A disappointing end.

Part two of Lil's swim meet didn't end quite as well as part one. The temperatures yesterday morning were brutal but I was ready and instead of packing a cooler with cold drinks and the like I packed it with hot towels and jackets. I really did. I threw a load of towels into the dryer along with hats, jackets and gloves and let it run for 45 minutes I then very quickly packed them into a large wheelie cooler. I filled it to capacity so that there was no room for cold air to circulate and then I tossed it into the car. After every heat Lily had a nice warm towel and nice hot jacket. Damn I am a genius. Even her noggin was warmed by her nice hot hat. No Gatorade this weekend, no no, hot chocolate was the bevvy of choice.

She swam really well in her first two heats and came in first and second but didn't qualify for finals but on her third she blew her self away again and shaved 14 seconds off of her time and made it to finals as she finished 2nd overall out of 70+ swimmers. She was a shoe in for a silver medal. Her arch rival was in first place so that might have been enough fuel to get her a gold.

Her coach had been joking all day that they were not going to finals that night but after her last heat we found out it wasn't a joke. He had scratched the team. He said it was too cold. It was going to be 10 degrees warmer at night than it was the morning and 15 degrees warmer than Saturday morning and he scratched us. WITH. No parent conference nothing.

The kids were devastated. I was pretty pissed off as well. Some kids were less than 300th of a second away from J.O. times and the arsehat scratched the finals. I sent a text to the head coach. His reply: we discussed it yesterday and I Okayed it.

This infuriated me. They knew all along.

It took me hours to calm down Lily. In case you haven't noticed she is competitive. If the Coach didn't want to stand out in the cold I would have done it. Isn't that why he got me qualified. GRRR.

Then I get fed a bullshit line about, learning the rules of the swim world. This isn't a rule. This is an injustice to little kids who were in their first ever competitive meet and were winning real medals instead of ribbons. You push them and want them to compete and then when they do you take away the prize that was well within their grasp.

Life isn't fair and I understand that and I teach my girls that  but this was pathetic. Oh and the line about not wanting the kids to get sick. Germs make people sick, not cold weather. It wasn't as if they were in the water for an hour, these were 50-200 yard sprints.

When Lily told me she was done I was so sad. When another mother told me she was through with the team I was speechless. When we heard other coaches laughing at the fact that our team scratched, I was embarrassed.

3 happy freezing girls ready for warm ups at 7.30 am

14 seconds faster than last time. Damn girl can swim.

When the kids went to the "back" to wait, the officials were telling them to keep their clothes on. NEVER HAPPENS EVER.

One unhappy swimmer. For a moment I thought I was going to have to get another shirt, one that said, peace, love, quit.

This morning I asked Lily is she is going to practice tonight and she said yes. She said, "I am not a quitter, and I am going to show Coach Vlad that it isn't to cold to swim even for an hour and a half. That even though it is colder today than it was yesterday I will show up".

Girls got B*lls.

Taking it to a whole new level

Today was a swim meet but it was a different kind of swim meet, this was Lily first ever Championship swim meet. She had to qualify in the heats and get invited back to the finals in the evening. Now I don't like to sound like a negative nelly but I didn't really think that that was going to happen.

We are currently in the frosty grasp of a cold front and it was bloody freezing  quite chilly here today. These kids are not used to it and even though ours pools are all heated they certainly aren't used to getting out into temperature in the 50's. I thought for sure it would somehow impact her swimming and it did.

Her first heat was the 50, fly. As I watched her waiting behind the block I could tell she was cold. Once she finally climbed on to it and waited for the starting whistle I knew she had to be freezing. Once she hit the water i have no idea what happened but she shaved, 19+ seconds off of her time and came in second. It was amazing. No one shaves 19 seconds off in one heat. Apparently she nejoys swimming in the cold as this was her M.O. all day.

She finished her next heat first, which was 200 free and them she placed as an alternate in the IM.

She was invited back tonight. The whole drive there in the car her mouth just wouldn't stop. The chatter was mind blowing and when I asked her if she was nervous she said, Yes! Well it didn't show because kidlet took a silver medal in the fly and a gold medal in the free. With her teeth chattering and her knees knocking from the cold she pulled down deep and swam like I have never seen her. Even her coach walked over to her lane and was rooting for her. Everyone was screaming her name...they have no clue they can't hear a word. She can't make out the boards if she is too far away and tonight was one of those nights. She knew that she was neck and neck with the girl in the next lane so she didn't know until I told her, that she was 1st. Her smile lit up the sky.

Meeting the Jamaican Olympic swimmer

Yiks I feel bad but I have no idea who this Clare is only that she was a gold medal winner for the US swim team. 

That's quite a gangly dive you have there, kid

But who cares this is the fly and you haved, no make that hacked, those 19 seconds off of your time

Fly.

Tonights gold medal swim See, that girl next to her was neck and neck with her. it was so close right to the end.

My latest obsession, capturing the flip. I have but it isn't the kind of photo Lily would want posted.

Leaving the turn

Some of her teammates this evening.

I wrote this last night and failed to hit publish. It's 5.30am Sunday and we are heading out the door to do it all over again Send her some happy thoughts the temps today are in the 40s and it is raining. Oh my word!