Program Information

RECREATION SQUADS
Swimmers focus on development of basic swimming abilities and lifesaving skills and may earn awards such as the Lifesaving Societies Rookie, Ranger, and Star awards.

COMPETITIVE SQUADS 
Swimmers focus on Lifesaving Sport and will encourage swimmers to build on existing swimming skills and their spirit of competition. Swimmers are encouraged to attend most/all swim meets.

Please refer to the 2021-2022 program information guide for more details on each squad.
Program information and Registration documents can be found on the Orcas homepage or under "additional information" when viewing the online registration portal.

Recreation squads offered:

Killer Whales Session 1 and 2
The Killer Whales squad is for young swimmers who have an interest in improving their swimming abilities by increasing the depth and distance of the water that they are comfortable in while also being introduced to some aspects of Lifesaving Sport skills.

Beginner Rec Session 1 and 2
The Beginner Rec squad further improves upon the swimming and lifesaving skills that were introduced in the Killer Whales squad. They will also be introduced to some basic water safety and first aid skills.

Advanced Rec
The Advanced Rec squad focuses on the further development of swimming skills while going deeper into the understanding of basic first aid and water safety techniques. This is a good squad to choose if your swimmer is one day interested in becoming a lifeguard.

Masters
The Masters squad is for those who are looking to improve their swimming ability and overall fitness in the water. Master swimmers range between those who are just starting out to swim and improve their strokes to those who may be more advanced and are looking for a tough workout. Lifesaving Sport skills will also be introduced and taught in this squad. If desired swimmers in this squad can choose to compete at competitions, the $50.00 Lifesaving activation fee will be added to your account and will need to be paid in full before being signed up for a swim meet.

Competitive squads offered:

Competitive 2 Day Group A and B
The Competitive 2 Day squad is geared to those who are just starting out in Lifesaving Sport and would like to participate at some but not necessarily all competitions during the season. This squad has two options to register in. Group A runs on Mondays and Wednesdays and Group B runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Swimmers in this squad will swim alongside swimmers in the 4 Day squad.

Competitive 3 Day
The Competitive 3 Day squad has a later practice time to accommodate families who live outside of the Wetaskiwin area. This squad will challenge swimmers to further improve their swimming abilities and development of lifesaving sport skills to be used in competition. Swimmers in this squad are encouraged to attend the majority of competitions during the season including Provincials.

Competitive 4 Day
The Competitive 4 Day squad swims four days per week and will focus on the development of proper swimming and Lifesaving Sport techniques for use in competitions. Daily attendance is an important part of this squad in order to achieve this goal. Swimmers in this squad are encouraged to attend the majority of competitions during the season including Provincials.

Focus Plus
The Focus Plus squad is for older swimmers who enjoy the challenge of Lifesaving Sport. Swimmers will train with more intensity for the purpose of going beyond the Provincial level and being successful at the National level and possibly International level of Lifesaving Sport Competition.

Other Programs offered:

Focus Plus Nationals
Focus Plus Nationals allows swimmers who are competing at the National level to continue to train with the team, after the regular Orca season has concluded and until the National event.

Members at Large
The Members at Large squad is meant for swimmers who live outside of the Wetaskiwin community and cannot commit fully to the day to day training of our regularly scheduled practices but have chosen to register and compete with the Wetaskiwin Orcas Lifesaving Club.

Junior Coaching
This is a volunteer program designed for those who have an interest in becoming a Lifesaving Sport Coach. Junior Coaches are paired with senior coaches. They will assist the senior coaches in making day to day lesson plans along with giving instruction to the swimmers. The goal of this program is to teach the instructional skills to better prepare potential candidates for the Lifesaving Society Lifesaving Instructor course as well as the Lifesaving Sport Coach Course.

Bronze Medallion and Cross Courses
We encourage all swimmers to take the opportunity to achieve the Lifesaving Society’s Bronze Medallion and Cross Courses. We will be offering the Bronze Medal Awards during the Orca season. Separate registration for these courses will be taken at the pool or online. All Orca members will receive a 10% discount on their registration for these courses during the season. It is highly recommended that all Orca members over the age of 13 take these courses, especially if you are interested in becoming a lifeguard or an Orca Coach.

These courses develop the fitness, skills and knowledge to perform a water related rescue and respond to a non-aquatic emergency. Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross are prerequisites for the National Lifeguard (NL) award.

A Swimmer wanting to compete in SERC events must hold a current Bronze Cross certification or higher to be allowed to compete in these events.

The Manluk Centre will be hosting multiple Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross courses throughout the Orca season. When registration becomes available for these courses it will be relayed to all Orca members via the Monthly Parent Newsletter which is sent through email and posted on the Orca Facebook Page.