Aadvanced Swim Camp

We guarantee you will swim faster, or your swim camp fee will be refunded*

Aadvanced swim camp graduates have won 43 Gold Medals and set 11 World Records in international competition. Our age group and senior swimmers have cut their stroke count 30-50%, reduced their times 3-18% and have gone on to win state and national  championships and post top-16 times.

The camps are five days, consisting of only 5-10 swimmers each, ages 5 - 19, from beginner to world-class. Our camps concentrate exclusively on improving technique, flexibility and co-ordination.  We do not have any time requirements for our camps, but we do have flexibility requirements (see below).

While we can teach you how to swim like a World Record holder in five days, it will take 3-6 months of practicing the Somax drills in order to be able to race with your new stroke. The only way to be sure that you are practicing your drills correctly is to see your underwater stroke on videotape each week.  For this reason, at least one parent of swimmers under 18 is required to attend the camp to learn our system of instruction and underwater videotaping in order to follow up after camp is completed.  We can recommend affordable, easy-to-use underwater housings or attachments for your family camcorder that allow you to sit or stand on the deck but tape the stroke underwater.

Camp Dates

Group camps for 2021 will not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We do have Private Remote Camps via Zoom available.

Advanced Private Remote Camps

We will be offering a limited number of private remote swim camps via Zoom for 1-3 swimmers from the same family or team. These private remote five-day camps can be scheduled from February 1-December 31. Each five-day camp will cover one stroke.

The advantage of a private remote camp is that there is no need for family members to travel during this pandemic. The schedule for each day is three hours of pool time (drills, underwater videotaping), and three hours of Dryland (videotape analysis, strength and stretching exercises, and Tension and Stress Reduction to improve flexibility and relaxation).

We will supply each family with directions for making an underwater video camera, using your smartphone above the water to watch and record your swimmer below the water. Also via your smartphone, we will be able to watch you supervise our drills, as well as watch your swimmers to make sure they are doing our drills correctly. We will also show you how to measure your swimmer's stroke mechanics and flexibility so you can measure their progress and determine areas they need to improve.

Since these camps are now available to swim families around the world without the need to travel, we expect them to fill rapidly.

The fee for a private remote swim camp is $13,500. This fee includes all underwater taping, drills, stretches, exercises, Powerbelt(s), and laminated drill cards with a 2500 yard or meter workout to be completed after the camp. The camp fee is payable at time of registration.

Reduce Stroke Count

You will improve your stroke efficiency so much that we guarantee that you will reduce your stroke count in freestyle or backstroke by at least 30%.

Increase Hand Force Output

We increase the amount of force you apply to the water with your hands, not by increasing the strength of your arms or endless yardage, but by teaching you how to increase the speed and advance the timing of your hip rotation. The graphs below show the results of two elite swimmers who completed one of our five- day camps at Colorado Springs. You will get the same instruction when you sign up for one of our camps.

The female sprinter doubled the peak force (heavy red line) on her insweep by advancing the timing of her hip rotation by 2/30ths of a second, as well as doubling her outsweep peak by increasing her hip acceleration (thin, blue line). The female sprinter won four Gold Medals and the male sprinter won two Gold Medals at Atlanta

Measure Stroke Characteristics

This is the only camp where you will have your stroke technique measured. We measure stroke mechanics every 1/30 th of a second so that you will have more than a subjective opinion of your stroke. We also show you measurements of World Record holders so that you can see how your stroke differs from theirs. Once you see the measurable differences, you will immediately see what needs to be corrected.

Improve Flexibility

Each camper receives two sessions of Stress and Tension Reduction, our exclusive program that improves flexibility far beyond what stretching alone can do. As we improve our swimmers' flexibility with Stress and Tension Reduction, they are able to improve their mechanics and streamlining.

POWERBELT

Each camper receives a custom made POWERBELT, our exclusive swim training aid. A pair of fins that strap onto the hips, the POWERBELT is the only swim training aid that provides resistance to hip rotation and undulation, the real source of power in swimming. Because hip rotation is the only movement in swimming for which there is no natural resistance, most swimmers actually have very weak hips. The Somax POWERBELT is the only swim training aid that can correct this problem.

Internet Stroke Analysis

Campers who make the most progress after a camp or clinic are the ones who can see their underwater stroke analyzed at least every two weeks.  Campers can send us their underwater tapes, which we will digitize and then analyze certain critical frames.  We will add measurements and then email the frames back to you so that you can see your stroke evaluated by one of our experts. The cost per analysis is $450, with a ten-analysis minimum.

Improved Times

Swimmers who have completed our programs have improved their times 3-18%, won 43 Gold Medals and one NCAA Championship, and have set 11 World Records.

Exclusive Stretches

Most swim stretches have no relationship to the ranges swimmers' joints go through underwater. Our researchers spent over 1500 hours measuring underwater joint ranges of World Record holders. They found that each stroke has 20 critical ranges. We teach you how to measure five of these ranges, as well as how to stretch them.

Strength Training

Most strength training exercises do not really train the strength characteristics of World Record holders. Since 1985 our researchers have measured the strength of the world's best swimmers. At your camp, we will teach you how to measure your strength in stroke-specific ranges and teach you the safest ways to increase your strength.

Research Articles

At our camps you will receive the latest copies of our research articles to take home and read. We feel that the more you understand swimming, the better you will swim.

Fees and Accommodations

Fee for each 2022 group camp is $4500 per swimmer, plus hotel, food and travel. All camps are limited to just 5-10 swimmers in order to maximize individual attention. We reserve a block of reduced-rate rooms for our camps at a nearby hotel. The fee includes one three-hour pool instruction, underwater video and drill sessions per day, stretches, exercises, the POWERBELT, 1.5 hours daily of underwater videotape analysis and dryland exercises, two sessions of Microfiber Reduction, and a laminated card with a 2500 yard drill set you should  practice at least 3 times a week after camp to continue to refine your new stroke.

The camp fee is payable at the time of registration. There are no refunds, but camp fee is transferable to another camp if you are physically unable to attend.

Aadvanced Private Camps For 2022

We will be offering a limited number of private swim camps for 1-3 swimmers from the same family or team.  These private five-day camps can be scheduled from April 15-October 15 at our outdoor pool facility near San Francisco.  Each five-day camp will cover one stroke.

The advantage of a private camp is that there is more Microfiber Reduction available for a single swimmer.  The schedule for each day is three hours of pool time (drills, underwater videotaping), 1.5 hours Microfiber Reduction, and 1.5 hours of Dryland (videotape analysis, strength and stretching exercises, and Stress Reduction).  For more than one swimmer, the time for Microfiber Reduction will be divided among the swimmers according to need.

The fee for a private swim camp is $13,500.  This fee includes all underwater taping, drills, stretches, exercises, Powerbelt(s), and laminated drill cards with a 2500 yard or meter workout to be completed after the camp. The camp fee is payable at time of registration.

As with our regular camps, a parent of swimmers under the age of 19 will be required to attend in order to learn how to do underwater videotaping and stroke analysis in order to follow up after the camp.

To determine eligibility for a private camp, call us at 415-435-9880 or email us at camps@somaxsports.com to order a registration package and demonstration DVD.  We do have flexibility requirements for our camps.  The registration package will include directions for measuring flexibility.  Once we receive your measurements we can tell you if you qualify for our private camps.  The fee for the registration package (including postage) is $30 in the US, and $50 outside of the US.

Preference for our private camps will be given to swimmers preparing for the 2024 Olympics.

In addition, we will be training swimmers with our Swim Team Program . 

See also Hidden Secrets of World-Record Swimmers, Clients and Testimonials, What's New, Elite Swim Camp (our five-week camp for swimmers preparing for Tokyo 2020), and Swimming for more information on our swimming programs and graduates.

Pre-Requisites

There are no performance requirements for our camps.  We work with swimmers of all ability levels from ages 5-adult.  But we do have flexibility requirements.  You must have a certain minimum amount of flexibility in order to learn how to swim like a World Record holder.  Swimmers who are less flexible will benefit more from an Individual Program.  We also need your stroke counts.

Registration Information

In order to register for our camps, you must order a Registration Package.  The Registration Package consists of

1. Directions for measuring ranges for each stroke.

2. Articles on swimming mechanics.

3. Summary of research on hip rotation in swimming.

4. Letters from parents and swimmers from past camps.

5. A DVD showing how quickly Microfiber Reduction improves flexibility.

You can order your package for $30 (refundable with any camp) by calling us at 1-800-227-6629 with a credit card (Visa, Amex, MC, Discover), paying through www.paypal.com (our paypal address is bprichard@somaxsports.com) or by mailing a check made out to Somax Sports to 4 Tara Hill Road, Tiburon, CA, 94920. Please be sure to include your return address and phone number.

The fee for the registration package for overseas is $50, which includes Global Air Priority service.

Once you have reviewed the DVD and we have your measurements and stroke count(s), we will be happy to give you telephone references of swimmers and parents who have attended our camps.

* To qualify for the guarantee, you must complete our 2500y drill set at least three times a week for a minimum of one year, send us each week underwater and above-water tapes of each drill set, and correct any mistakes we see. You also must not do any training regimen that we find reduces your flexibility, causes you to be over-trained, or degrades your stroke efficiency. If you do not improve any of your times in any stroke within one year of your camp, and you are still swimming competitively, you will get a complete refund of your camp fee. Injuries or illnesses that prevent or reduce training with our drills or ability in competition void the guarantee.