Competition Day

Well it arrived this morning at 3:30 am for me, competition day. I was excited and a little nervous, so I woke up 2 hours earlier than normal. So a good thing occurred, I started to workout. First a brisk walk to say hello to all the security guards and then 56 push ups to match my age. Now I just have to keep that routine going and I could be a competitor in two years.

I met Nuna at 6:15am and we headed for the bus. Today, the bus was packed and we drove to the venue with all the Japanese and Chinese contingents. There was not much conversation going on. Did I mention Nuna is not a morning person.

The warm up went well, Nuna was the first in - very proud coach. She then changed into her racing suit at 8:45am and we did a little more wu with a few sprints. I have been coaching for 30 years and I can attest that every Championship meet warm up is the same. I said to Nuna, this is just like the State meet a few weeks ago, except a lot of different faces and voices.

Race Time
For every FINA international championship, there is a protocol that must be followed for every heat. They call the deck, a clean deck, because only swimmers and officials can be on it, during the competition. The coaches have to be in the stands to watch the races. At 20 minutes, before the start of your heat, you must be in the 1st call room. So, I said good luck to Nuna, it almost felt like she was going on a journey instead of to a race. She had to walk a good 400 meters to the 1st call room, that's where they check your suit, (must have a fina sticker), they check your goggles, they check your cap, all to make sure there is no advertisements to big on them, oh, and FINA approved. Nuna got a free cap, as Stingrays Swimming Cap, is not approved by FINA, apparently.

Nuna was in heat 1, lane 7 of the 100 Fly. They were the very first race at the competition. They marched all 10 swimmers out to music and they got ready for the start. Nuna swam excellent for her very first international competition. I don't know to many 15 year old, that have her composure at this kind of meet. We finished 8th in the heat and 67th out 75 overall. Great accomplishment and one we want to improve on too.

Link to Nuna's Race