A College Freshman’s Guide to a Championship Meet

Photo Courtesy: NC State Athletics

By Nicole Farina, Swimming World College Intern.

The most wonderful time of the year for college swimmers everywhere has finally arrived. It’s championship season. That’s right, folks. It’s time to whip out those fastskins, say goodbye to months of hairy legs, and rejoice over the joy that taper never fails to bring. We’ve finally hit that downhill spiral since training trip, and we couldn’t be more relieved.

There’s something special about a college conference/championship meet that is unlike any other meet in this sport. Upperclassmen understand, and even describe it as the best meets they’ve ever been a part of. Freshman, on the other hand, don’t yet know the ride that they’re in for.

Here are a few tips for freshman everywhere regarding their first championship meet. Hopefully you can get the amazing experience that we’ve all gotten, too.

1.This is the most team-oriented meet you’ve most likely ever swam in.

indiana-cheer-after-record-watch-ncaas-2016

Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers

Growing up in age group swimming, club swimming, and high school swimming, yes, you swam on a team. Yes, you cheered for your teammates and your relays, and thought it was a blast to win a close meet. But at the end of the day, at these types of championship meets, your end goal was to come out with a personal best time, make a certain cut, make it back to finals, etc.

Not to say that your college championship meet isn’t like that. It is. You’ve put in the work and deserve the reward of swimming a best time. But, as you’re swimming your races at this meet, it’s all about the bigger picture. You want your entire team to do the best that that they can. Not only have you put in the work, but so have the people that you train with day in and day out.

You swim for your team. You carry your teammates on your back no matter if it’s a relay or if it’s the mile. If you ever feel like giving up during a race, just think about the people screaming for you on the side of the pool. You put your head down, you push as hard as you can, and you do it for them.

2. Be prepared to get tired. Really tired.

Photo Courtesy: Ian MacNicol

Remember when you could swim the 400 IM, 200 fly, and 500 free all in the morning, do it all again at night, and drop time in those sessions? Those were the days. In a college championship meet, you don’t swim every event known to man like you did when you were 14. You swim your focus events, usually one per session depending on your events.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s any easier than it was when you were in middle school. As we get older, our bodies need more recovery time. We get tired more easily, and have a harder time to turn it around race after race. Come the last day of the meet, you’re going to be exhausted.

But, here’s the thing: so is everyone else. That’s just how it works. You can’t use it as an excuse; use it to fuel you. What it comes down to on the last day is being mentally in the race, and showing that you have more heart than your competitors.

3. You’re in for the most draining, exhausting, entertaining, memorable weekend of your swimming career so far.

Photo Courtesy: Annie Grevers

It’s a long few days, and if it hasn’t been said enough, they’re both physically and mentally tiring. But regardless of how you feel by the end, you’re going to leave that pool having cheered so loud for the boy on your team chasing the team record or the girl anchoring the relay that might just win it all. You get butterflies in your stomach watching these people that you share so much with achieve the goals you’ve seen them work for every day.

You get to spend time with your team- your people. You laugh with them on the pool deck, in the hotel room, and in the locker room. This meet is what people talk about when they say that swimming in college is the best four years of their lives. Get ready to embrace it all as soon as it hits you, because it goes by all too quick.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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Charlene Tallen

7 years ago

Awesome!

Shannon Scovel

7 years ago

Good luck Lauren Anderson, Ryan Jolley, Kennedy Elhajj and Emily Gill!

Teri Spinelli Blewett

7 years ago

Hanna Blewett

Charlotte Briggs

7 years ago

Go SLU. swim for God’s glory.

Helen Farina

7 years ago

You Go Girl ! Enjoy all that you have written about in this essay I know your heart Therefore I know your words are from your heart