Do they arrive sparkly?

Unfortunately not. You will have to borrow or buy a special tool called a bejeweller (not a bedazzler) to heat set the crystals. The club orders the crystals for all the teams so you don’t have to figure out yourself how many you need.

Again, parents who’ve done a bathing suit or two will be happy to help you with a quick tutorial, and keep you company when you are bejewelling in the stands while your kid practices.

How many bathing suits will my kid need?

Aside from any training suits, each athlete needs at least 3 suits – a club suit, a plain black suit for figures, and a team competition suit. If your child has a solo or duet routine they will need competition suits for those routines as well.

Is there other club gear required?

To present our best at competitions, athletes are required to have Calgary Aquabelles clothing. In Provincial Stream it starts with the basics that include t-shirts, a hoodie, bathing caps and a team jacket. Other gear like backpacks, crop pants, shorts, parkas, and gear bags, eventually become necessary as your swimmer progresses into the higher levels, especially if they move into the National Stream.

What are figures?

Each basic skill in artistic swimming is referred to as a figure. Athletes master these basics and put them together – with music and choreography – to form their routine. As the athletes move up in age category the figures get more complex.

Do they compete at figures?

Yes, they do. Early in the season there are some figures-only competitions. At almost all other competitions in the season they will compete both figures and routines.

During figures competitions all athletes wear black bathing suits and white caps. This makes them nearly indistinguishable from each other. This helps the judges score only on the merit of the figure performed. It does not, however, help parents watching in the stands as it is difficult to identify your child!

Do all athletes compete at figures?

At the international and national levels the athletes now compete at Tech Routines instead of figures. The teams are given a set of figures that must be placed in a routine in a precise order. But each team gets to choose the music they use and the exact choreography.

How are they scored?

There are a whole host of things the athletes are marked on. In figure competitions it can include height out of the water, extension of the legs, and actual performance of the figure.

In routine competitions the judges are marking execution of the routine, difficulty, and artistic merit.

Most competitions have two components that the swimmers compete on; figures/tech routine and free routine. A percentage of these two scores are combined to form a final Championship score.

All scoring is done on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being perfect.

Who are the judges?

Alberta Artistic Swimming and Canada Artistic Swimming have certification programs for judges. Each competition will only be judged by certified judges. Anyone can become a judge, if they take the appropriate courses. All judges are volunteers.

What are the volunteer requirements?

No sports club can run without volunteer commitments. It takes the whole family to make the club work.

Each year the specific requirements may vary, depending on revenue, but the Calgary Aquabelles does have a bingo and casino commitment. 

At each hosted competition Aquabelles parents are required to work volunteer shifts to help the meet run smoothly. These shifts can include hospitality suites, timing routines, calling out scores, or keeping swimmers sorted out.

There are also dedicated volunteer opportunities to sit on the Board, coordinate team travel, coordinate fundraising or plan events.

What are the fundraising requirements?

There is no getting around the fact that pool rental time is expensive and the coaches do not work for free. The club runs a number of fundraisers throughout the year to defray the costs for both the club and athlete families.

Some fundraisers are mandatory. Other fundraisers are voluntary and can include meat or chocolate orders, bottle drives, or a grocery card program. These voluntary fundraisers can reduce your monthly fees.

Can parents go to competitions?

Absolutely! In fact, female chaperones are required for each out-of-city meet. If you chaperone you are responsible for feeding the athletes, making sure they sleep and arrive at the pool on time. Each chaperone is essentially a Mom away from home. If you do chaperone, your expenses and the food expenses of the team are covered by the team contributions.

All parents and family are welcome at each and every meet, but travel responsibilities will be your own. There might be times where travel can be booked with the team, but the extra cost is the family’s responsibility.

You say it is a big family, is that really true?

Well, when you spend this much time together it is hard not to be! The Calgary Aquabelles like to get together outside of the pool too – there is more to life than swimming. Each year we participate or host a number of different activities:

– The Calgary Aquaboobies are swimmers, coaches, and family members who fundraise and participate in the CIBC Run for the Cure each year.

– Each year we have a parent/daughter swim. Parents can get in the water and have their kids teach them – or try to teach them – some fundamentals. Gelling and hair buns for the parents are highly encouraged!

– Barbeques and parties bring the club together so girls from all the teams can connect and parents can catch up.

The athletes become very close throughout the year. Team events are organized by coaches and parents throughout the year. There are sleepovers, dinners, movie nights, birthday parties, and more. The athletes often become close friends and the parents do too. It really becomes like family.

How many competitions are there?

For Provincial Stream athletes the club usually attends 2 figures competitions in early winter and 2-3 Provincial meets. These may be in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer or even Grande Prairie. The locations of the meets vary each year. Most Provincial teams will travel to one out-of-province meet as well.

For National Stream athletes there are 2-4 competitions, some local and some across the country.

Who pays for competitions?

For each competition there are entry fees and travel fees (if travel is required). These are billed to your account as the year goes on. The club takes every opportunity to minimize costs and maximize travel coordination. Each team also covers the expenses of their coach’s travel.

The Calgary Aquabelles offer many levels of programs at various facilities within Calgary and surrounding areas. Due to our varying pool locations and hours of training both in and out of the water, we would prefer you contact our Registrar at registrar@aquabelles.com for more details on our costs.

Our Registrar will also be able to walk you through other costs associated with being a member of the Calgary Aquabelles such as competitions, club clothing, bathing suits and mandatory fundraising. Don’t worry – we offer many fundraising opportunities to help offset some of these costs..