Previous Story
Kids get treats at SSC meet
|
Posted on Dec 22 2005
The future swimming stars of the CNMI closed out their four-week session of the Saipan Swim Club’s developmental session yesterday afternoon when scores of mini-tankers made waves in the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi.
The adolescent aquanauts demonstrated their proficiency in all four strokes—breast, back, freestyle, and butterfly—in their final event of 2005, while some of the SSC’s current champions were on hand to coach, cheer, and keep time for the tadpoles.
Each of the swimmers received finishing ribbons based upon who was the first to touch the wall at the end of each stretch down the lanes, but they clearly found another gear when the “Mystery Heat” was announced.
The winner of each of the “Mystery Heats” stood to walk away with an unknown prize, and the kids chugged and churned to get it.
“I started that when I was coaching in Largo. We used to have a meet the weekend of Halloween, and I came up with the idea of a “Ghost Run” heat. It’s like a ghost, so it’s a secret. As soon as the kids dove off the blocks, the announcer said it was a “Ghost Run” heat and everyone went crazy. Then the kids in the water heard everyone going crazy and thought it was a “Ghost Run” heat and they swam their tails off. Well, then in every race people are standing up and cheering anyway, so every single race the kids thought it was a “Ghost Run” heat so they ended up going real fast,” said head coach Michael Stewart.
Once all of the events of the day were completed, the coach rewarded his prodigies with a package from one of the SSC’s biggest fans.
“Alright guys, since we’re so far from the North Pole, Santa Claus stopped by my house early and dropped off these gifts,” said Stewart.
All of the developmental time in the tank is shelved until late in January because Stewart said that the water temperature drops too low for the little kids, but he has only set a tentative date for the return of the program in 2006.
For more information about any of the SSC’s programs or to register for the classes, contact Stewart by calling 322-9474 or via email at swimsaipan@hotmail.com.
