13 yr old granddaughter been racing since she was 8. My son raced all through high school and played water polo. The worst part is going to practices and watching-back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... In Sacramento most all the meets are in the summer and I can't tell you how uncomfortable it is to sit in the heat for hours on end waiting for your granddaughter to swim her 3 (maybe) races-usually all day. Families bring tents and lots of water spray guns to try and cool off. Ice cream vendors make a fortune. But it is a great sport and so healthy too.