Swim season has officially started. The swim team has been practicing since the beginning of October so that when November 3 came, they would be ready to compete at their first meet in Ogden.
This year there are 19 people on the team. They will compete in 13 meets and finish at the state tournament in February.
The team practices after school on red days for two hours at the Pratt Aquatic Center. During practice they work on getting faster, improving their strokes and technique, and preparing for the events they will swim in. They also have a class period on white days that lets them get extra practice in.
During each meet the boys and girls each have one heat per event. A total of 22 events are competed; 11 for the girls, and 11 for the boys.
The 11 different events that are held are: 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle, 200 individual-medley, 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 free relay, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 400 free relay. Each team member has their own personal favorite to swim. Savannah Carter, junior on the team, said “My favorite event to swim is the 200 free.”
The first meet was successful. The team was able to improve. A lot of team members were out due to injuries but there were several swimmers who were able to place in their heat.
The team enjoys getting to be with their friends at practices and how fun it is. Andrew Ririe, senior, captain of the boys team, said, “The reason I took swim was just to go into the pool and have a fun time. I took it with my friend Doug and after that I just stuck to it.”
For some people swim is an escape from all the stress and negativity in the world. Miriam Holliday, senior, captain of the girls team, said that her favorite part of swimming is, ”The whole world is quiet and it’s only me in the water.”
The team’s next meet is this weekend in Cedar city. Isabelle Lewis, junior on the team, said, “I am looking forward to being able to work with the amazing team and coaches to improve and grow.”
They will continue to compete throughout the next few months at their meets. Then they will start to prepare for region and finally state.
