Dolphin Swim Team

If you were to stop by the pool at the Y on a weekday between 3 and 5 p.m. this winter, you would have heard our Dolphin swim team participants’ hard at work. With most of our programs being on hold for 2020 due to the pandemic, it was a sigh of relief when the Y was able to navigate a safe way to offer swim team. The YMCA aquatics and coaching staff worked together to figure out the safest way for our swimmers to come back into the pool and experience some sense of normalcy coming off almost nine months of isolation. Despite the new COVID restrictions per CDC recommendations, the Y still had 38 individual swimmers sign up, similar to previous years.

Typically, practice times are based on age groups; older swimmers would meet 5 days a week, mid-aged swimmers three times a week and the youngest age group twice a week. With the coaching staff having to get creative with lane sharing, etc., practice times were based on sibling groups instead. New protocols were put in place in regards to arriving to and leaving practice; equipment was assigned to each swimmer for the entire season, the benches that line the windows for the Emery Pool were assigned seats every six feet for swimmers waiting their turns to get in the water, the maximum number of swimmers per lane was three, and swimmers had staggered starting places. Everything was sanitized between sessions.

Luckily, competition was still prominent for the swimmers. Each team ended up having virtual swim meets, where times for each event were submitted by a designated team member of the YMCA Swim League. The Dolphins were very happy to host three meets this season, all aired on the Y’s and BRTV’s Facebook pages. The last virtual meet is scheduled for April 3, which is the State Meet. Thirty-three swimmers will be participating, including the three seniors from this season.

Without the dedication and trust of the families in the community, swim team would not have been as successful as it was this season. Even through the month and a half un-coached, unstructured shut down, swimmers were still signing up for individual practice times and pushed themselves to stay active and competitive. The Y thanks the community for their dedication to the program, and is hoping for a more normal season for 2021-2022.