Back in the water
The GCSU Swim Cats, the club swim team, is hard at work preparing for the upcoming season.
Junior Andrea Sisson is excited to be a leader for the team.
“Swim Cats is a great way to meet people, stay in shape and just have fun,” Sisson said. We have team hangouts like going bowling, having potluck dinners and playing games to get to know each other better. It’s not just about the swimming.”
Currently, the team holds practice at the outdoor pool behind the Centennial Center. In October, however, the team will switch to the indoor pool at Central State Hospital due to weather changes.
Since Swim Cats is a club team, the environment is more relaxed than with an NCAA team. Team meetings are every Monday at 9 p.m. and practices are Mondays through Thursdays at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. Every noon Friday practice is either a “fun day,” when the team plays games and practices relays, or a stroke clinic.
The stroke clinic is a new addition to the schedule this year for swimmers who need help with technique. Since there are no official coaches, it is up to the swimmers to ask for help.
President Taylor Hayes, a junior athletic training major, is starting his third year of swimming for the club team.
“Since I have taken over as president for the Swim Cats, I have really enjoyed seeing new freshmen and older students who are all really enthusiastic about just swimming and having a good time,” Hayes said. “Seeing that makes running the swim team so worth it.”
Generally, the Swim Cats participate in four meets per semester. Three are usually meets in Georgia and one is a traveling meet. This year the team is heading back to the Elon University meet, where 25 teams swam last year and the Bobcats fared well.
Last year, the Swim Cats had a very encouraging season. At the Bobcat Invitational meet, they placed third out of seven teams, finishing higher than the University of Georgia’s club team. At the meet hosted by Georgia Tech, where 40 teams competed, the Swim Cats performed well again, sending four swimmers to the finals.
“I honestly can’t wait to see how we fare this year against the other teams with all the new recruits we got and all of our dedicated returning swimmers,” Hayes said.
The club is ordering new Endurance Plus suits, which don’t deteriorate as fast as normal suits. The Swim Cats also have custom “Bobcats” swim caps and T-shirts they can buy for $25.
Swimmers’ dues pay for meet fees, pool time, equipment, hotels, gas and other travel expenses. Other sources of funding for the team over the past years include bake sales, the change game and lap-a-thons.
The change game is simple; swimmers carry buckets to class to collect spare change from students around campus. The lap-a-thon is a fundraiser where swimmers ask people to sponsor them for a certain amount of money per lap. The more money the team can raise, the better opportunities for more swimmers to compete.
Dues are $50 for the year and $30 for the semester, and are accepted until Sept. 14. The Bobcat Invitational will be the first meet, held Sept. 26.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 11 2009. Filed under Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
