Swimming Canada serves as the national governing body of competitive swimming. Swimming Canada’s vision of Swimming to Win; Winning for Life! reflects the lifelong attributes of the sport. Canadians are global leaders in high performance swimming and development for both able-bodied swimmers and swimmers with a disability. Swimming is recognized as one of the most celebrated and successful Canadian summer Olympic sports.
Along with teamwork, swimming teaches participants fundamental movement skills, fundamental sport skills and the ABCs – agility, balance, coordination and speed – of physical literacy.
Swimming’s Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model consists of seven stages.
- Active Start (M, F 0-6) – Teaches fundamental movement skills and links them together into play, while providing appropriate safety skills around water.
- FUNdamentals (M 6-9, F 5-8) – Promotes overall physical development and mobility in and out of the pool.
- Learn to Train (M 9-12, F 8-11) – Fine tunes movement skills and develops all swimming skills.
- Train to Train (M 12-15, F 11-14) – Builds an aerobic base, consolidates speed, skills and flexibility, and masters sport specific skills.
- Train to Compete (M 15-18, F 14-16) – Individualizes physical training approach, advances physical, technical and tactical skills, and introduces high levels of competition under various environments.
- Compete to Win (M 18+, F 16+) – Optimizes approach to longer term competitive schedule and annual training plan and refines lifestyle, all with the aim of maintaining a high performance career.
- Active for Life (M, F all ages) – Promotes lifelong physical activity, whether competitive or recreational, and encourages swimmers to pursue complimentary sport activity.
LTAD Strategy
This model focuses on the general framework of athlete development with special reference to growth, trainability, maturation and development, as well as system alignment and integration.
Parents Guide to LTAD
This document helps you understand the needs of young athletes and what may be done to promote their best interests in staying active and healthy.
I Can Swim is a dynamic learn to swim program which promotes lifelong aquatic participation. I Can Swim focuses on each swimmer’s unique needs and current developmental abilities.
Recovery and Regeneration Strategies
These strategies have a critical bearing on the developmental stages of athletic adaptations and trainability.
Swimming Canada – swimming.ca
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