Meet of Champs Final Report

Friday:

We practiced in the Katy High School pool this afternoon. It was quite an experience. The pool reminds me of a smaller version of the Loos Natatorium in Dallas. Like Loos, this pool has a moveable berm in the middle that can adjust the length of the pool. It also has a raised viewing area for spectators. Pretty cool for a high school pool.

The team had 1 hour to practice and get familiar with the pool. This ended up being a bit of a challenge on several fronts. First, the pool was configured with the competition side in the deep end (12ft). Therefore, the little kids had a hard time getting out of the pool. Also, the sides were taller than those at our pool. Second, they were also having open swim, so we couldn't use all the lanes. Our team got bunched up so tightly that it was rather comical to watch them try to navigate around each other in the lanes.

Vivian's age group practiced their normal 30 minutes, and Emma Grace's group went about 40 minutes. I think the funniest part was when Cliff talked with Emma Grace about why she was stopping so much and "talking" to the lane ropes. She said, "I have a hard time swimming uphill." There's a steep incline from the deepest diving part to a more shallow (5-6ft) area, and to her it looked like she was swimming "uphill."

Saturday:

Both girls swam very well. I was quite impressed. Every time they got in the water they swam faster than they did before. Granted our pool is 25 meters and this pool is 25 yards, but still. . . . I was timing them from the stands, taking their splits on the relays, and they just got faster and faster!

Vivian swam individual freestyle and freestyle relay. She finished 17th overall in individual freestyle, and her relay goes to finals tomorrow. One of her teammates qualified as the alternate for finals.

Emma Grace swam individual freestyle and backstroke and then swam freestyle relay and freestyle on the medley relay. She finished 27th overall in individual freestyle. She was disqualified (DQ) in backstroke for turning over to check her position (several younger kids were DQ'd for the same reason). Both relays go to finals tomorrow.

Sunday:

We're just here for relays today. Vivian's relay went first. They finished 4th.

Emma Grace's medley relay was next. They finished 7th.

Then we had to wait through all the other events until the freestyle relays at the end. Emma Grace's relay finished 7th.

It was a long day, but fortunately we started late in the morning (no super early start). We lounged around the house, taking our time getting ready for the meet and packing for vacation.

When we got to the pool, we expected to see the teams situated outside. Instead, they brought the kids in poolside. That worked out very nicely. Even though it was hot and humid inside, it was still better than sitting outside in the elements -- especially when it rained.

Cliff volunteered to be a Bench Parent to help the kids get organized for their various events. I was supposed to do that, too, but they didn't need everyone who signed up. I was frustrated at first, having to watch by myself, but it was good for him to have the experience, good for the girls to have him with them, and good for me, so I could leave between events and pick up some last minute things for the vacation.

The meet was over around 4pm. Then we hit the road for vacation.