Mon to Thu, 4:00 to 4:45 PM
The stroke evaluation
Coaching staff watch your swimmer's strokes in the water. Book it by calling Alicia Mckissick at Adamsville Natatorium on (404) 505-3189, or email Head Coach Tommy Jackson.
The City of Atlanta Dolphins. Year-round competitive swimming since 1984.
A USA Swimming club run by the City of Atlanta Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Guided Novice from age 5, age-group racing from 7, and a Senior group that trains toward college scholarships.
Lane four, heat one
Nine swimmers in 1984. A first-class year-round program now.
A program of the City of Atlanta Department of Parks Recreation and Cultural Affairs and a member of United States Swimming, the team was formed to give inner city youth an organized, structured competitive program with year-round instruction and racing. Since then its goals have grown to include the training and strategy that help members win athletic or academic scholarships.
Read the team historyLane
Dolphins
11984
Founded
by Aquatic Program Manager Askia Bashir
29
First squad
swimmers on the original team
34
Meets hosted a year
two short course, two long course
436+
Head coach on deck
years of coaching, Tommy Lee Jackson
Joining the Dolphins
From a stroke evaluation to your first heat sheet
Membership is accepted all year. There is no tryout date to wait for: a new swimmer is evaluated, placed, trained and then raced.
Placement
A place in the team structure
Results from the evaluation decide the group. Guided Novice starts at age 5; the competitive age-group program takes children age 7 and up, from the beginning swimmer to the most skilled.
Monday to Friday
Practice every weekday
Each group trains five days a week, plus dry-land work with its own rules. Swimmers learn circle swimming, the rules of the road that keep a busy lane moving.
Meet day
The first meet
Find your events on the heat sheet, write them in Sharpie on your arm, warm up with the team, and swimmers 10 and under report to the bullpen before their heat.
Practice on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. SW
Four practice groups, every weekday
Every group trains Monday to Friday. Where a swimmer starts is set by the stroke evaluation, and swimmers move up as their strokes and their times do.
DSL / Baby Dolphins
Age 5 and up
The guided Novice entry point for swimmers age 5 and older. 5:00 to 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday.
About Baby DolphinsAge Group 2 and Age Group 1
Age 7 and up
Competitive youth racing from age 7. Age Group 2 trains 5:00 to 6:00 PM, Age Group 1 6:00 to 7:30 PM.
About the age groupsSenior group
6:00 to 8:30 PM
The longest session on the schedule, 6:00 to 8:30 PM, for the team's most committed racers and its scholarship hopefuls.
About the Senior groupStroke evaluation
Join any month
How every new member joins, at any time of year. Monday to Thursday, 4:00 to 4:45 PM, by appointment.
Book an evaluation
Come see what makes the group
“There is no luck in building an amazing swimming team. Successful swimming teams are built and behave intentionally.”
Coaches and swimmers make deliberate choices about the team's success. The philosophy puts positive character first: self-discipline, a consistent work ethic and courage, the same things that carry a swimmer through school and work.
- Enthusiasm
- Commitment
- Brave
- Focus
- Dedication
- Discipline
After the last race
Graduating Dolphins swim and study on scholarships.
Team members have attended and graduated from
- Air Force Academy
- Emory University
- Florida A&M University
- Howard University
- North Carolina A&T University
- Albany State University
- Stanford University
Dolphins are now attending
- Georgia Southern University
- Clark Atlanta University
- Morehouse College
- Georgia Tech
- Duke University
Dolphin pride
Pain is temporary. Dolphin pride is forever.
The words on the team banner at meets. These are Dolphins on deck, with their coaches and their trophies.
Parents ask
Questions before the first practice
Fees, ages and meet entries are set out in full on the fees and procedures page, and the coaches' guides for families are under parent resources.
Membership is open all year. Every new swimmer starts with a stroke evaluation, and the coaching staff use the results to place them in the team structure. Evaluations run Monday to Thursday from 4:00 to 4:45 PM. Book one by calling Alicia Mckissick at Adamsville Natatorium on (404) 505-3189 or by emailing coachjackson@swimcad.com.
The team runs a guided Novice program for swimmers age 5 and older, and a competitive age-group program for children age 7 and up, from the beginning swimmer to the most competitive and skilled swimmer.
The program registration fee is $225.00 a year per swimmer for City of Atlanta residents and $425.00 a year for non-residents, paid by debit or credit card to the City of Atlanta Dolphins Swim Team. Swimmers also register with USA Swimming through the team, and meet entry fees are paid per meet.
Every group trains Monday to Friday. Senior 6:00 to 8:30 PM, Age Group 1 6:00 to 7:30 PM, Age Group 2 5:00 to 6:00 PM, and DSL / Baby Dolphins 5:00 to 6:00 PM.
Yes. The Dolphins host four meets a year, two short course (25 yards) and two long course (50 metres), including the Luqman R. El-Amin Invitational and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational.
Volunteers keep every meet running, and timers are the role the team needs most. The coaches also publish guides for parents on the first meet, warm-ups, goal setting and the parent and coach relationship.
Open to every Atlanta swimmer
Book a stroke evaluation. Join in any month of the year.
Evaluations run Monday to Thursday from 4:00 to 4:45 PM. Call Alicia Mckissick at Adamsville Natatorium, or email the head coach and say how old your swimmer is.
- City of Atlanta resident
- $225 a year
- Non-City resident
- $425 a year
- Team address
- 3201 M.L.K. Jr. Dr. SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30311