The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hosting SSL Meet is huge venture
How long the Suburban Swim League has been around is up for debate, but many asked have theorized it is approaching 50 years — perhaps more than that.
One thing all agree is undertaking the task of hosting the annual SSL Championships is mammoth.
It’s not an understatement that it takes a small village.
The 2019 SLL Championships were held July 27 in Willoughby, then a day later for the final session in Wickliffe.
Getting from the 2018 meet to 2019 was a 10-month process for Pat Conway V and Matt Ciavarelli. Conway is the president of the Willoughby Stingers swim team, and Ciavarelli for the Wickliffe Water Devils.
Those teams and more converged on area pools in Lake County to host a massive event that featured more than 1,600 swimmers from ages 8 to high school. Add in family, friends and volunteers, and it’s safe to say at least 2,500 were there to support the SSL.
The league consists of teams from Chardon, Cleveland Heights, Eastlake, Euclid, Highland Heights, Pinnate, Mentor, South Euclid/Lyndhurst, Wickliffe, Willoughby and Willowick.
Organizing an event of this size isn’t as simple as telling the teams, “Go do it.”
Hundreds of volunteers are needed, and some good fortune to keep everyone happy during a long stretch of days. Factors include good weather (Mother Nature cooperated last weekend), keeping the meet moving along, keeping it safe, and making sure everyone is able to see their child swim.
Conway and Ciavarelli said that was just the start. On the days of the championships, concerns ranged from keeping portable bathrooms clean and traffic flow seamless, plus securing volunteers who are mostly parents of swimmers competing. And more. There’s always more.
“All parents have to help,” said Conway. “To pull off a dual meet, we need 50 volunteers. Concession stands, runners, officials … it’s hectic at times.”
There are others such as Dawn Ferrante of the Highland Heights team. She’s been the longtime statistician for the SSL Championships.
“She’s fantastic,” said Nick Lizalde, who’s been the president of the South Euclid/Lyndhurst Sea Monkeys the last five seasons.
Lizalde said the likes of Ferrante are the lifeblood of swim meets, and he should know. In 2018, the Lyndhurst pool was the first in the history of the SSL to host the championships for both days of the annual two-day meet.
“To pull off that event could not have been done without our team,” said Lizalde, who is stepping down as team president and will be replaced by Adam Droe in 2020. “They were fantastic. But we have a committee that did everything. It ran so smoothly because we had the right people in the right spots, and it made everything more enjoyable for everybody.”
Flash forward a year and Conway and Ciavarelli were in Lizalde’s shoes. Ciaverelli has been part of the SSL for more than 20 years but overseeing such a huge event was a first for him. He assisted on site in Willoughby on July 27, then was the head person a day later at Coulby Park.
“This has been going on for like 50 years, and it always runs well,” said Ciavarelli. “It’s the parents, it’s the city, my board. It’s a volunteer thing. This meet doesn’t run without the parents helping out … you can’t do it by yourself.”
It’s also a labor of love, which is why Ciavarelli and Conway — plus countless others — looked a bit worn down throughout the day, but the work put in was with purpose and passion.
“If you’re a parent that doesn’t know swimming and you look at this meet, you probably look at this and think, ‘Oh my god.’ It would probably give you anxiety,” said Ciavarelli. “But if you’re around it you think, ‘This is normal and you love it.’ ”
Conway perhaps summed it up the best.
“It’s always been a family thing,” he said. “It’s community.”