Lions vs Huskies Dual Meet - March 2021
Stamford Lions travelled to dual it out with the Huskies at the Canadian International School. Making full use of the parent-teacher conference days on Wednesday and Thursday in March, the Swim Academy staff were able to be present at the swim meet, of course within their bubbles.
There had been much emotional energy invested into making the swim meet happen. With many safe management protocols to observe and rule to follow it was exhausting for the coaching staff. For some athletes it was an overwhelming experience. First time competing for school, first time at a long course 50m pool, first time in over 12 months!
“The smiles on the faces of the students really made it worth the effort.” said Lead Swim Coach Grace Vertigans.
There were 132 swims that were first time efforts for our athletes. From those that had competed pre-covid, there were 45 new personal bests. Rolling them together the team had 177 new personal bests from 209 swims, a massive 84.6% PB rate.
Coach Heikal Mubarah is normally involved in managing the Learn to Swim programme. “We have had to be so adaptable over the past year. It is really a great feeling to see swimmers rise to the challenge, and do so as a community.”
Every 4 years USA Swimming create ‘Motivational Standards’ that allow swimmers to compare their performances across age ranges, events and genders. They are on an ascending scale with ‘AAAA’ being the top and the first rung on the ladder being ‘B Minimum’. More about Motivational Standards can be found here.
The performances of the team saw:
- 29 times make B Minimum with 16 different athletes. Congratulations to Max, Ezra, Olivia, Thomas, Katie, Mia, Saki, Yui, Karol, Domin, Mehr, Robbie, Jiadai, Arjan, Zeyu and Albrecht
- 14 times exceed BB Standard with 10 different athletes. Congratulations Hana B, Hana W, Bianca, Seth, Courtney, Jaiden, Ksenia, Sera, Daisy, Lang
- 6 times exceed A Standard with 3 different athletes. Well done Cristina, Emma, Niels
- 1 time exceed AA Standard from 1 athlete. Excellent work Axel.
There were also 7 school records set on the day by 4 different athletes. Some events are not offered at all competitions and of course swimmers ‘age up’ into the next age category over time. Nevertheless, all achievements need to be celebrated!
Isa - 15YR 50m Backstroke 39.23
Emma - 15YR 50m Butterfly 31.31
Open 50m Butterfly 31.31
Cristina - 16YR 100m Freestyle 1:05.53
Daisy – 17YR 50m Freestyle 32.79
17YR 100m Freestyle 1:14.65
17YR 50m Butterfly 34.65
“We are very grateful to Helen, the Aquatics Manager at Canadian International School for supporting us in our first competition back.” said Aquatics Director Paul Dowey. “We hope that we can take away some ideas to Stamford American and host our first competition.
Many thanks to everyone to helped and contributed on the day.
More photos:
