Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Swim team: A little bit of normalcy
BELLA VISTA — Some children are having a hard time adjusting to the new normal and something as ordinary as swim team practice becomes important, Coach Lisa Richards said.
The second session of the swim team is being held.
Usually, there are about twice as many participants, Richards said. This year, there are about 20 in each of the two classes of the second session.
The first session was about the same size. Not all the participants are at every meeting.
The smaller class size is one reason swim team was able to have a season, she said. Because of restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, swimming lessons were canceled this summer. But the state Health Department approved the 2020 version of swim team.
Also, since all the swimmers are either members or guests of members (often grandchildren), it makes them easy to contact if that becomes necessary. But Richards thinks her swimmers are pretty safe. The pool water is disinfected, she said, so swimming in disinfected water is probably safe, she said.
There are no meets this year, but at least the kids can work on their technique, she said. They meet at the Kingsdale pool four mornings a week with the older group, ages 11 to 18 at 8 a.m. and the younger group, ages 5 to 10 at 9 a.m. Each session is three weeks long.
Swimmers must be able to swim 25 yards to qualify. Although it’s not swimming lessons, most of the participants will improve their skills because of swim team, Richards said. She stands on the deck and shows them each stroke while they copy her movements in the water.
Last week, she was holding time trials. Sometimes, she said, the kids don’t know how fast they are moving, so having timekeepers gives them that information. Several members of the older class stayed behind to serve as timekeepers for the younger class.