Wrestling, bowling and basketball were made for winter. Seasons begin in the middle of November and last through the end of February (and longer if things so well).
However there’s one more winter high school sport that was not made for winter. That’s swimming. Yes swimming.
It seems illogical to have this sport in the winter.
When we moved here from Los Angeles, we were used to swimming being a high school spring sport much like track.
Since the schools don’t have their own swimming pools, regardless of what the seniors tell the freshmen, winter swim season meant carpooling to swim team practice at night in the ice and snow. There was just something wrong about this in my head.
Our three teenage daughters thought it was no big deal and loved it. They swam for all four years of high school, which means we were swim team parents for a total of 12 years. Winter swim team was a learning experience for my husband and me. Once we figured things out, we enjoyed it, too.
From what I hear from today’s swim family and friends, supporting the swim team continues to be a challenge until you know the ropes.
If you are planning on attending a swim meet, you can be very miserable if you do not dress properly. Swim meets are very warm and humid, especially meets at Wittenberg. Parents and grandparents wearing heavy winter sweaters, which are logical to wear in this weather, will be so sorry they did.
Swim team fans are all about layering. Every fall savvy swim parents don’t stash away all their summer clothing. They keep out a couple of favorite short sleeve shirts to wear under the sweaters. Three layers is best with the bottom layer being a T-shirt.
Make sure you have extra gloves, hats and scarves for after the swim meet. It always seems so much colder after the meet. And you don’t want your swimmer to have frozen hair. It’s wise for them to dry their hair before heading home in the cold weather. Anyone who volunteers to go out and start the car to warm it up is everyone’s hero.
Just like for summer sports, drinking water is essential for swimmers and for those in the stands, too. Fresh fruit like grapes, apples, oranges and melon are perfect to send with your swimmer and pack for yourself.
Swim meets are like track meets. They last a long time. There are scores of events and a closely watched schedule. Swimmers have been known to write the number of their event on their arm in wax pencil. Parents can just purchase a heat sheet. Bring a pen to circle the event number of your athlete.
And of course you will need to write down the person’s times just like at a track meet.
There’s a lot of cheering people on at swim meets but I don’t think they can hear us. Some pools are really loud and the echo factor magnifies it. Bring earplugs if you are sensitive to this.
There is a lot of waiting around at a swim meet. Bring something to read or better yet volunteer to help your team with their turn at the snack bar or another support position. Tell them what heats you will have to leave to watch.
If you bring your camera you will quickly learn that swim meet photography is an acquired talent. It’s difficult to tell one swim-capped head from another while they are swimming. Locating your swimmer is all about lane numbers. That is how you find them.
There are eight more local high school swim meets scheduled this month and into February. On Jan. 16 a swim meet will be held at the New Carlisle Sports and Fitness pool beginning at 1 p.m. Tecumseh, Greenon, Bethel, Northwestern and Indian Lake will compete. Other meets are scheduled at Wright State, Wittenberg and Trotwood.
It may seem odd to have swim meets in winter, but apparently it works out quite well. Just remember to dress in layers if you attend.
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