Swim Team 2026!!!

Swim Team is for swimmers, aged 4-18, who enjoy competing against other recreational swim teams, improving strokes, and possibly making the best friends you will ever have!   

 

Where

  • Home meets and practice are held at James Lemos Pool, 181 East J Street, in Benicia
  • Away meets are held at various pool within Contra Costa and Napa Counties. 

 

Participation in Swim Meets

  • We are a competitive swim team and we expect all members to participate in as many meets as possible.  Please do not schedule vacation during the week of League Championships as we want 100% attendance at this meet on Saturday, July 25th.

 

Age Requirements

  • Swimmers must be between the ages of 4-18, as determined by their rec swim age on June 15th, 2026.

 

10/under Requirements

  • For NEW swimmers joining the team, we require all NEW 10/unders to participate in tryouts (Date TBD).  Swimmers will be expected to:
    • ​Swim across the pool unassisted
    • Put their face in the water
    • Float on their back
  • Registration will open BEFORE tryouts can occur.  If you believe your swimmer will pass tryouts, please register them to secure their place on the team (spots for the younger swimmers are limited and fill up quickly).  If your swimmer does not pass tryouts, we will refund your registration fee MINUS a $25 processing fee (so be fairly certain your swimmer can swim the length of the pool before registering).  If your 8/under swimmer elects to move to our Little Rays (see below), we will refund you the difference in registration fees.  

 

 

Little Rays--NEW This Year!!!

  • ​4-8 year old swimmers who are new to swimming and can not swim 25 yards independently may sign up for Little Rays!  Your swimmer MUST be at least 4 years by June 15th to participate.  
  • Enrollment Cap:  16 swimmers
  • Dates:  Monday, June 15 - Friday, July 17, 2026.  This is a summer-only program with lessons 5 days per week, 30 minutes per lesson.  
  • Times:  TBD, likely in the afternoon after regular practice is finished
  • Cost:  $350 per swimmer
  • Little Rays are not on the competitive swim team.   They do not participate in meets.  BUT, if your Little Ray advances quickly and can safely swim across the pool independently, they will be invited to participate in any remaining HOME meets we have for the summer (not away meets and not League Championship Meet).
  • Parent Volunteer Requirement: NONE!!!!  If you have older swimmers on the team, then you do still have a volunteer requirement​.
  • If you know your swimmer will not pass tryouts (you KNOW they can not swim 25 yards independently), you can sign them up for Little Rays from the beginning.  If you THINK they have a chance at passing tryouts and you want them on the competitive swim team, register them for competitive swim team to secure their spot (6/under spots fill quickly!)  All new 10/under swimmers registered for competitive swim team need to show up to tryouts. If they do not pass tryouts, the 8/unders can move down to Little Rays as long as we have space to accomodate them. We will refund you the difference in registration price.  If your swimmer does not pass tryouts,  and does not join Little Rays, we will refund you the registration fee minus a $25 credit card processing fee.  

 ​

Competitive Swim Team Enrollment Caps (these totals do not include our Little Rays)

  • 6/unders:  35 swimmers
  • 7/8s:  40 swimmers
  • Total Team:  180 swimmers

 

Registration

  • Spring and Summer is considered "one season", so you register and pay once. Your registation fees will cover both Spring and Summer practices and all dual meets/League Championship Meet.  Invitational meets do have additional fees associated with them.   
  • Early Bird Registration  
    • ​Returning families only
    • Opens on February 1, 2026 at 9am and closes on February 15, 2026 at midnight.  
    • $430 (ages 4-14), $255 (ages 15-18), Little Rays $350
  • Regular Registration
    • ​New and returning families
    • Opens February 16, 2026 at 9am
    • $480 (ages 4-14), $255 (ages 15-18), Little Rays $350
  • Sibling Discount
    • ​There is a $35 discount for each sibling AFTER the first registrant
  • BHS Boosters $5 fee
    • Swim team fees are NOT increasing this year.  The only difference from last year is that we added a $5 per swimmer booster fee, which will be donated to the Benicia High School Aquatics Program to help fund their aquatic sports.  The majority of our swimmers go on to participate in BHS Aquatics, and this is a small way to demonstrate our support!  

 

Registration Cancellations by Parentes:

  • Any registration cancellation prior to the start of the first practice will be refunded in full, minus a $25 processing fee per swimmer.
  • Cancellations after the first practice, but up through the Monday after Tmie Trials (Monday, May 18th),will be refunded at 50% of the registratoin fee minus a $25 processing fee.
  • Cancellations after Monday, May 18th will not be refunded.

 

 

City/County/State Mandated Shutdowns:   If there are any natural or man-made disasters that require a premature end to our season, we will do our best to provide refunds with the following schedule (as a team, we still have fixed expenses that must be met, even if the season is cut short):

  • Season is canceled before the start of the season:  100% refund minus our $25 credit card processing fee
  • Season is canceled after the start of the season but before Time Trials:  75% refund minus credit card processing fees
  • Season is canceled after Time Trials but before June 1st:  50% refund minus credit card processing fees
  • Season is canceled after June 1st but before July 1st:  25% refund minus credit card processing fees
  • Season is canceled after July 1:  No refunds

The above refund schedule is only for mandated shutdowns.  They do not apply to individual families who have a change of heart or decide to withdraw their swimmer due to personal illness, beliefs, etc. 

 

Practice Schedule

 

Meets

  • During the Summer, meets will occur on some Wednesday afternoons and most Saturday mornings.  Occasionally, there will be a Sunday invitational meet. 
  • See the Season Calendar for the most current meet schedule (subject to change). 
  • We expect all swimmers and families to be present at our League Championship Meet on Saturday, July 25th at American Canyon High School.

 

Volunteer Requirement For Competitive Team (Does NOT Apply If You ONLY Have A Little Ray)

  • Swim Team can not function without significant family involvement.  Each swim meet requires 60+ parent volunteers to function smoothly. 
  • Please review the parent volunteer requirements before you sign up for swim team and make sure you are able to fulfill the requirement either by fulfilling the required hours or by buying out of your volunteer requirement for $500.  
  • The 2026 volunteer requirements are the same as for the 2025 season
  • ​We are currently contacting last year's Core Volunteers to see which roles we will need to fill for the upcoming season.  Please be on the lookout for Core Volunteer recruting emails in the near future!  
  • Social Volunteer Jobs
    • This includes volunteering at fundraising events (Lapapalooza), Team Parties (Season Opening Party, Award Ceremony, Family Fun Night), Team Photos, July 3rd Parade, Spirit Week Helpers, etc. 
    • New this year, we are asking for an Age Group Parent Volunteer for each age group (one per age group to serve both genders).  This will fulfill your two social jobs for the season (you still need to complete 4 meet jobs). 
      • ​This parent will collect donations from age group families and make an age group raffle basket for a future fundraiser (required)
      • This parent will have an age group email list and could coordinate one or two parent funded social events over the season such as a picnic in a park, movie outing, pizza meet up, etc (not required, but encouraged)
      • If you are interested, reply back to this email so we can assign you this role!  
  • ​If you ONLY have 15/up swimmers, you do NOT have a parent volunteer requirement, BUT you are still required to volunteer at all invitationals and any Championship Meets that your swimmer attends. This also applies to Board Members and Core Volunteers with swimmers of any age.    
  • Job Subs
    • Families may hire a teen to work their volunteer shifts for them (usually you pay a teen to time for you at a meet). 
    • If you have a RELIABLE teenager (16 years or older) who wants to be added to our job sub list, please reply back with their name and cell phone number.  The going rate is ~$50 for a dual meet, sometimes higher for invitationals or League Championships.  
  • You will be able to sign up for your season volunteer jobs AFTER your registration has been approved.  Normally registration is approved 1-2 days after you click submit.  There may be a SLIGHT delay this year as our Membership Director may not have reliable internet service while camping in the wilderness with her son's outdoor adventure class.  

 

Athlete Code of Conduct

  • When you register, we will be asking all families to review the Athlete Code of Conduct with their Stingray.  You will check a box that you have read and agree to the Code.