﻿{"id":257075,"date":"2025-05-23T02:58:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=257075"},"modified":"2025-05-23T09:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T16:47:08","slug":"5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>With the summer swimming season right around the corner for most of the United States, here&#8217;s a look at some of the reasons why this aspect of the sport is so enjoyable.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Experiences at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaswimming.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USA Swimming<\/a> meets, high school competitions and collegiate events are always meaningful. But there\u2019s something special about summer age-group swimming, which can provide lasting value. Here are just a few reasons why summer age group swimming has profound meaning:<\/p>\n<h2>1. Age group swimming is a sport for the whole family.<\/h2>\n<p>In a world where families often divide up to tote kids from one activity to another, age group swimming forms a stark contrast as a family enterprise. Kids from six to 18 take the plunge, all in one place. From age group swimming, we learn to enjoy the legendary baked goods hand-crafted by caring swim parents. We learn to cherish the time spent with our families. Moms and dads volunteer, while grandparents line the pool deck, ready to buy their favorite young swimmers a sports drink or a walking taco.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the family-centered culture of summer age group swimming, age group swimmers can end their careers recognizing the value and importance of family&#8211;a value that they can carry into whatever they do, whether that is swimming-related or not.<\/p>\n<h2>2. It keeps the older swimmers young.<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_236674\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-236674\" data-attachment-id=\"236674\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/missy-franklin-signing-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Missy-Franklin-signing-2-e1484249918773.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"960,1279\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Missy Franklin signing 2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;5-4-20&lt;br \/&gt;\nMissy Franklin signing 2&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Franklin family&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Missy-Franklin-signing-2-e1484249918773-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Missy-Franklin-signing-2-e1484249918773-769x1024.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-236674\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Missy-Franklin-signing-2-e1484249918773-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Missy Franklin signing 2\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-236674\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Franklin family<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The big moments in age group swimming are not the fingernail-close finishes. The truly memorable moments of summer swimming include the six-and-under in crooked goggles, swimming her first lap without stopping; the coaches frantically screaming at their eight-and-unders to keep their hand on the wall until the touch during relay exchanges; and the ten-and-under who nearly misses his race because he is hiding in a tent with his buddies playing cards with a chin covered in doughnut powder.<\/p>\n<p>Older swimmers have the chance to watch the wee ones and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/shining-bright-after-burnout\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">remember why they love swimming in the first place<\/a>. Instead of beating themselves up over tenths of a second, like older swimmers do, beginning swimmers celebrate regardless of whether they drop a full minute or add a full minute to their 25-yard backstroke.<\/p>\n<p>Older swimmers have the chance during practices to overhear the basic, reassuring directives to little ones struggling to put their faces in the water: \u201cBlow bubbles\u2026take a breath. Blow bubbles\u2026take a breath.\u201d The simple, daily joys of fledgling swimmers are enough to sustain even the most disillusioned of high-schoolers.<\/p>\n<h2>3. It forces you to keep your successes and failures in perspective.<\/h2>\n<p>Age group swimming shows you that a loss to your teammate at a dual meet in a torrential downpour really doesn\u2019t define you. Neither does that candy bar you earned for winning your heat at an invitational when you were ten. The summer season does not last long, so we enjoy it while it lasts.<\/p>\n<p>In high-stakes club meets, high school meets, and college championships, swimmers tend to feel pressure to constantly perform at their peak in order to measure up against competitors, to prove themselves, or to keep a scholarship. But swimmers who have survived years of age group competition understand that there is more to life than swimming, and that performance is less important than joy.<\/p>\n<h2>4. It makes you laugh.<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_155272\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-155272\" data-attachment-id=\"155272\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/3-reasons-to-thank-your-age-group-coaches-daily\/swim-mac-kids-fun\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/swim-mac-kids-fun.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"960,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"swim-mac-kids-fun\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;swim-mac-kids-fun&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Julia Czentye&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/swim-mac-kids-fun-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/swim-mac-kids-fun.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-155272\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/swim-mac-kids-fun-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"swim-mac-kids-fun\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-155272\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Julia Czentye<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Each pool has memorable quirks. Who can forget those starting blocks rumored to have been made from recycled garbage cans? What about the pool that everyone knows is 23 yards long? After navigating such obstacles as two-and-a-half foot depth at the starting end, unheated water temperatures in the sixties, and outside lanes that suck you into the diving wells, age group swimmers emerge stronger and with a better sense of humor.<\/p>\n<p>These are the same swimmers who are willing to laugh when their college coach tells them that, despite being a staunch sprinter, they need to fill a lane for a distance swimmer with the stomach bug. These swimmers aren\u2019t fazed easily in the real world, either. They can laugh in the face of adversity and adapt to less-than-ideal working conditions, because they count themselves lucky to no longer be swimming backstroke in the sun without lane lines.<\/p>\n<h2>5. It builds character.<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_257083\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-257083\" data-attachment-id=\"257083\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"4272,2848\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-257083\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"arena-club-cp-mesa-2016-thumbs-up-reaction-finals-final-kids\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-257083\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Kara Sekenski<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Many of us remember the moment when we learned, as age group swimmers, to shake hands after a race, regardless of whether or not we were happy with the outcome. Many of us remember our first disqualifications, often accompanied by jokes made by overheated, hungry parents about making Dairy Queen excursions to \u201ccelebrate the DQ.\u201d Each of us can recall the time a teammate lost us the relay race\u2014or the time we lost a relay race for our team\u2014along with the way our coaches made us high-five no matter what.<\/p>\n<p>These kind of character lessons are relevant for more individualistic tiers of swimming, in which success is measured by achievement of individual goals, in which friendly competition too often ferments into bitter rivalry, and in which plateaus make up reality. The former summer age group swimmers can enter these tiers with hope of another possible reality.<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport With the summer swimming season right around the corner for most of the United States, here&#8217;s a look<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":217568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[49359,85696],"class_list":["post-257075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","tag-katie-wingert","tag-summer-swimming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a sport&#039;s culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a sport&#039;s culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Wingert\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Wingert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Wingert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/646c87340f3ff2f4fba9e0af0fdfb18b\"},\"headline\":\"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\"},\"wordCount\":914,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Katie Wingert\",\"Summer Swimming\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\",\"name\":\"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"In a sport's culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Willowick Wildkats\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/646c87340f3ff2f4fba9e0af0fdfb18b\",\"name\":\"Katie Wingert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a1a429847638b9cf3060d34f11c938?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a1a429847638b9cf3060d34f11c938?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Katie Wingert\"},\"description\":\"Katie Wingert is a senior at Messiah College, where she is majoring in English with a secondary teaching certification and minoring in French. Katie swims middle-distance freestyle and IM for the Falcons and serves as an assistant coach for the Annville-Cleona Otters. In 2017, Katie was named the NCAA Division III Elite 90 Award recipient for Women\u2019s Swimming and Diving.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/katie-wingert\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport","description":"In a sport's culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport","og_description":"In a sport's culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Wingert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Wingert","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Wingert","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/646c87340f3ff2f4fba9e0af0fdfb18b"},"headline":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport","datePublished":"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/"},"wordCount":914,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","keywords":["Katie Wingert","Summer Swimming"],"articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/","name":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-23T09:58:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-23T16:47:08+00:00","description":"In a sport's culture that elevates the athlete-celebrities and the notorious jocks, summer age group swimming has lasting value.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Willowick Wildkats"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-reasons-why-summer-swimming-is-a-beautiful-part-of-the-sport\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/646c87340f3ff2f4fba9e0af0fdfb18b","name":"Katie Wingert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a1a429847638b9cf3060d34f11c938?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/06a1a429847638b9cf3060d34f11c938?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Katie Wingert"},"description":"Katie Wingert is a senior at Messiah College, where she is majoring in English with a secondary teaching certification and minoring in French. Katie swims middle-distance freestyle and IM for the Falcons and serves as an assistant coach for the Annville-Cleona Otters. In 2017, Katie was named the NCAA Division III Elite 90 Award recipient for Women\u2019s Swimming and Diving.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/katie-wingert\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2016-07-23-09.40.31.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-14Sn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":612272,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257075\/revisions\/612272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}