Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of articles by Noblesville Swim Club members Tina Berger and Delaney Radican about the club’s Senior Trip in Knoxville, Tenn.
D: The last two days have been the start of our meet, the TNAQ Invitational has been going pretty good so far for the team. As the days go on in our trip, it gets harder and harder to wake up in the morning then jump into a pool for a race.
T: We all wake up every morning of the meet and drag ourselves out of bed and into the common area, which is filled with a somber mood as we all begin to prepare for the day. The walk from breakfast to the pool each day has been filled with talk of poor swims and how we are feeling as we wake up more and get more ready for our events.
As the meet goes on and on we get even more tired and sore but still push through our events each day. After morning session if we are done with our swims for the day everyone can go back to the dorms and relax until lunch time. For the people that have to swim finals they have to go earlier to the pool to get warmed up for the race while the rest of us get to relax a little more then head to the pool and cheer on our teammates.
We have an ongoing tradition where we cheer on everyone in finals, so we have continued to carry this tradition on. This weekend we have cheered on our first person and then spread over the lanes to cheer on other teams and our competition to keep spirits high and to represent the N.
Our goal every year is to make an impact at our meet during the senior trip to have other teams look at us. To see that cheering for other swimmers that is not on your team is just as fun as cheering for someone on your team and can make an impact on that swimmer if they are struggling or just need some support to help them get that cut they need.
Many coaches and swimmers appreciate this gesture and some even come over and thank us, this year we helped one swimmer make his cut and he came over and thanked us. While we don’t have to do this we choose to because it makes the meet more meaningful and brings spirits up. At the end of the day we are all exhausted but full of good spirited because of how our swimmers have done and how we have affected the other teams.
Noblesville Swim Club athletes cheer on incoming junior Caitlin Marshall as she swims in her event during the TNAQ Invitational. Cheering on swimmers is a tradition for the swimmers on the Senior Trip. (Melinda Stephan)