Is your child interested in a summer swim team near Ann Arbor, but your family doesn’t have a pool or country club membership? No problem, we’ve got the list of local Ann Arbor swim teams that don’t require you to belong to a pool.
We live in a neighborhood that has a small pool, so we don’t need to have a pool membership. But, my daughter wanted to join a swim team. So these options would have been perfect for her.
She swam with the Buhr Park Sharks for 4 years from 2016-2019. Joining a swim team at the city pool without joining a club was definitely the right choice for us.
WISC Swim Meets
I swam on swim teams in Virginia and Delaware as a kid. When my daughter started swimming for WISC as a 10 year old I was shocked at how short the meets are.
WISC teams are broken into 3 divisions and have 5 dual meets against other teams in their division. Instead of featuring all events at each meet, each dual meet features freestyle (25 yard for 8 & under, 50 yard for ages 9+) and one specialty event. This makes events considerably shorter than I was used to.
The 2024 specialty event schedule:
- June 22 – 25 yard backstroke (8 & under), 50 yard backstroke (9 & up)
- June 29 – 25 yard breaststroke (8 & under), 50 yard breaststroke (9 & up)
- July 6 – 25 yard butterfly (8 & under), 50 yard butterfly (9 & up), 100 yard Free (11 & up)
- July 13 – 50 yard free (8 & under), 100 yard free (9-10), 200 yard Free (11 & up)
- July 20 – 100 yard free (8 & under), 100 yard IM (9-12), 200 yard IM (13 & up)
Swim Championships
2024 WISC Swim Championships will be held at Skyline High School the week of July 22. Each day will feature one group of ages:
- Monday, July 22 – Ages 13 & Up
- Tuesday, July 23 – Ages 9-10
- Wednesday, July 24 – Ages 8 & Under
- Thursday, July 25 – Ages 11-12 (plus Coaches Relay)
Team Activities
Each team has their own culture and traditions. When she was on the Buhr Sharks, her two favorite activities were painting the rock before championships and team movie night at the pool after it closed to the public.
Many teams host a swim-a-thon fundraiser and various team parties.
Swim Teams
The teams below are part of WISC during the summer season. They allow anyone to register for the summer season. You do not have to belong to the pool or club to join the swim team (although you may pay more.
Ann Arbor Octopods
Since my daughter swam, the City of Ann Arbor has consolidated their teams to the Octopods.
- Practice Locations:
- Buhr Park
- Veterans Memorial Park
- Cost – $100-125
- Dive Team – No
- Outdoor Pool
Forestbrooke F.A.S.T Flying Fish
Forestbrooke Pool allows both members and non-members on their swim team.
- Pool Location: 2609 Yost Blvd
- Cost – $110/members, $185/non-member
- Dive Team – Yes
- Outdoor Pool
Orchard Hills Athletic Club
Orchard Hills Athletic Club (OHAC) welcomes OHAC members and non-members to join their swim and dive team.
- Practice Locations:
- OHAC Pool – 2300 Yorktown Dr, Ann Arbor
- Dolfin Pool – 2050 Prairie St, Ann Arbor
- Cost – $250/members, $300/non-members
- Dive Team – Yes
- Outdoor Pool
Travis Pointe Country Club
Travis Pointe Country Club offers swim and dive team for both members and non-members.
- Pool Location: Travis Pointe Country Club – 2829 Travis Pointe Rd, Ann Arbor
- Cost – Members: $150, Non-Members 275
- Dive Team – Yes
- Outdoor Pool
Lincoln Riptides
Lincoln Riptides practices at the Lincoln High School Pool
- Practice Location:
- Lincoln Aquatic Center (in the High School) – 7425 Willis Rd, Ypsilanti
- Cost – $150-225 by age
- Dive Team – No
- Indoor Pool
Dexter Community Aquatic Club
Dexter Community Aquatic Club offers a competitive USA Swimming team. During the summer season, teams compete at WISC meets.
- Pool Location: Wylie Pool – 3060 Kensington St, Dexter
- Cost – $200-300 Depending on level
- Dive Team – Yes
- Indoor Pool
Chelsea Aquatic Club
Chelsea Aquatic Club runs a team year round.
- Practice Location:
- Chelsea Recreation Aquatic Club – 445 Mayer Dr, Chelsea
- Cost – $350 for summer season
- Dive Team – Yes
- Indoor Pool
Milan Swim Club
Milan Swim Club offers both a club level team and a competitive USA Swimming Team. Swimmers can opt to do just club level or can add the USA Swimming level.
- Pool Location: Milan High School – 200 Big Rd Dr, Milan
- Cost – $130-636 Depending on level and frequency of practice
- Dive Team – No
- Indoor Pool
Whitmore Lake Waves
Join Whitmore Lake Waves to swim year round including summer.
- Pool Location: Whitmore Lake High School – 7430 Whitmore Lake Road
- Dive Team – Yes
- Indoor Pool
Other WISC Teams
There are additional WISC Teams that only open their membership to pool or club members or have other restrictions. For example, it appears that Ypsi Otters team is full and only open to those who have swum with the team the prior season.
- Barton Hills Country Club
- Huron Valley Country Club
- Racquet Club
- Georgetown Country Club
- Chippewa Club
- Liberty Athletic Club
- Ypsilanti Otters
- Ann Arbor Y (We could not find registration on their website)
- M50 Dragon Sharks (combines Dundee Dragons and Tecumseh Tigersharks) – started May 6
Pingback: Dive In: Ann Arbor Swim Teams Without a Membership | Dailywise