Blood pumping, water splashing, voices whispering anxiously – all are vital parts of what a swimmer experiences at every swim meet. Swimmers get to the meet location long before the spectators do and have to bear the apprehension of awaiting their races for hours. But despite the waiting game, they manage to keep a level head and a light spirit, turning the meet from dreary to delightful.
Every meet starts off with warm up, dividing the teams into cramped lanes before beginning a usually semi-rigorous warm-up swim. This gets the swimmers’ blood pumping and ensures that their muscles are prepared to go all out on later events. Of course, the events vary throughout the day, depending on the kind of meet. For example, a dual meet is usually around four or five hours, whereas a district meet can last all day. Since the events sometimes happen hours later, swimmers are advised to warm up on multiple occasions.
While events are oftentimes sporadic, depending on what the coach sorts them into, between each event the swimmers take the opportunity to do a multitude of things. Some of them choose to converse and joke about light things, others turn serious and do homework — still others take the time to catch up on sleep, despite the surprisingly pleasant chaos around them. There are even the swimmers who use their off time to swim playfully instead, which, while fun, is ill-advised because it takes up so much energy throughout the day. And there are even fellow swimmers spend their free time cheering on their teammates, like Brianna Heisler.
“I swim and cheer on my friends during their events.” Heisler said, “and the other swimmers are normally either cheering on each other or sitting with their friends waiting for their events to start.”
Despite the meet being long, swimmers manage to take the time consumption in stride and do their best in all events. While a large portion of the meet may not seem exhilarating, it’s a good situation for the teammates to spend time together.
“Its usually not boring because there’s normally always something to do either swimming your own events, or hanging out with the team.” Heisler said, reassuring readers that they make the best of the time that is given to them.
Swimmer Mikaela Nieto was happy to say that she was able to enjoy the swim meets mainly because the atmosphere was so spirited.
“I notice that they are really great swimmers and always encourage one another. I’m glad to have such great team members,” said Nieto.
When the meet reaches its end and the swimmers are spent and tired, they then go out to a team dinner to celebrate their effort put forth. Not only d0 they have a pleasant day, they also get to end the day with a fun dinner, supporting their fellow swimmers with a delicious meal.