2015 Lakevale Dolphins Swim Team

Anna finishing a race

The 2015 summer swim season has come to an end at is was a memorable one for Anna.  She surprised a lot of people, including herself, by being one of the top team swimmers for 8 and under girls this year.  What was particularly surprising were the strokes she led - breaststroke and butterfly (her parents didn't even know she knew how to do butterfly).  She was also a member of the 8 and under girls relay team for the first time.  While these were all great things, there were some challenges for the swim season.

The first challenge was the weather.  Apparently this was the rainiest summer swim season that anyone could remember with all but one meet conducted in some form of rain.  The first meet of the season was beautiful with Anna clocking some great times on her swims.  The next weekend is better known as monsoon Saturday in which the meet continued to be held in a chilly driving rain (learning experience for Theresa & Joe - swim team parents are very serious and the meet will ALWAYS go on, even if you need to wait in your car all day for thunder and lightening to clear).  Anna was in tears with misery and the pattern continued the next few weekends as rain continued (apparently the argument that "you are already wet in the pool" does not resonate with her).  The low point was the relay carnival which was plagued by thunderstorms.  After waiting 3 1/2 hours, officials finally called the meet.  Rain gear became a regular part of the swim bag - including card games to play while waiting.

The second challenge was the other teams.  Despite the fact that Anna is on a neighborhood team, there are a number of fantastic swimmers that helped the team move up to Division II (there are 17 divisions).  These are teams that are SERIOUS competitors (they train all year).  The result was that the team lost all of the meets (also a first in a long time).  On the plus side, the team should move to a different division next year.

The third thing, which is not exactly a challenge, is the amount of volunteer effort it takes to run these meets.  Joe and Theresa joined in with Theresa helping with marshaling (which basically means you get to wear a less than stylish neon orange vest and tell people to be quiet at the start) and the deli.  Joe has really moved up the timer ranks this year - going from the outer lanes to the middle lanes (this is where the fastest swimmers are).  He also logged a couple of free cheeseburgers this year for his timing efforts.  The most important part of volunteering is finding the job with the best view of the races.  Timing and marshaling fill the bill on that count.

Girls Relay Team - Anna, Nora, Lauren, & Megan

The season had its ups and downs, but it was a great learning experience for Anna this year. She got the opportunity to compete in the divisional championship, swimming against the best of the best.  Anna will move up an age group next year, so we will see what happens.   Hopefully there will be better weather next year - and a lower division to compete in.  Go Dolphins!