Who are the Owensboro Marlins? The Owensboro Marlins is a competitive swim team who competes against other area and regional swim clubs. The Marlins compete at all skill levels. All of the Marlins swimmers must be registered with USA Swimming ($68.00/year) in order to compete and practice with the club. The Marlin's have a partnership with the Owensboro Health Park to allow the use of the pool for practices and to host home swim meets.
What age must you be to be a member of the Marlins? The Marlin's swimmers can be as young as 4 years of age and swim up until the age of 19.
What swimming skills are required? The Marlins swim team is broken into separate groups based on age and ability. The swimming groups are broken down as follows:
Mini-Marlins : This is the youngest age group and requires a swimmer to be able to swim from one end of a 25 yard pool to the other and be comfortable putting their face in the water. Swimmers under the age of seven must swim with the Mini-Marlins. The Health Park pool is a 25 yard pool.
Stingrays : This group of swimmers should be capable of practicing for one hour. They work more on stamina, stroke technique, starts and turns. This group is working towards completing all four competitive strokes legally according to the USA guidelines.
Middle School : This group of swimmers has the ability to swim all four strokes and to practice for one and one half hours. This group is for middle school age swimmers (Grades 5-8). This group works on stamina, stroke technique, starts, turns and training routines.
Senior Spartans: These swimmers are high school age and have the ability to swim all four strokes and to practice for two hours. This group works on stamina, stroke technique, starts, turns and training routines.
Do I have to be a member of the Health Park to be a Marlin? No, membership at the Health Park is not required to be a member of the Marlins Swim Team.
When and how often do they practice? The Marlins practice at the Owensboro Health Park located on Ford Avenue .
Practices for the Mini Marlins starts at 3:30 pm and last for 45 minutes. The Mini Marlins generally practice three days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but the schedule should be checked for any changes.
Practice for the Stingrays starts at 4:00 pm and ends at 5:00 pm. They generally practice four days a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but the schedule should be checked for any changes.
Practice for the Aqua aliens starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 6:00pm. They generally practice four days a week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but the schedule should be checked for any changes.
Practice for the Hydros starts at 4:00 pm and ends at 5:30 pm. They practice Monday through Friday. A morning practice is offered during the summer months.
Practice for the Senior Spartans starts at 4:00 pm and ends at 6:00pm M- F, as well as Tuesday and Friday mornings from 6:00- 7:15.
How long is the swim season? There are two separate seasons for the Marlins swim team:
Fall/Winter Season : The Fall/Winter swim season starts in late August/ early September depending on the group. Meets begin in October and run through March. Swimmers compete in a 25 yard pool (Short Course) during the Fall swim season.
Summer Season : The Summer season begins in late April and meets start in May and run though the end of July. Swimmers compete in a 50 meter pool (long course) during the summer season.
A swimmer can compete in either or both seasons.
Who are the coaches of the Marlins?
Steve Bedingfield - Coach : Steve joined the Marlins in 2003 and brings an abundance of experience with him. He served as the Head Coach of Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School , which won the Kentucky High School State Title as well as coaching at both Campbellsville College and Transylvania University . Steve is also currently the Head Swim Coach at Owensboro Senior High School .
Jan Ward- Assistant Coach. Jan joined the Marlins at the beginning of the summer, 2009, as interim coach until she was hired by the Healthpark to be the Aquatics Manager and Assistant Coach of the Marlins. Her coaching experience consists of serving as head coach of the Ashland Aquabears in 1989. She coached summer teams in Lexington, KY and Franklin, TN. She began a Masters Swim Team in Nashville and has coached various levels of adult swimmers/ triathletes since 1994.
During her swimming career, she received 10 Varsity HS letters at Paul G. Blazer HS in Ashland, KY. She continued her swimming career at Transylvania University from 1989-1993 achieving All American and All American Honorable Mention all four years as well as scholar athlete. Best events were 200, 400 IM and 200 fly. This past spring, she was inducted into the Transylvania Hall of Fame becoming the first of two swimmers to be inducted. She holds a BA from Transylvania in Psychology and an MS in Occupational Therapy from Belmont University. She has completed 4 Ironman Triathlons- 2 in Louisville (2007 & 2009) and 2 World Championships in Kona (1997, 1998).
Do I have to participate in the swim meets? It is encouraged but not mandatory. Swimmers will swim against children who are of the same age and compete in a swimming heats against others of similar ability. Swimmers are encouraged to focus on improving their own personal times in different events. There may be thirty swimmers in a single event but it will be broken into separate races (heats) based on the swimmer's seed time.
Are the swim meets held in Owensboro or out of town? The Marlins will host swim meets in December and February at the Health Park . The Marlins swim team will have the opportunity to swim in at least two other swim meets during the Fall/Winter Season. The meets are located within a one to two hour drive and may require an overnight stay if you choose.
The Marlins host an early summer meet at the Healthpark that will be swum 25 meters. They do not host other summer meets because of not having an approved 50 meter pool in Owensboro . Other swim meets are offered in the summer season and will require out of town travel.
Must I swim year around to be a member of the Marlins? The majority of the Marlin's swimmers participate during the Fall/Winter season. Most swim for their local pools during the summer months but continue to swim with the Marlins.
How much does it cost to be a member of the Marlins? The cost to swim with the Marlins varies depending on the skill group.
There is a one time fee per year to register your swimmer with USA Swimming. The fee is $68.00 per year.
Monthly costs are as follows:
Mini Marlins - $50.00/month
Stingrays and Aqua Aliens - $60.00/month
Middle School - $70.00 - $80.00/month Depending on swimmers ability and committment
Senior Spartans – $80.00 - $100/month Depending on swimmers ability and committment
How does the Billing Process work?
The 21st of each month is the invoice date. All charges are posted on the 21st. All accounts are to be zeroed prior to the 21st of each month. Any accounts with any amount due on the 21st will have a late fee applied. We try to make two deposits per month. The first is about the first week of the following month for the early payers and then I run around like today on the 18th and try to get all of the last minute payers deposited. I try my best to get the money in and applied so no late charges are applied. If they are applied through my fault, I will credit.
If you sign up to pay with a credit card or ACH, your card or your account will be charged on the 1st of the month following the 21st - yep that's weird. Credit cards process instantly while ACH's take about 1 week to clear. So, the preferred method of payment is credit card in my opinion.
Lastly, it is now up to the members to keep track of their bills / invoices. It is all online on Team Unify. We try to send out a reminder email that says charges have been posted sometime after the 21st, but I will not always do that.
How much parent participation/volunteer time is required? Parents are required to work the home swim meets. Parents must work in the following areas; timers, concession stand, computer table and other positions needed to conduct a swim meet. The home swim meets are used to raise money for the club.
Will I have to perform fund raising for the swim club? Yes, like all non-profit organizations, the Marlins need money to pay the coaches, purchase equipment and pay the Health Park for the use of the pool. There is one fund raiser held in the Fall season and various other opportunities to raise money for the club.
