OK! I have been so ready to write this post since Dr. D put it on her blog!
First of all, the reason I chose swimming as my topic to defend is because I am currently a swimmer on the EHS varsity swim team. We have been practicing since the start of the summer and I have personally been swimming since I was 5 years old. I love swimming! It's not my all-time favorite activity, but definitely my best and favorite sport. Being on the swim team at Episcopal is like being in one big family, we all are great friends whether we are 10 years old, or in our final year of high school. Everyone has a certain event and stroke that they are best at, and everyone has a personality that sticks out. During November of last year I got to travel to the Swim State Championships with the team after qualifying in the 100meter freestyle. It was definitely one of the best and most fun experiences of my life!
But getting to state and just being on the team each day takes a lot of hard work! And let me just say right now that almost everyone I know will and has said that swimming is not a sport. It's been said that swimming is not challenging, doesn't take strength or muscle, and that no one would want to be on the swim team because it's "so lame". ahem... WHOA there! Let's just back up a second here. Swimming is actually the SPORT that works the most muscles in your body. Every morning I wake up aching in different places and wishing that Coach hadn't added that second 800 yesterday. (yes that's right 800, as in 32 laps people... top speed) It's also a fact that the average person cannot do a flip turn. That's the transition between laps where you flip and push of the wall to start your next 25 yards. Plus, swimming takes extra hydration. Being in water all of practice may seem more relaxing of cooler than running in the hot sun, but you sweat and work just as much in the pool as you do out of the water. Not to mention our drylands workout twice a week!
And finally, the swim team is no groups of nerds. Everyone that swims is an all around great person! We have baseball players, soccer players, tennis players, actors, artists, musicians, honors students, and just great friends. We all have a great laugh when we are together and all work hard to achieve the best in our sport! Last year our girls team placed second at the Louisiana State Championships, the first time EHS girls have placed since 2002. This year, we'll be bringing home 1st!
-A girl with swimmer's ear... Mckenzie
You tell 'em Mac! Power to the swimmers! :)
ReplyDeletehaha :)
DeleteMckenzie, I have enjoyed reading your posts this week. You have a unique voice that comes through your writing. As someone who is collapse-on-the-floor exhausted after swimming about five laps, I have a lot of respect for the athleticism of swimming. I hope the Olympics and Michael Phelps have helped raise the respect level. You make a good case for the athletic power required and the value of the team as a team.
ReplyDeleteExcellent connections in your reading response, and I like how you use the details of the book to support your connection rather than just telling us what happens in the book. Keep up the good work!
Mckenzie, I love the topic you did and that would've been my choice but you put it all out there!! It hits all the points on why swimming is a sport, a hard one, and I completley agree with all of them:)
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