F.A.S.T.
Our daughter has been swimming for a new club and her school since we arrived in Sarasota. I have talked of adjustments and she has probably had to have made the most since our move from Bermuda. Swimming is no different, with new coaches and methods and not to mention that in the U.S. they swim yards and not meters (sic). They are still stuck on Fahrenheit too!
In Bermuda she would swim a national schools championship once a year but varsity, as they call it, is something else completely and significantly more competitive.
The Florida high school swim season runs from August to November culminating this past weekend in the State championships, and after performing really well in the districts (our general area), which the school won for the first ever time, and then the regionals (the central and south-west of Florida), she and five other kids from the school qualified for the state championship finals.
This was in Ocala at the Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training (F.A.S.T.) centre, an hugely impressive facility only opened in early 2022.
Ocala is pretty much bang in the middle of Florida and about 3 or so hours from our house. We drove up on Friday and the meet was Saturday. Early start and late finish as per with swimming.
I have to say we witnessed some incredible swimming. National and state school records were being broken in a vast number of races, and we most definitely witnessed some future Olympians.
There are no age groupings, you are either fast enough to qualify or not whether you are 10 or 18. Our daughter swam the 100 fly (she was 2nd in the regional) and 100 backstroke (she won the regional) and she was on the fly leg of the 200 medley relay (her school came 3rd in the regional).
Her school is small by American standards, and larger schools with huge swim programs who recruit from all over the world mostly dominated. The boys and girls title was won, as it has been for over 30 years, by Bolles in Jacksonsville, who brought 50 phenomenal swimmers.
It was a wonderful experience for her, and (apologies, but proud Dad moment ☺️), she swam brilliantly to finish 12th in the back and 15th in the fly. The school came 12th in the relay. She was only 14 last week, so she will hopefully have four more years of these incredible opportunities.
CA – It’s fantastic to hear the great successes of your daughter – you’re quite right to be proud! I wish I had hairbreadth of her talent – I swim like a brick!
I hope you’re settling in well – I have fond memories of Florida. 👍
Many thanks Keith.
Yes, American Sports faculties and programs are impressive . I attended Berkeley law school in California in 1984. That was the year of the Los Angeles Olympics. My University got more medals than the UK! 2 golds in Swimming and 2 in gymnastics for the US as I recall. Mind you the UK medal haul that year was pathetic .
Geoffrey