A number of local swimmers, families in tow, braved the cold weather before entering the warm and humid confines of the St. Paul Aquatic Centre on Nov. 26, where the Barracudas Swim Club was hosting the first of its two annual mini-meets.
The event saw the club’s members perform laps of the pool using four different swimming styles, setting many new personal bests.
“They get to prove what they’ve learned so far, and they get to bring home a ribbon with their time on it,” club president Pat Ryning said of the event.
Volunteers timed every lap, ensuring that each swimmer’s progress could be recorded and then tested at the club’s next mini-meet, which will take place later in the season.
“When they swim in the second mini-meet, they are racing against themselves,” Ryning said.
“It’s a good chance for the non-competitive swimmers to see what a competitive meet would be like,” added head coach Darren Culham.
The club has grown rapidly over the last few years, due in part to a shift from being a purely competitive club to one that mixes competitive and recreational swimmers.
“When I first started here six or seven years ago, the club was down to maybe 14 or 16 swimmers,” Culham said. “Now we’re up to 127. Most of it was word of mouth, and introducing the non-competitive side really helped.”
As a club, the Barracudas participate in about 13 swim meets each year, providing plenty of opportunities for the competitive swimmers to put themselves to the test. The spirit of the mini-meet – a race against time, against one’s own personal best – fits well with the nature of the sport.
“That’s swimming in general,” Culham said. “It is a team sport, but you always try to beat your individual time, not necessarily the person beside you. That’s how the meets are geared too – you’re swimming with people that have the same times as you, not necessarily the same age.”
With such a wide range of swimmers – spanning from four to 16 years old – the Barracudas make sure to set appropriate objectives for each individual participant.
“We start with five-year-olds in the little pool, and it’s our goal to get them comfortable enough in the water that they can graduate up to the big pool by next year,” Ryning said.
The club’s shifts have certainly paid off, as evidenced by the bustling scene of swimmers and spectators at the mini-meet on Nov. 26.
“We’re a very healthy club. We have a great board and we have lots of great parents that help with everything,” Culham said. “The more people we can get in and get swimming the better. With all the lakes we have around here, it’s a good skill for any kid to have. It makes me sleep better at night knowing that these kids can swim.”
