Adult Swim Team at the Garden Hills Pool

The Garden Hills Adult Swim Team swam away with the Metro Atlanta Adult Swim League (aka GrownUp Swimming) Championship in 2023! After very close championship team wins in 2018, 2019, and 2022, it was great to see our team all come together and win convincingly against many teams from the metro area.

The team will be embarking on our 17th season this summer. And our pool is freshly re-surfaced, with NEW STARTING BLOCKS and numerous facility upgrades undertaken this winter.

The adult league, now known as “Grown-up Swimming”, is planning 3 summer “regular meets”, an “Olympic Meet” (in a 50-meter pool) — and of course the all-important Championship Meet to be held in early-mid August.

The league continues to grow as adult swimmers find that the practices and events are fun—and just think—practicing in a pool is certainly more pleasant than a summertime 90+ degree run or walk!

Below are the 2024 plans and answers to a few frequently asked questions:

Practice Information

Practices start in Mid-May and we plan to continue through August. Weekday practices start at 6:20 AM and end at 7:10 AM — and Sunday morning practices will be from 8:00AM to 9:00AM — got to get some sleep on weekends! No Saturday practices.

This team is open to both members and non-members of the pool. The vast majority of the team consists of swimmers that are not super-star Masters or AAU swimmers! In fact, we are moms, dads, college students, singles, new residents in the area, and some “over 60’s” that actually score a load of points by just completing events!!

Age groups are 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79 and up. So, you are racing swimmers your age! If you haven’t swum on a team in many years—or ever— you are in good company. Most of us enjoy the workouts, swimming 2 to 5 meets, and the social time and gatherings after meets. And we were all excited to win the League Championship last season! (We ALL prioritize swimming at the Championship Meet!). And the winning team members are ALL awarded the coveted Championship Towels!

If you are unsure if this is for you — most swimmers on our 17-year-old team at one time started with the same question! A trial practice or two is available free of charge. Our practices are typically “comfortably full”, so we only have actual team members that are swimming at least some meets who are practicing—not folks just wanting to swim laps for exercise.

Most team members practice about 3-4 days. Some even less. No one is taking roll! We have lanes for faster swimmers, and some for those that are just beginning, or swim at a more relaxed pace.

Now, regarding WEATHER: We do not practice in thunderstorms, moderate or heavy rain, very windy conditions (like a tropical storm). If you are unsure about the weather, I and our coaches look at the radar around 6 AM. If there’s lots of “yellow/ orange/ red” rain & storm systems in the area, or moving our way, there will be no practice. No one wants to wake up at 5-something to stand outside of the pool fence watching bad storms approaching!!

Our Coaches

Our Championship-winning Head Coach, Genevieve Jarun, will be returning for her 4th year. Genevieve is an exceptional coach for all skill levels, and she was an Olympic Trials qualifier in the early 2000’s! She also swims with our team, and scores major points for us!

Our Lead Assistant Coach is Ginny Palmich who was also an avid swim competitor not too many years ago, and has been a swimmer on our team for the past 4 years. She is also the “strategy expert” with creating optimal-scoring team entries in meets.

Fees to Practice

Team fees for practices for the season are due monthly: $15 for the month of May, $30 each for June, July and August. To practice as a team member requires no sign-up— just show up and swim.

The league fee is $55 for the season (may be less for early sign-ups and “under 25” age swimmers). That covers the costs of managing meets, equipment, insurance, etc. You DO need to sign up for the league! Go to www.grownupswimming.com, click FIND YOUR LEAGUE on their home page and follow the prompts. Make sure you sign up for the Garden Hills ADULT team.

We are looking forward to another fun and successful season of adult swimming!

If you have questions or want additional information, please contact me at rjacka3@hotmail.com

Jack Alexander
Adult Team Coordinator