This swim season for both school and club swimming has been a tough one. For starters, TAPPS region swim meet was canceled, and there is just state on Monday, February 8th. This means there were no state qualifications and anyone who wants to go can go, not only making the state meet less special, but this also makes the meet take longer. There would normally be only 2 heats of swimmers per event, but this year there could be up to 5 or 6 heats per event.

Club swim has also changed. Now, we can’t find any meets to attend, because teams don’t want to be responsible for someone on another team getting COVID after attending their meet. Instead, teams will have their own private meet at their practice pool, this way there aren’t as many people, and teams can have a meet whenever they like.

Last year, there was a regional swim meet, and that is normally how you qualify for state. The top 3 people from the event in each region automatically go to state, then it’s the next 7 overall from every region. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to be in the 7 the last 3 years, but this year, there is no state qualification other than a cut off time for every event. Meaning if someone’s time is over the cut off, they cannot attend state for that event. I am also lucky enough to be below those cut off times for both of my events.

This year at state, there are no spectators, masks are required, and there are no locker rooms open for changing. Normally I would show up in a practice suit, then go into the locker room to change into a tech suit (the kind you see in the Olympics that go to your knees). But I am glad I could still attend all 4 years, because not many people can say that, but also I make so many fun memories with my friends and family every year, and that’s why I enjoy the sport so much.