A Great Swim Season!

Girls 11-12 Relay team:  Lauren, Anna, Caitlin & Megan
The summer swim season has come to an end.  This year was a great one for Anna as she was the top of her age group (11-12) and led her group throughout the season on breast stroke and free style along with her relay team.

This year, the Lakevale Dolphins were in Division 6 (as opposed to last year's Division 3....which was tough to say the least).  The season kicked of in dramatic fashion when the first meet came down to the last relay (it also included swims by team members with casts on their arms....and they won).  In a meet the team was supposed to lose by at least 60 points, Lakevale pulled off a major upset.  Anna surprised everyone when she won both of her races.  She did well throughout the season, winning all but one of her races in breast stroke and continuing to place in in freestyle.  Her relay team also did well, winning most of their races....often in dramatic fashion.  She was one of the high scorers for the team this year and has much to be proud of.

Anna in action
Anna spent the off season swimming twice a week with some of her friends at a local swim club and the results showed.  She has a great group of neighborhood swimming buddies who are already planning to continue swimming throughout the year.

Swim team is about much more than simply swimming.  It definitely is the hub of neighborhood activity.  Joe and Theresa can be found volunteering at each of the meets....along with all of the parents.  Joe is at the end of the pool timing while Theresa can be found keeping order as a pool marshal (this basically means keeping parents of the youngest swimmers from getting in the way of the timers as they try to get photos/videos).  There are social activities every weekend for the team, including laser tag, bingo, a movie at the pool, and the neighborhood scavenger hunt.  The scavenger hunt is the biggest event of the year.  Swim team members are divided into teams, led by one of the high school swimmers, and given a list of items to retrieve within two hours.  They must stay in the neighborhood to get their items.  Anna was on the winning team for this year's scavengers hunt.  Items on their list included:

The winning scavenger hunt team
  • A can of spam
  • A taxidermy animal
  • An emoji pillow
  • A license plate from a state west of the Mississippi
  • A dog on a leash
  • Crutches
  • Potpourri spray
  • Big league chew bubblegum
  • A magic 8 ball
  • A redskins jersey
  • An Orioles baseball card
  • An American girl doll
  • A fanny pack
  • Trivial pursuit
  • A blown up raft
  • A rainbow loom bracelet
  • A ukelele
  • NVSL plaque
  • A boogie board
  • A 20 foot long hose
  • A garden gnome
  • 5 bricks
  • ...and more

You get the idea........Imagine 100 kids running around the neighborhood with wagons and wheelbarrows hauling these items to the pool.  It is quite a sight and a lot of fun for the kids.
Joe & his fellow timers

We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood with a team (most pools are not limited to only their neighborhood).  Anna has made a lot of friends of all ages and it is a great to see the older kids teaching the younger ones the sport.  It definitely is a family activity.  Thanks to all of the coaches and parents for a great season.  Go Dolphins!




Anna & Theresa the marshall

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