An excerpt from the Hurricanes Handbook last updated 2017, under revision 2026.
THE PROGRAM IN A NUTSHELL
While the Cole Harbour Hurricanes conducts a year-round training program, it is specifically a summer swim team and competes only in summer swim meets.
How does summer swimming differ from Year-round swimming?
Summer swimming consists of a two-month training season with an optional ten-month maintenance period that has a restricted number of training hours determined by Swim Nova Scotia. Year-round swimming has a nine to twelve month training season. During the sanctioned ‘training/competitive season’ for both summer and winter, there is an unlimited number of training hours permitted throughout the week. Winter swimming has a longer competition/training season due to the number of competitive cycles throughout the year. Winter swimming is a three-cycle season and consists of two to four provincial/national competitions. Summer swimming has a single provincial competition that is trained for throughout one cycle. Winter swimming is considered to be an athlete’s primary sport. Summer swimming has been designed to complement a multisport approach to living an active lifestyle.
Winter swimming is year-round, with no training limits and the ability to compete in meets throughout the year. The winter season is divided into short-course (25-metre pool) and long-course (50-metre pool) seasons. The latter occurs in the spring and summer and the timeframe involved often includes major international meets. Winter race distances range from anywhere between 50 - 1500 metres.
Summer swimmers have no training limits from June 1 to October 31. The meet season begins in July and ends mid to late August with the Provincial Championships. Summer race distances range from 25 metres for young swimmers to between 50 - 400 metres for the older age groups. Athletes involved in other winter activities tend to prefer summer swimming because it still provides a competitive opportunity in a shorter season and more recreational manner. The majority of summer swim teams practice in outdoor pools; therefore, according to Swim Nova Scotia rules, there is a limit to the number of hours summer swimmers are permitted to train with a coach in the winter months in order to keep the playing field level. In Nova Scotia, summer swimmers are required to sign a document stating they have complied with specific rules because to exceed the limit can result in the loss of privileges as a summer swimmer.
In keeping with this policy, our year-round program is designed around the following goals and objectives:
To help athletes establish and achieve realistic personal goals;
To help athletes develop a thoughtful approach to fitness and nutrition;
To help athletes acquire skills that will enhance their health and fitness throughout their lives;
To help athletes develop confidence and a sense of pride and accomplishment in themselves;
To help athletes develop skills in becoming good team mates;
To encourage participation in community activities;
To offer a environment in which to develop self-management and time-management skills
To help athletes improve their swimming technique and personal best times.
The fall/winter program is a maintenance program designed specifically for summer competitive swimmers. Each training group is scheduled for a number of practices per week, dependent upon age and lane space. Fall/winter training works on both endurance and technique. It is expected that athletes are engaged in other fitness promoting activities throughout the fall and winter in addition to their off-season swim training. While some athlete’s schedules may limit them, it is strongly recommended that all attempts be made to attend maximum weekly practices in order to achieve the full benefit of the program.
The spring/summer program is much more comprehensive, combining swimming, land training and nutrition components. Swim practices and land training sessions are from Monday to Friday; each athlete’s progress is in direct proportion to his or her attendance at all scheduled practices ☺ Athletes are placed in training groups and, while we strive to keep them with their peers, emphasis must first be placed on their skills. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see a variety of ages in one training group. Separate pool and land training groups provide opportunity for athletes to be challenged in both areas. Some land sessions allow combined training groups in order to facilitate an opportunity for team building.
ABOUT TRAINING 
There is much more to training than just showing up for swim practice and/or land training. As with any sport, competitive swimming demands a high degree of dedication and self-discipline. It is a precision sport in which a mere one-hundredths of a second can determine the winner of an event. To get the most out of your daily workouts, please review the following list of guidelines.
Attend practice. Attend practice. Attend practice. This is not a typo. Improvements in this sport, and your level of fitness in general, are very much a result of regular attendance and effort. It is important to be on hand to watch and listen when the various skills are being taught and to practice what you have learned. Regular attendance will give you a greater sense of confidence. Regular, consistent effort will result in improvement and a sense of personal satisfaction.
Be punctual. Rushing in for training is not only disruptive to your teammates and coaches, it is dangerous. Regardless of fitness level, starting any physical activity without warming up your muscles has the potential to cause injuries. Be ready to train a few minutes prior to the start of practice. Ensure you are properly prepared, with appropriate equipment ready. If another training session is underway, remain in a designated area and do not disrupt your teammates and/or coaches. If you are late, report immediately to the coaches to find out what you should be doing.
Be a good training mate. In the pool, each swimmer must ‘leave on time’ (start precisely on the mark on the pace clock or when your coach tells you “go”). Swim straight, follow lane traffic patterns, be aware of your lane mates’, maintain a respectable speed and keep swimming. Never stop except at the end of a rep (this also means to keep your feet off the bottom!) If you absolutely have to stop, respect your teammates by moving out of their way quickly. During land training, be aware of your surroundings and follow all instructions to ensure you and your teammates are safe and able to get the most out of each session.
Respect your teammates, coaches and instructors. Be a good listener. Everyone has a right to hear the coaches’ comments and instructions. Be sociable, but not when the coaches need your attention. Do not interfere with or impede the training of your teammates.
Be cheerful and cooperative. Training should be both productive and fun. Training is physically demanding. We all have good days and not-so-good days. Use your good days to motivate others. There will be days that you are not at your best; on these days remind yourself that training through the tough times will make you stronger.
Take care of yourself. A good state of general health is a must for optimal performance. Careful attention needs to be paid to fitness, nutrition and sleep. We will help take care of the fitness and training program plan and we will provide you with nutrition information. The decision to put in your best effort at training sessions, to choose foods that gives your body nutrients with energy, and to get lots of good quality sleep are yours.
Learn from others. During your development years in this or any sport you can learn a lot from watching the way the best athletes conduct themselves during training sessions.
KEEP SMILING; KEEP SWIMMING 😃
POOL TRAINING GROUPS OVERVIEW
Breezes: This level introduces swim terminology, lane etiquette & group training.
- The building blocks of swim skill development are learned. The basic building blocks of swimming arebreathing and kick. These skills are absolutely essential to learning the basic strokes. We spend lots of time on kick, breathing skills, and drills at this level to prepare athletes to move on to stroke progressions for the 4 competitive swim strokes.
- Strength and endurance are developed through kick.
- Athletes are expected to be capable of learning in a group environment and should be learning swim cap and goggle independence.
Gusts: This level focuses on developing the basic skills of the 4 competitive swim strokes.
- Starts, turns and basic pace clock use are introduced.
- Strength and endurance are developed through kick. Basic fitness training is introduced.
- Athletes are expected to be independent with caps and goggles and able to pay attention to instruction in a group setting.
Torrents & Thunder: These levels focus on basic skills refinement, introduction of level 2 skills (advance turns, underwater work, stroke drills) and increased endurance.
- Endurance work is mostly through kick and freestyle.
- Athletes are expected to be independent with personal equipment, proficient in lane etiquette, able to use the pace clock to start at set time intervals, and able to obtain times for reps using the pace clock.
Lightning: This level focuses on skills refinement with an emphasis on start, stroke and turn efficiency.
- More advanced endurance, strength and speed training occur.
- Athletes are expected to be independent with managing personal equipment & scheduling needs, able to take ownership of corrections and work on these with minimal reminders, able to use the pace clock fully, able to monitor their own heart rates, and able to maintain high mental and physical effort during practice.
Tropical Storm: These levels continue to focus on skills refinement.
- High level training with aerobic, anaerobic, power, strength and endurance occurs in TS.
- Must be able to use pace clock to start sets, maintain pace times for reps and to obtain own times for reps.
- Athletes are expected to take ownership of training and display a high level of attendance/commitment. At this level, athletes are expected to manage their own schedules and responsibilities so that they are able to attend full time training (e.g. exam study, school projects, household chores, etc are to be done in advance so that practices can be attended.)
- The ability to assess and monitor heart rate independently is expected.
LAND TRAINING GROUPS OVERVIEW
* The groups below are used when we have a larger team and are able to group the athletes by skills level based on assessments.
Gust: a sudden brief increase in the speed of the wind
Squall: a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed sustained over a short time interval (There may be higher gusts during a squall event!)
Gale: a very strong wind. Wind speeds from 39 to 54 mph (43 to 47 knots).
Storm: high force winds sustained over a period of time
Gusts: Learn to run
- Develop coordination & agility
- Learn to self-support weight
- Learn to follow directions in group setting
- Learn basics of exercises
- Learn stage 1 of warm up routine
- Learn to come to training on time and prepared (e.g. equipment, water bottle)
- Games
Squalls: Run continuously for at least 10 minutes
- Interval training (base speed – 3:20-3:45 / lap)
- Execute basic skills, activities and exercises
- Build on exercise basics learned in Gusts
- Own-body weight strength training
- Learn stage 1 of warm up routine
- Count heart rate
- Come to training prepared
- Games
Gales: Run continuously at least 30 mins
- Interval training (base speed – 2:45-3:00 / lap)
- More advanced core and strength exercises
- Intro speed exercises
- Show proficiency and effort in skills, activities and exercises
- Learn entire warm up routine
- Heart rate measurement during training
- Come to training prepared
Storm: Run continuously greater than 30 mins
- Interval training (base speed 2:00-2:30 / lap)
- Higher level core and strength exercises
- Proficiency with speed exercises
- Execute skills, activities and exercises with demonstration quality
- Self motivated, focus, lead others
- Demonstrate proficiency in warm up routine
- Target heart rate work
- Come to training prepared