Opinions on youth swim teams (Colorado Springs, Woodmoor: home, work, high school)

[5mom]

The family is moving to Colorado Springs soon and I am looking to plug our children into a swim team. We've got one competitive swimmer and 2 others just starting. I'm a bit overwhelmed with the choices in the area. Does anyone have an opinion on which team has better facilities, equipment, coaching staff?

[Charles]

There are three big ones I know of:

Colorado Springs Swim Team
Home - Colorado Springs Swim Team

Falphins
Falfin Home Page

Woodmoor Waves
Home Page

I have researched them all.

You can get all the basics off those web pages.

Here's my subjective opinion. I live near Monument. I think a lot depends on where you live. To me (I have four girls 8,6,4 years and six months) convenience is more important than anything else.

CSST works out at good hours (like 5 pm), but they work out at Colorado College which is more than 1/2 hour from me - not factoring traffic at that time of day either. If I lived closer to Colorado College I would pick this one.

Falfins works out at horrible hours like 7 or 730 at night, but they are a little closer (20 minutes) working out at Rampart High School.

Woodmoor waves is close to me (three miles) and works out at good hours (5pm) but you have to me a member of the Woodmoor Pines Country Club to be on their team - that totally sucks. They have a great coach and have a nice facility but who wants to pay an extra $70/mo (plus $1500 initiation fee) to join a club that you don't need to use? This may change however because a new YMCA opened near Woodmoor and a lot of people may be (are) bailing from the Woodmoor Pines to join the YMCA; maybe Woodmoor will cool it on the initiation fees and mandatory memberships as now they won't be the only game in town for swimming and working out. If Woodmoor didn't have the restrictive membership policy then I'd pick this one.

I think one or two YMCAs have small swim teams.

Where will you be living? If you are near downtown, then consider CSST. If you are in the north end of town then consider Falfins, but get ready for 7PM workouts - way too late for my 3rd grader.