and no preparation for competition in meets. Swimmers are expected to attend a minimum of three practices per week, however, it is understood that there will be days when this is not possible due to day camps, vacations, etc. Please inform the coaches when a swimmer will be missing since decisions regarding the meets are partly based on practice attendance. 

Sorry, no dogs are allowed inside the fenced area of our pool. They are welcome outside the fence or at Hampden Heights Park.

Prelims and Finals

At the end of the regular meet season, there is a post season. These meets are set up similar to the Olympics in that there are Prelim meets held for the age groups before the Finals meet to determine who will swim in the Finals meet. The prelim meets are broken down into 4 age groups which will swim on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the week prior to the Finals meet. As in the regular meets, each swimmer is allowed to compete in three (3) individual events. At the Prelim meet, all of the teams in the RMSL league compete against each other and the top 16 will move on to Finals.

Due to other commitments or personal reasons, not all swimmers attend Prelims. If a swimmer will not be able to swim in Finals, please do not sign them up for Prelims. Otherwise a spot for Finals may go empty, eliminating another swimmer.

Warm-Up Schedule for Meets

Swimmers will warm up for Home meets at 6:45 am and at Away meets at 7:25 am. Meets begin at 8:00 am. This means in the water at this time with arrival at the pool 15 minutes prior to our warm up time. It is important to have your swimmer participate in warm-ups. Not only does it "get their blood flowing" it also allows the coaches to identify who is not at the meet.

Weather Policy

Practice and meets will be held if the air temperature is 60 degrees or above and it is not thundering, windy or lightening. If in doubt, please check the website for a posted notice. Lastly, it is your decision as a parent to decide whether or not your child should swim - if you feel that your child should not swim in the current weather condition it is your option not to send your swimmer to practice.  In general, plan on no cancellations unless lightning or extreme cold, like snow.

Website

Make www.hampdenheights.swimtopia.com a bookmark on your internet browser and refer to it often. We will keep it updated and current.

GO HURRICANES!