As sophomore student at CB South Hannah Waugh touches the bottom of the cool pool with her sore toes, she reflects on why she ever made the decision to make such a big commitment.

“I wanted to try something new and be more involved in South,” Hannah said. Not only is she committing to the swim team, but she is also balancing her schedule with travel and intramural soccer (which are giving her extreme toe injuries) and of course homework.

Hannah has never had much experience with competitive swimming, but she knows how to swim. “I didn’t know much about the swim team until my friends told me about it. So far it’s a different experience, I am used to playing other sports that aren’t at all similar to swimming,” she said.

Many students have said that the practices and work out sessions are a significant amount of hours. “We have practices every day. On week days, practices are every day after school from 3:00-5:15 and on Saturdays from 8:00am-11:00am. Right now, works out sessions are only Tuesday and Thursday mornings,” Hannah said.

Students have said that being on the swim team requires them stay at school and directly in the pool. Hannah said that so far there are no specific routines at the practices, but they do different types of strokes almost all the time.

“The worst part about swim team is not being able to come home after a long day to relax,” Hannah said. “Instead, I have to go right from school to the pool, and home to the shower, and the homework. It’s a lot. Sometimes I even have soccer after school too, so managing the time for homework is always interesting.”

Another reason why most say they don’t want to join the swim team is because of the bathing suits. Hannah’s opinion differs.

“The bathing suits aren’t too bad,” Hannah said. “They were interesting when I first got them because I am not used to wearing those types of bathing suits, but once you get used to them, they’re rather nice.”

Hannah said that she joined the swim team while looking at the positive side of things rather than the negative. She figured that she could try something new which could allow her to become in great shape and to meet new friends.

Hannah said that bonding with new people can mostly happen at the meets since the meets themselves take up a significant amount of time during the day. Although she is excited for the bonding experience with people, she is also having some mixed feelings about the meets.

“I am nervous for the swim meets because it’s my first time being involved with competitive swimming,” she said. “The more I continue to participate in the swim meets and learn more in practice, the better I will become when it’s my turn to serve my part at a meet.”

Diving has been a task for most people when they are just learning how to swim. In Hannah’s case, diving has always been a challenge.

“I am beginning to get the hang of it,” Hannah said. “I know that I am not the best but I am continuing to practice more. Everyone is teaching me different things about diving and it’s not as bad as I originally thought.”

“I am planning on joining the team each year throughout my time at South. The more I continue to try, the better the skills I will earn,” she said.

One last reason why most people do not have any intentions to swim is because of the temperature of the pool. “The pool isn’t absolutely freezing,” Hannah said. “Usually it depends on the day, but you’re constantly moving so you can’t even notice the temperature.”

Hannah said that she would recommend swimming to someone in a heartbeat.

“When I went to the first practice, I was very nervous. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into and if I was making the best decision by making this commitment,” Hannah said. “As I continued to get used to the routine, I realized that it wasn’t half as bad as I thought. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try something new. It’s a fun sport and easy to get the hang of.”

Even though she has little experience, Hannah wasn’t afraid to go out there and give it her best try. She goes by the rule that states trying something new can’t hurt even if the person trying isn’t the best at it or has nearly no experience with it at all.

“I can’t wait to get the South swim attire, and then I’ll know I have accomplished what I wanted to do,” Hannah said. “To go around and be able to show off to the world that I am a part of a swim team for a high school, is something I would have never imagined for myself.”

Next time Hannah splashes her way to the bottom of the cool pool with her sore toes, she will be thinking about the positive effects of the choice she made.