Around 11:30 am last Saturday, Paul and I attended a swim meet between the Santa Cruz Boys and Girls Club and Watsonville YMCA.
Both teams had about equal numbers of team members, 15 from Santa Cruz and 20 from Watsonville. However, there was an obvious difference between the two teams. For example, the Watsonville team seemed to be more mature, and more uniform in appearance by donning the same white YMCA swimming cap, and performing similarly styled strokes.
Leni belonged to the diverse Santa Cruz team, ranging in age from 6 to 16. Their swimming skills varied too. Some were very fast almost reaching the professional level and speed while some were lost in the midst of the competition. Despite the setback of a year's inactivity and only a couple weeks of training, Leni, race numbers temporarily tattooed on her arm as 2-5-15-18, participated in several categories, 25-meter freestyle, 50-meter backstroke, and team relay. She did reasonably well for her team that enthusiastically cheered each other's heats in turn.
Small as it is, the swimming pool at the Santa Cruz Boys and Girls Club, had the same Olympic spirit, monitored closely by their respective coaches, and assistant coaches. Each swimmer's performance was duly clocked and recorded by pairs of appointed volunteers. Two sections of bleachers were filled with young athletes' family members and friends who shared every moment with them, whether it was a victory or disappointment.
Like any stadium of professional grade, the Santa Cruz swimming facility provides a side yard with refreshments while the competition was heating up. Swimmers and attendees were welcomed to hot dogs, burgers, beverages and healthy foods.
Since the two-city swim meet was not a truly professional event, the Watsonville coach ended the meet by throwing a sandwich bag full of coins into the pool for swimmers to dive and retrieve. Instantly those highly motivated youngsters were like dolphins diving in and out of water. What a fun meet indeed!
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