The Santa Clara Swim Club (SCSC) hosted a CBA meet at the International Swim Center from Jan. 14 to Jan. 16. A CBA meet is an entry-level competition for all ages with time standards that the participating swimmers work toward.
The sequence for young swimmers who want to swim competitively can begin with CBA meets. From there, they can go on to the Junior Olympics, followed by the Far Westerns, and then sectionals and beyond. So, a CBA meet, such as the one the SCSC hosted, is a suitable environment for swimmers of all levels.
During the meet, over 460 athletes participated. For each event or individual contest, a starter began the race by blowing a whistle, signaling for the kids signed up for the event to get on the starting block. When the starter instructed “take your mark,” he sounded the horn to start the race. Then the swimmers leaped off their blocks and began swimming, creating big splashes amid a few cheers from the audience of families and swim coaches.
“Kids of all ages are competing from our club and teams from other local area swim teams,” said Kevin Zacher, who joined the SCSC as the new Head Coach in August 2021. “They compete across four different strokes- butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. There are a couple of distances depending on age for each competing age group. Typically, for a meet like this, there will be prize ribbons. For each age and each event, the top eight finishers in each category get a ribbon.”
“Our lesson program does a fantastic job of teaching skills to prepare students to become competitive swimmers,” Zacher continued. “When a swim student becomes a team member, their lessons are considered practices.”
According to Zacher, SCSC’s goals are to create a great culture and atmosphere for kids to try for and achieve their swimming goals in a safe, positive and family-friendly environment.
“Swimming is a good activity for kids and families to be a part of,” Zacher said. “The kids train after school and the swim meets are on weekends. There are things you learn about yourself while setting goals and managing your time to get your schoolwork done. Those are skills that are helpful to any person in any facet of life as they get older.”
“Swimming helps me to be more focused in my studies,” said Audrey Ospina, 10, a Santa Clara Swim Club athlete who enjoys working with Coach Victory Huynh. “My swimming successes have proved to me that I can get to where I want to be by working hard. I really like the adrenaline of powering up in the water and socializing with my friends here.”
Ospina, who did well in this meet’s events, talked about competing in the Girls 10 & Under 100 Yard Breaststroke.
“I finished the 100 yards in under one minute and thirty seconds and that brought me closer to qualify for the Far Westerns,” she said.
Visit Santa Clara Swim Club at www.teamunify.com/team/pcscsc/page/home for information about its swim programs.