FAQs
HOW OLD DOES MY CHILD HAVE TO BE TO JOIN THE TEAM?
Swimmers must be 5 years old as of May 1st of the season to swim for the Pirates.
HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE TEAM?
Registration for the 2026 season will open in early March 2026! Please register by date TBD in order to guarantee your swimmer will receive a team shirt, cap and drawstring bag. The board has to place the orders for team merchandise by this time in order to receive the shirts in time for the season.
Please click on the Registration link on the website.
WHEN CAN I SIGN UP FOR PRACTICE SCHEDULE?
Both after school and morning practices sign ups will open on March 6th.
HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR A PRACTICE TIME/LOCATION?
During practice sign up, you will select the time that best works for your child(ren). You are asked to select one time for the In School Schedule and another time for Out of School Schedule. There is not an option to attend multiple pool/practice times during the season. (For example - you CANNOT select Silverlake at 4 on Tuesday/Thursday and Silverlake at 4:45 on Wednesday/Friday).
WHICH POOL WILL WE BE HOLDING PRACTICES?
Silverlake
Silverlake Pool – 2715 Southwyk Parkway, Pearland TX 77584 (Near Silverlake and Silvercrest Elementary schools)
WHEN IS THE FIRST PRACTICE?
First practice will be Tuesday, May 12th. Bring goggles and a towel! Caps are not required for participation. We do not recommend that you wear your meet suit to practice as we will be using the same suit for two years and practicing in the suit will cause wear. Parents are encouraged to stay for practices if your children are 8 years and under. For those kids over 8 years old, it is up to the parent if they wish to stay and watch practice.
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH TRYOUTS?
In order for your swimmer to make the team, they must attend tryouts. Tryouts will be held at the Pearland Natatorium April 18, 2026. You will able to sign up for a tryout window as you will receive a SignUp Genius link during registration. All new swimmers must tryout, that are new to our team, unless you are a USA swimmer and all new and returning swimmers 6 and under must tryout. All 8U will swim a 25 yard freestyle and back stroke and all 9 and up swimmers will swim 50 yards of each. We are a competitive swim team and do not provide swim lessons. Due to the nature of our practices, your swimmer needs to be safe in the water and an independent swimmer. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.
WHEN CAN WE BUY OUR SUITS?
Team swim suits will be available for trying on and purchasing at our Kickoff Party, April 22nd at Centennial Park. Our vendor will be there and you will collect and pay for your team suit that day. We choose suits based on a two year availability so this will be the second year with this suit. You will want your suit before the first meet and team pictures.
WHAT DAYS DO WE PRACTICE?
Practice is 4 days a week (Tuesday - Friday). The Silverlake pool is closed on Mondays for maintenance and cleaning.
DO I NEED TO ATTEND EVERY PRACTICE?
We understand that everyone has busy schedules; especially this time of the year while school is winding down. We encourage you to attend as many as you can make to ensure that your swimmers are ready for the meets!
DO I NEED TO ATTEND EVERY MEET? AND ARE THERE FEES TO ATTEND MEETS?
No, your swimmer is not required to attend every meet however, we do require each swimmer to attend at least 2 meets. There are no additional fees to attend meets. However, if you child ends up qualifying for the Reserve and/or Champ meet at the end of the season (qualifying times are set by the Clear Creek Swim League and the meets are hosted by the Clear Creek Swim League), they must have swam in 2 regular season meets in order to attend.
DO I HAVE TO VOLUNTEER?
Yes! We are a volunteer run organization. We require one person to be signed up to volunteer from your family if your child is swimming in the meet. If you do not sign up to volunteer a shift at a meet your swimmer is attending they will not be allowed to swim in the meet. There are still many opportunities to fill your volunteer time before the season starts and pre and post meets! email [email protected] to find out how!
HOW MANY TIMES DO I NEED TO VOLUNTEER?
Every family that is not either serving a board position or as a committee chair must volunteer if your child is swimming at the meet. We also require that if your swimmer is participating in the Champ series, a volunteer will sign up to volunteer during that meet.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT JOBS THAT ARE AVAILABLE?
- Ready Area - This team helps to keep the meet flowing smoothly. Several parents must corral and organize swimmers before their races.
- Timing & Running - Timers will be provided a stop watch and swimmers’ times are manually recorded on heat sheets. An experienced head timer will coordinate all timers and the runners. Runners are needed to run heat sheets back and forth to the clerk of course.
- Ribbons - We award over a thousand ribbons per meet based on how the swimmers finished in their heat. This team sorts, assigns, and allocates ribbons based on meet results.
- Swimmer Check-In - These volunteers arrive at the meet early and help the junior coaches check in swimmers for the day's meet.
- Set up/Clean up - This team helps set up tents and facilities used by the team during the meet.
- Concessions - volunteering and providing donations.
- Floaters: Filling in as needed during the meet.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER JOBS?
Yes there are several other jobs that are required to run a smooth meet and provide a good experience. Many of those jobs (such as scoring and officiating) require more meet experience or training so those are being staffed outside of open enrollment. Others are new (tech support and photography) and have also been staffed separately.
WHAT ABOUT CONCESSIONS?
We will be running our own concessions this year at our home meet. Please be on the lookout for more information.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T FULFILL MY VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT?
If you do not fulfill your obligation to volunteer your swimmer will be ineligible to participate in the following meet of the season, unless a plan has been approved by a board member.
WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE MEET?
1) Make sure that your swimmers get to the ready area for their events.
2) Make sure that you communicate to the coaches and the board if there are issues. Remember, we have over 250 swimmers so we need you to initiate communication with us.
3) VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER, VOLUNTEER - The meet is run ENTIRELY by parent volunteers. We reqiore you to sign up, show up, and work your shifts so that our kids can enjoy the meet. Registration for volunteer positions will be open soon and you are responsible for working if you have a swimmer in the meet.
WHAT IS THE 2026 MEET SCHEDULE?
See 2026 Upcoming Events section on this website.
WHERE ARE OUR HOME MEETS?
Pearland Natatorium - 4141 Bailey Road, Pearland 77584
WHO CAN SWIM IN THE MEETS?
All registered and paid swimmers can declare for the meets. Some away meets may impose caps on the number of swimmers that we can bring to each meet. In the event that this happens, we will do everything possible to ensure that all swimmers that declare get a chance to record times for the week.
HOW DO I DECLARE FOR THE MEETS?
You will be able to declare for meets on our website.
WHEN DO I DECLARE FOR THE MEETS?
The deadline for registering for the meet is one week prior to the meet (Sunday at 6 p.m.). (Example: The deadline for the meet on June 4th will be May 29th). If something changes up to the deadline, you may come back and re-enter your information. We will take the latest submission. If something changes after the deadline, you will need to send an e-mail directly to the Pirate Clerk of Course. Please double check that you have registered! We cannot guarantee that we will be able to add your swimmer if you miss the deadline.
WHEN SHOULD I ARRIVE FOR THE MEET?
All swimmers should arrive at the meet pool by 6:45 AM for check-in and warm-ups. Late arrivals can lose their place in an event. You must have your swimmer check-in at the Pirate tent or designated check-in spot. If you are not checked in by 7:00 a.m., your swimmer will be scratched from all events. This is a hard deadline and we have no ability to add your swimmer if you are late.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
The following is a recommended list of things to either bring or have available:
It is imperative that the coach and the Pearland Clerk of Course be notified of any early departure. Please remember that if your child swims on a relay, his/her absence will affect 3 other swimmers. Please don’t leave 3 other teammates, who may have waited hours to swim hanging. If you leave the meet and your swimmer misses a relay without coach approval, your swimmer will be ineligible for further relays for a time determined by the coaching staff. Also remember, sometimes your child may be placed in an individual or relay event as a replacement swimmer during the meet – or may have forgotten that they are swimming in the last relay. Please check with the Clerk of Course before actually leaving.
WHERE SHOULD THE SWIMMERS BE DURING THE MEET?
During meets, swimmers should stay near the team in the designated Pirate area if one is provided. They will be notified when it is time for them to report to the ready area for an event. When swimmers arrive at the ready area, they must check in with the Ready Area person and be listening for their event and heat. Junior coaches, RASH helpers and the Ready Area volunteers assist the swimmers in getting in their appropriate heats. Ultimately, it is the swimmer's responsibility to be in the ready area at the appropriate time or they could be scratched from the event and possibly the meet.
WHAT IF WE HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS?
During swim meets, any questions or complaints about actions of the officials or the opposing team must be directed to any board member, who will relay the question or complaint to the meet Referee. CCSL rules prohibit parents or swimmers from approaching Judges and/or the Referee directly. Only an official league representative may do so. Disregarding this rule could cause the team to incur sanctions or prompt your removal from the competition. Please represent yourself, your swimmer and the team well by being courteous and respectful of officials as well as all other meet volunteers
WHAT ARE THE EVENTS?
At meets, swimmers compete against other swimmers of the same gender, age group, and general ability. There are six age groups: 6 and Under; 8 and Under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, and 15 - 18. A meet includes competition in seven event types. There are five individual events: Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Individual Medley. There are two relays: Freestyle Relay and Medley Relay. Each age group participates in each event type with the following exceptions: 8 and under do not swim Individual Medley; and 6 and under only swim Freestyle, Backstroke and Freestyle Relay. The order for a Medley Relay is Back, Breast, Fly, Free. The order for an Individual Relay is Fly, Back, Breast, Free. For this year, swimmers are limited by CCSL rules to five events per meet. These could include three individual events and two relays or three individual events and one relay. Because of time constraints, not all swimmers will swim five events at every meet. We will target at least four events for each swimmer.
HOW MANY EVENTS WILL MY SWIMMERS PARTICIPATE IN?
While a swimmer can be entered in a maximum of five events per regular season meet (3 individual, 2 relay), the Coaching staff may not be able to enter all swimmers in five events. We may limit events to 2-3 per swimmer to expedite timely meets or when there is a large discrepancy in the size of the teams. We try to have the events posted on the website by Friday afternoon. If not, you will find out your events when you check in at 6:45 a.m.
DO THEY GET RIBBONS?
Swimmers are awarded ribbons in all heats in regular season meets. The event and time will be recorded on the back of the ribbon. The ribbons will be distributed near swimmer check-in at the beginning of the following meet (and each regular season meet thereafter). Have a special place to show off your ribbons!!
CAN THEY BE DISQUALIFIED?
Swimmers are judged according to the USA Swimming Rules & Regulations for competition with the following exception. One false start is allowed before disqualification. Unfortunately, swimmers are sometimes disqualified during a race, usually for executing a start, stroke, turn or finish illegally. They may also be disqualified for early takeoff in relays. The starter, stroke and turn judges, and the referee may disqualify swimmers. It is important to remember that the meet referee has the ability to disqualify individual competitors for poor sportsmanship and conduct as well. These officials are parent volunteers who have received specific CCSL training. Their purpose is to assure that no swimmer gains an unfair advantage over another swimmer. When time permits, an official will seek out the swimmer or their coach to explain the reason for disqualification. Do not, under any circumstances, approach any official regarding a disqualification. By CCSL rule, only an official league representative may do so. Disregarding this rule could cause the team to incur sanctions or prompt your removal from the competition. As with any concern, please approach a board member for assistance. Please represent yourself, your swimmer and the team well by being courteous and respectful of officials as well as all other meet volunteers.
As always, please see a Board Member or email [email protected] with any other questions or concerns!
