Southern California Aquatics or SCAQ

I’m a member of SCAQ and it’s great. I stopped swimming after college and I gained like 15 lbs, but after 2 months of SCAQ I’ve lost 10. If you’re a swimmer then you probably don’t like going to the gym either. It’s just not the same. The coaches give us challenging sets and there’s different lanes for different speeds. If you’re an early bird it’s a great way to start your morning.

I have been a member of SCAQ since 2005. I’m not sure how to compare it to other Master’s swim teams in LA as it’s the only program that operates at pools in several cities — Sherman Oaks, Culver City, Santa Monica, USC, Westwood, Loyola Marymount, just to name a few. This makes it much easier to make it to a swim workout.
The guy that owns SCAQ is very proud and focused on those on his members and staff with Olympic history. Don’t let that intimidate you though because there are lots of people there at a variety of levels. And some of my favorite coaches on SCAQ have never won any medals, and I’m perfectly happy with their abilities. Many beginner triathletes join up during the spring and summer season.
It’s important to realize that SCAQ operates like a club, not a team. Since the coaches are paid per workout, do not expect to get lots of individual attention to your stroke (unless you pay extra and go to one of the clinics), and there will not be formally organized events and training regarding specific swim meets or competitions. Also, the Swim 101 is not a class, but simply a workout that has more beginners.
SCAQ is a fun group with lots of great people. If you consistently go to the same workouts or pools, you’ll probably make some friends and establish a rapport with some great people.

I’ve been swimming masters since about 2001, when sports injuries left me wanting pool rehab. After a few months in the pool, I decided I did not want to go back to what I had been doing before. It’s a common enough story.
For those who do not know, masters swimming is a national organization of member clubs dedicated — loosely speaking — to both recreational and competitive swimmers. In other words, in a typical masters club you will find ex-​college (sometimes even ex-​Olympic) swimmers sharing a workout pool with competent recreational swimmers who may never have competed past high school or ever at all.
What’s the point of that long introduction? Well, in my experience it is hard to get across the idea that joining masters swimming is not quite the same as a gym membership where you can show up whenever you want and limp along on the cardiovascular machine. Masters clubs typically have set, structured, workout times rented at various pools. In other words, you show up for a coached workout at a set time at any of a number of area pools. The workouts are patterned after high level college swim workouts. Warmup sets, kicks, breathing and stroke drills, and then distance swim sets and/​or sprint races. In other words, ’ unfair to compare masters swim to a gym class; when you get in the pool it becomes competitive and you are pushed or pulled along in the lane by your lane mates, and you compete against the adjoining lanes. It’s not like cardio-​boxing or spinning, because at the end of the day cardio-​boxing is no more like boxing than spinning is to riding a bike. But masters swimming really is swimming.
Enough for pushing the sport. If you get it, good. SCAQ is the finest club I have ever swum with, and I’ve swum with quite a few. The coaches are pretty much great and there is a lot of variety, both of swim levels, coaching styles, pools, and workout times. Also, as you make friends you may find yourself drawn to extra-​curricular activities, whether drinks after practice or ocean swims at MB. A note: I joined for the competitive aspects of the sport, because post-​college competition for ex-​wrestlers is pretty thin. But that’s not to say SCAQ is all about competition. Although there are some really great athletes in their club, SCAQ takes and supports anyone willing to put in the time and effort to keep at it — the membership is very broad.
If you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve outpaced all the lanes during lap swim at your local community pool — another difference from the gym — and are getting frustrated about swimming. Give SCAQ a try and see if you can’t get re-​inspired.
Also, an extra star is in order for Kathryn at the SCAQ office, who is always willing to help with any questions you might have.

I really love scaq and enoy the workouts. You won’t get much one on one coaching during the busy work out sessions. If you need more teaching, it might be better to take a private/​semi private clinic session.

Wow, I can’t believe SCAQ is on Unilocal.
I’ve been swimming with SCAQ for about 1 – 2 years. This is Masters swim level, which means if you ever swam competitively and want to train in structured workouts, this is the group for you. However, an extra star, because SCAQ welcomes all levels, as long as you can swim on your own. So, if you’re training for a triathlon or just want to keep in shape, they’re cool and will place you in a lane with other swimmers with a workout that fits your lane.
The schedule is very easy. It’s a PDF file that just lists all of their schedules in chart form. On the far right column, there are «extra» classes to fine tune your swimming and require an extra fee beyond the monthly fee. I haven’t tried any of them.
They have pools throughout the L.A. area with pools in downtown, the westside, and valley. They also have workouts in the morning, afternoon, evenings, weekdays, and weekends.
The monthly fee is a little steep but SCAQ offers discounts for students and if you want to swim in just one pool. Plus, there is no other organization like them so it’s not too bad when you factor that in. I love it and if you’re itching to swim hard, even compete, then SCAQ is for you!

I love the idea of SCAQ but the web site is super confusing. There’s a PDF schedule which lists a bunch of classes… these seem to be difference from the Beginner/​Novice/​Intermediate/​Advanced «clinics»… which in turn seem to have nothing to do with the «SWIM 101» classes. (Maybe one schedule is for team training, or something? It’s just a mystery to me, and I’ve shown friends who also don’t understand what’s going on.)
Anyhow, I don’t know if I can decode what I should sign up for or not, but I just paid $ 75 for three «clinics» so I’ll report back…
Three stars for overall super confusing web site/​class schedule.
No idea how the instruction is– more details soon :-)
—- UPDATE 4÷28÷08: I still think the schedule is confusing (clinics? workouts? free classes? non-​free classes?) but who cares, I’ve found my classes and my coach, Blair, is terrific. And pushy. But that’s what I want in a coach… someone who pushes me. Highly recommended. Oh, and the LMU pool is gorgeous!
—- UPDATE 7÷25÷08: I have sort of figured out the web site and now when I get confused, I just call Kathryn at the office and she explains everything to me. I’ve done a bunch of classes at different pools (Culver City pool is sooo great, salt water!)… and every single SCAQ coach I’ve met is awesome… so, really, you can’t go wrong here. Terrific team instruction and really friendly folks.

Hooray for SCAQ! I’ve swum with several different masters programs in the last few years but when we moved to the Westside I joined SCAQ. It’s a bit on the expensive side (as a student, my rates are around $ 40 a month– and that’s the discounted student rate) but the workouts are so worth it!
There are so many workouts to go to; at the Culver City Plunge there are two in the am, 1 a noon, and 2 in the afternoon/​evening on MWF alone. There are also workouts in Santa Monica, LMU, USC, Westwood… Really, there’s no excuse not to go with so many times and places that are offered.
The coaches are great; I’m actually glad that I regularly work with different coaches since I get different benefits from each (Clay is great at «fixing» my pull, Casey is good at pushing my fast times, etc.) but if you want to work with a regular coach it’s not hard to figure out their regular practice times.
They offer clinics and specific workouts for those who are learning to swim, and intensive workouts for those training for triathlons, too. The practices I’ve been to have been great at accommodating different levels of swimmers; if you don’t know which lane to get into, just ask the coach!
It’s a great workout, a great set of co-​swimmers, good coaching, and good pools! Two thumbs way up!

«SCAQ is the largest Masters swimming program in the United States. Established in 1979 by Clay Evans and Bonnie Adair, SCAQ is a swimming club for every level of adult swimmer, novice to Olympian. SCAQ offers over 50 weekly workouts in West LA and downtown — morning, noon, and night. SCAQ also offers weekly stroke clinics, ocean workouts and participation in local, regional, and national competitions through United States Masters Swimming.»
I have been a member of SCAQ on and off for the last few years. It is a strong masters programs and they have workouts through the LA area. I would prefer it if the prices are a little bit cheaper, but you get what you pay for and I definitely receive value for the 60 or so dollars I pay a month for the program. I am a big fan of this program.
My only complaint is that they don’t have mid-​day or evening workouts at LMU.