Swim Gala

ELTHAM, LONDON
Last night Abby and I went to our first swim meet, or "gala," as it's called here. We took three different tube lines and a bus to get over to Eltham, but we made it. Upon our arrival were greeted by a couple hundred kids running around a locker room. It was a relief to see some familiar faces in the midst of all the madness. Above: the little yellow group under the blue "arena" sign is our team

Out on the pool deck each of the seven teams had staked out an area. Everyone had team shirts, but all the teams seemed to have either blue or yellow as their color, so it was difficult to tell who belonged with whom. Each team also had its own lane (we were lane seven) with a cheering squad at the end. We spent our time yelling for our team mates, laughing with each other, and getting ready for out own races and relays. The two coaches were busy with their own yelling and time recording. There was one mom on the deck with us who collected people in time for their races. I was a bit surprised when she came over to me and said "Lily, your relay is coming up. Why don't you stand right here and Joe will come to take you over to the blocks." I haven't had that kind of help since my first meet when I was six years old.

Haringey Aquatics ended up coming in third out of seven. The whole event was a great team experience, and I feel really part of the group now. It also helped me realize how universal swimming is. The disappointment of being out touched hurts just as much no matter where you are, and the exhilaration of being cheered on by your team mates (even if they don't know your name) feels just as great.

Lily