Go Gators!

Last weekend was Divisionals for the summer swim league here in Greenville. That meant a meet with five teams and a whole lot of competition. There was also some pride on the line as Orchard Farms had been strong all summer. In the end we pulled it out and won another Divisional Championship, this time in the Purple Division. Here are a few pictures from the event.

It all started with a parade of the swimmers coming in to the pool. This year I got the bright idea to build a cardboard and papier mache gator as we are the Orchard Farms Gators. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it did end up taking on a life of its own in the end. I built the head, arms, and the tip of the tail (with some help from my visiting friend - Thanks Rob) and the neighbors put together the body. In the end he was about 18ft long and had a whole lot of character. I called him Ollie.

 Below are Isabelle and J.-C. with Ollie.

 Here are the younger girls lined up with the banner for the parade into the pool. The meet takes place over two days with the big kids going first and the little kids swimming on day two.

On the second day we decided to just bring in Ollie's head, arms and tail since he was a little unruly to get past the fence and we weren't sure the little ones could handle his whole body. That's me with the head.

The event went very well for all the swimmers. Isabelle qualified for Classics in all her events except one. That means a top 16 finish in the city for Breaststroke, Butterfly, Backstroke, and the 4x25m Freestyle Relay. There was a DQ in the Medley Relay but they would have won that one too.

The video we have isn't great so we only have pictures.

Off course at the end when they announce the winners everyone ends up in the pool.

This weekend is the big finish. Isabelle swims in Classics on Sunday and that will finish another summer swim season. I think it was lots of fun for everyone but I can't finish without thanking all the parents who helped out to make it possible. I also have to thank the coaches. Without them this simply would not happen. Enjoy the rest of your summer (I hope you can all relax.)