The Glacier Swim Club set records and blew past the competition at a swim meet in Ketchikan Feb. 14-16.
The Ketchikan meet, called the Alaskan Age Group Championships, was for club swimmers from ages 5-14. Teams from 21 clubs across Alaska participated, and were trounced by Juneau.
“We have a really good coaching team and it’s a really dedicated group,” said Shireen Taintor, a team parent, in a phone interview.
The Glacier Swim Club scored a record-breaking 1091 points in the meet. The next runner up, the Chugiak Aquatics Club, scored 659 points.
“They really concentrate on character development. It’s a really positive program,” Taintor said. “The kids who get involved get really invested in the program.”
Swimmers from the Glacier Swimming Club ran roughshod over the competition at the Alaska Age Group Championships on Feb. 14-15, setting a record for the most points scored by a single team and winning the meet handily. (Courtesy photo | For Glacier Swimming Club)
The club, which practices at both the Dimond Park Aquatic Center and the Augustus Brown Swimming Pool, has more than 200 swimmers, aged 5-18, Taintor said. Of that, roughly 20-30 travelled to Ketchikan for the meet.
“There’s a lot of family support. When you have a lot of family support there’s a really positive impact,” Taintor said. “It’s a youth program that was started by parents and has really continued that tradition.”
The next meet will be the Southeast Championships, hosted April 4-5 in Juneau.
The event will be one of two meets Juneau regularly hosts. There’s also a fundraiser for the club coming up in mid-March where swimmers swim laps to raise money for the club, Taintor said.
