website: http://www.oaklandbarracudas.com

Hello! My 8yr old is interested in swimming and I'm interested in Oakland Barracudas, but the link appears to be broken. Has anyone had any experience with them? Thanks! Molly

Re: Introductory swim team for 7-year-old
The Oakland Barracuas Swim Team sounds like a good fit for your daughter. My son began swimming with the Cudas when he turned 7 (he's currently in his third year with the team) and it has been a very positive experience for him, and for me as a parent too. The team swims at Live Oak Pool next to Oakland High on MacArthur Blvd. To visit a practice or for more information, check out the Cuda website, www.oaklandbarracudas.com. Ask Coach John about the Junior Swim League, which is a great way for your daughter to swim with the team for an eight-week period and allows her to decide if she likes it without the pressure of having to make a huge commitment up front. And even if she decides to continue, the time commitment is very manageable for young swimmers, just one-hour practices, twice a week, participation in monthly meets encouraged but not required. Clarisse

Swim lessons for 7-year-old with Oakland Barracudas?

Hello, Has anyone ever tried the Oakland Barracudas Learn to Swim Program? I'm looking for a good, and inexpensive, if possible, swimming classes for my 7-year old daughter. If you can recommend others, please feel free. (The ones on the web site are a little dated.) Thank you. Anon

My son really enjoys swimming with the CUDAs and our family has enjoyed being a part of the organization. I'd highly recommend checking out the Learn to Swim program. You can email me if you have further questions about the Learn to Swim program or CUDA swim team.

We are looking at swim class options in Oakland for our 6-year- old, who is a strong swimmer for his age and loves the water. A country club membership is financially not an option. I saw the postings from 2002 on the website about the Oakland Barracudas, and am wondering if the organization is still thought of as positively now as it was a couple years ago. And we'd also love to hear any other suggestions about swim clubs we could look into. Thanks for any input. Wendy

Re: Racially mixed swim club around Oakland
My daughter participated in the Oakland Barracudas swim team several years ago. It was the most racially diverse team we found- mostly white but with a significant number of African- American, Asian-Pacific, and other students of color. We all really enjoyed the experience. The coaches are awesome, the team members are very committed swimmers and nice students but not oppressively competitive. Check out their website at www.oaklandbarracudas.com Diane

Re: Daughter would like to join a swim team
Hello, About swim teams for kids: my daughter has been on the Oakland Barracudas for several years now and greatly enjoys it. See their website at http://www.cudaswim.com/. They swim at the Oakland High pool, near Park and MacArthur.

We've experienced several swim teams in the Bay Area and the Oakland Cudas offer a great ramp from beginning competitive swimming (kindergartners, even) to very skilled. And they have a masters program for adults.

We especially appreciate the friendly parents of the Cuda swimmers. They're not the pushy "parent coaches" screaming at the kids that you see in some local swim teams. Nice people. ~Randall