First Swim Meet
Last night we attended the Gators vs. Piranhas Swim Meet at the Sparkman Pool. They do such a great job of offering a friendly and competitive option for neighborhood kids to learn swimming strokes while meeting friends and getting a taste for whether this sport is something they'd want to pursue further in a club or YMCA setting.
The girls practice daily M-Th for 45 minute sessions. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they have additional 45 minute sessions to work on strokes. They only had 4 days of swim practice before they participated in the meet. There were rules to follow as to how many hands must touch the wall at the end of their length/lap, turns at the end of the pool, etc... The girls had worked on diving technique as well - something neither of them had ever learned before.
We arrived at 5:00pm to meet up with the team, get warmed up, and find out which events the girls would participate in. The girls were chosen to be part of a few relay races as well as individual races. During the Thursday morning practices, the girls get to choose which individual events they want to compete in. Julia chose breaststroke and freestyle. Riley chose breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle. The coaches write which event numbers and which stroke each kid will be doing on their hands in sharpie marker. Julia's looked like this:
3 MR (medley relay)
37 FR (freestyle)
49 BR (breaststroke)
69 Fr R (freestyle relay)
Riley's was this:
7 MR (medley relay)
29 FR (freestyle)
41 BK (backstroke)
53 BR (breaststroke)
73 FR R (freestyle relay)
The swim meet started at 6:00pm. It was chaotic at the beginning as they settled tons of kids in the prep area into their relay groups. Once it got going, it went really well.
Julia swam the freestyle length for the medley relay. For her medley relay, I began videotaping Julia's swim and as soon as she got out of the pool, I realized I'd been yelling and cheering on the wrong girl - it wasn't her! Thankfully, she was in the next heat and I realized it in time to actually see her. The other girl tapped the wall and off Julia swam. She forgot to put her goggles over her eyes, but did so about half way down the pool. She's working on putting her face in the water as she tends to swing her arms forward, but keeps her head up. She'll get it! Her medley group earned 1st place in their heat.
She had a fairly long wait before her freestyle swim. In practice, they always had them do a full lap (2 lengths) of the strokes. Julia asked me how many times she was supposed to go for the freestyle event. I told her that I thought she was supposed to do a full lap - there and back. She said ok. Her heat began and she did a great dive off the diving blocks. She swam really well and as soon as she hit the wall, she turned around and kept going all the way back. Only none of the other swimmers joined her because they were only supposed to do one length! So the entire crowd and announcer stood watching Julia work her heart out as she swam freestyle all the way back. I apologized to her! She did a really great job! She ended up 2nd in her heat.
Julia's breaststroke event went really well, too. She finished in 3rd place in her heat. Unfortunately, her last relay didn't end up happening because many families decided to leave without notifying anyone and there weren't enough kids to participate in her heat of the relay. Julia began to cry as she was disappointed. We had a short talk about how each person matters in a team and that we were sorry she wasn't able to do it. To the families' credit, it was nearing 10pm and the meet was supposed to end at 9pm. It was a very, very long meet.
Riley had five events and was eager to do well. She started off really hard on herself. She did the breaststroke for her medley relay and has really nice form! Her team had been slower than the others, but I love that even though they were in last place, she finished off strong and that it teaches them to keep going, even if they are last. Reminded me of a sermon I'd heard from Bianca Olthoff where she talked about running yo race. Not anyone else's - just focusing on what YOU need to do and where you are. We encouraged Riley and reminded her that we're proud of her.
With each event she gained confidence. Her freestyle stroke is amazing! She's really gotten better at the breathing and the form of it. She did really well on her freestyle and got 3rd place in her heat. For the backstroke, she wasn't sure when she was at the end of the pool and took some time to touch the wall before starting back again to do another length.
Her best events were the last two. For breaststroke, she did a really nice dive and finished 2nd in her heat. For the last event, she swam freestyle and did amazing!! So very proud of her!
Thankful the girls are able to enjoy swimming and learning new skills. Love the life skills that sports teach and the friendships that are created along the way. Julia has met two other girls named Julia and they spent time doing hand clap games and dancing between heats. Riley has her friend Vivian and Viviana and has continued to meet more friends as well. Looking forward to the next meet!
The girls practice daily M-Th for 45 minute sessions. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they have additional 45 minute sessions to work on strokes. They only had 4 days of swim practice before they participated in the meet. There were rules to follow as to how many hands must touch the wall at the end of their length/lap, turns at the end of the pool, etc... The girls had worked on diving technique as well - something neither of them had ever learned before.
We arrived at 5:00pm to meet up with the team, get warmed up, and find out which events the girls would participate in. The girls were chosen to be part of a few relay races as well as individual races. During the Thursday morning practices, the girls get to choose which individual events they want to compete in. Julia chose breaststroke and freestyle. Riley chose breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle. The coaches write which event numbers and which stroke each kid will be doing on their hands in sharpie marker. Julia's looked like this:
3 MR (medley relay)
37 FR (freestyle)
49 BR (breaststroke)
69 Fr R (freestyle relay)
Riley's was this:
7 MR (medley relay)
29 FR (freestyle)
41 BK (backstroke)
53 BR (breaststroke)
73 FR R (freestyle relay)
The swim meet started at 6:00pm. It was chaotic at the beginning as they settled tons of kids in the prep area into their relay groups. Once it got going, it went really well.
Julia swam the freestyle length for the medley relay. For her medley relay, I began videotaping Julia's swim and as soon as she got out of the pool, I realized I'd been yelling and cheering on the wrong girl - it wasn't her! Thankfully, she was in the next heat and I realized it in time to actually see her. The other girl tapped the wall and off Julia swam. She forgot to put her goggles over her eyes, but did so about half way down the pool. She's working on putting her face in the water as she tends to swing her arms forward, but keeps her head up. She'll get it! Her medley group earned 1st place in their heat.
She had a fairly long wait before her freestyle swim. In practice, they always had them do a full lap (2 lengths) of the strokes. Julia asked me how many times she was supposed to go for the freestyle event. I told her that I thought she was supposed to do a full lap - there and back. She said ok. Her heat began and she did a great dive off the diving blocks. She swam really well and as soon as she hit the wall, she turned around and kept going all the way back. Only none of the other swimmers joined her because they were only supposed to do one length! So the entire crowd and announcer stood watching Julia work her heart out as she swam freestyle all the way back. I apologized to her! She did a really great job! She ended up 2nd in her heat.
Julia's breaststroke event went really well, too. She finished in 3rd place in her heat. Unfortunately, her last relay didn't end up happening because many families decided to leave without notifying anyone and there weren't enough kids to participate in her heat of the relay. Julia began to cry as she was disappointed. We had a short talk about how each person matters in a team and that we were sorry she wasn't able to do it. To the families' credit, it was nearing 10pm and the meet was supposed to end at 9pm. It was a very, very long meet.
Riley had five events and was eager to do well. She started off really hard on herself. She did the breaststroke for her medley relay and has really nice form! Her team had been slower than the others, but I love that even though they were in last place, she finished off strong and that it teaches them to keep going, even if they are last. Reminded me of a sermon I'd heard from Bianca Olthoff where she talked about running yo race. Not anyone else's - just focusing on what YOU need to do and where you are. We encouraged Riley and reminded her that we're proud of her.
With each event she gained confidence. Her freestyle stroke is amazing! She's really gotten better at the breathing and the form of it. She did really well on her freestyle and got 3rd place in her heat. For the backstroke, she wasn't sure when she was at the end of the pool and took some time to touch the wall before starting back again to do another length.
Her best events were the last two. For breaststroke, she did a really nice dive and finished 2nd in her heat. For the last event, she swam freestyle and did amazing!! So very proud of her!
Thankful the girls are able to enjoy swimming and learning new skills. Love the life skills that sports teach and the friendships that are created along the way. Julia has met two other girls named Julia and they spent time doing hand clap games and dancing between heats. Riley has her friend Vivian and Viviana and has continued to meet more friends as well. Looking forward to the next meet!
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