While listening to outcome of recent sports events on morning announcements, maybe you’ve thought to yourself, “Hey, I could do that!”  In particular, maybe you should consider joining the swim team.  

JoAnne Stevens, a member, stated, “Tryouts are early in the school year in August, and it’s a three- or four-day tryout period of swimming, running, and [another] exercise with a time trial, where you swim a few events, and get your time at the end.”

Currently, there are 23 members on the swim team– 13 guys and 10 girls. This year, the Boy’s team placed first as state champions for the second year in a row. The Girl’s team placed third in their relay and fourth overall. Derek Sander, a senior, signed a scholarship for swimming with the University of Louisville last November, as seen on the Bob Jones official athletic site, and set an AHSAA state record in the 100-yard freestyle. Andrey Tretyakov also set an AHSAA state record in the 200-yard IM(individual medley) and 100-yard butterfly.

Scholarships and trophies don’t come easy.  As related by Grace Palenapa, practice is on the weekdays after school from 4-6:30, and there are swim meets about every 1-2 weeks, both at Dublin.

She also explained that swim team is enjoyable because everyone is sharing food, hanging out, and working together.  She shared that the feeling of your teammates cheering for you is extremely encouraging. JoAnne’s favorite aspects of swim team included the workouts, coaches, and especially getting to see her friends for 2 ½ hours everyday. She commented, “It’s a challenging sport, and I love every minute of it.”

There are multiple events, and although most are individual, there are times when one will work with teammates. In a medley relay, a group of four will each perform a different stroke and switch out with each other. In an individual medley, a single person does all four strokes himself. Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly are the four strokes, and more information the sport of swimming can be found on the USA swimming website.     

It’s true that joining a club or team takes up fair amounts of time, and you have to be willing to put in an effort. However, after stretching your fingers as far as they will go, listening to the shouts and cries of your team, and feeling nothing but the rush of the water, current members seem to feel that it is all worth it.

For more information on trying out, you can see any swim team member or contact the Coach Gunner.