By PAULA SCHUMANN, Contributor

The River Place Rapids swim team completed record-breaking season on June 27 at the All Star Invitational Meet at Westwood Country Club. Forty-six swimmers qualified for the event and one of the highlights of the meet was Alexander Paulson winning 2nd place overall in the boys 6 and under category. Rapids parents also saw five all-time Rapids records broken during the season.

“We had an amazing season thanks to our great coaches and fantastic parents. All of our swimmers achieved personal best times, and we set a Rapids record for swimmers going to All Stars,” said Ross Binkley, Rapids board president.
The All Star meet followed a weekend of fun activities including the favorite “Medal Meet”, where every Rapids swimmer attending won a place medal or a personal best time medal. A fun-filled fiesta dance party and awards ceremony capped off the weekend.

The 2016 Rapids’ roster included 118 swimmers, ages 5 to 14. The primary goal is to make sure each swimmer has fun while improving his or her stroke techniques and speed. The team was fearlessly led this season by returning Head Coach Ian Bishop and assistant coaches Jack Hanna, a Vandegrift High School graduate, and Amy Calhoun. They spent countless hours coaching the kids through one of the Rapids’ best seasons.
Other highlights of the season included the parent-coach relays at meets, the Rapids Fun Day of games and pizza, the parent-swimmer practice, and of course, the popsicles at the swim meets.

The swim team practiced five days a week for nine weeks, trained hard and enjoyed fun practices such as “Aerobic Mondays” and the final practice which featured a story telling swim and a dog-paddle race.

Swim team events are great for meeting neighbors and forming lasting friendships for both kids and parents. Swimming is the perfect lifetime sport. For information about joining the 2017 River Place Rapids season, go to www.riverplace.swimtopia.com.