Swim Season Ends

After an exhausting swim season last year, I was very vocal about being "done" with this sport!  In Houston, it started in late April and fell at the same time frame as the girls' ballet exams and recital, Steven Joseph's t-ball season, and all our end-of-year activities.  The meets were long, hot, and exhausting, and the daily practices were very hard with my two little tag-along boys.  The leagues were very competitive and included a lot of year-round swimmers, so my girls didn't get to take part in many relays and rarely won ribbons.

At some point after we moved, I discovered that the swim leagues here in our new city start later in the year, are less competitive, smaller, and just so much more low-key.  We joined the team at our nearby swim club where practice was at 7:00am starting in June, so Daddy could drop them off on his way to work!  I think there were only about 25 swimmers in all, so they got lots of individual instruction and opportunities to excel.  The team was so laid back; they didn't even have team suits or t-shirts.  We often didn't get information about the team or meets until the last minute, but overall it was a very positive experience for all of us.

They only had 3 meets for their division and we attended 2 (in Houston we had about 6!), then there was a time trial which we didn't attend.  The girls swam at the regional meet and then both qualified to swim backstroke at the city meet this past weekend.  Both were at indoor pools, so we didn't have to sit outdoors in the heat!  They had a fun time and met some nice friends.  I'm glad we were able to participate in this truly SUMMER sport, and we look forward to doing it again in years to come!  Maybe even Steven will be able to join, although he started protesting his swim lessons so we took a break on those.  The girls will both be in the older range of their age groups next year, so I imagine they'll really do well.  I'm very proud of my girls and the way they worked so hard, got up early every morning, and continued to improve their times every week.  Way to go, Manta Rays!