These are all photos from the first Boyle County swim team outdoor practice. All photos by coach Crystal Ellis
Every high school sports team is having to cope with a lot of COVID-19 related changes. It’s just the new normal if coaches and athletes want to have sports seasons. However, what the Boyle County High School swim team has planned in order to have a 2020-21 season is way out of the ordinary and far different from anything I can remember.
Boyle swimmers will practice at Danville Country Club — in an outdoor heated pool — the next four months when there will obviously be freezing temperatures on a regular basis.
Boyle coach Crystal Ellis said the idea started last summer with the USA swim team, Commonwealth Swim Club, started using the country club pool because the city pool was not filled with water, McDowell Wellness Center pool had limited lane usage and the Centre College pool where the team normally practiced was not open to anyone outside the Centre bubble.
Commonwealth coach Tasha Singleton, the Danville Country Club pool manager, approached Ellis about Boyle using the country club pool this winter. Singleton coaches other high school teams who were planning to do the same. Estes bought in.
“With COVID regulations and guidance we can only have four kids per lane. At McDowell we can only use three lanes so that is only 12 kids allowed to practice at a time. Danville Country Club has six lanes and the diving well. That is 24 kids plus divers at practice,” Ellis said.
“Without being able to use Centre’s pool, our diving program won’t be able to compete unless we dive at the country club. We have 50 plus kids on the roster. There are different levels of kids and that determines how many practices they come to each week.”
Estes plans to practice seven days per week but admits it is like trying to figure out a “giant puzzle” to get each swimmer adequate practice with the lane restrictions. That team will practice four days per week at the country club and three days at McDowell Wellness Center.
The Boyle coach says it will likely cost about $4,000 per month for chemicals and to heat the pool. The school system is paying part of the cost and so is the Commonwealth swim team. The swim team just held a Monster Dash 5K fundraiser and Commonwealth and some local schools are hosting a golf scramble Nov. 21 to raise more funds.
“We figure if we can swim in the cold, golfers can play in the cold. We will probably be doing other fundraisers throughout the season as well. Hopefully the cost to heat the pool will not exceed the $4000 we have estimated, but again it’s 2020,” Ellis said.
How will the Boyle swimmers survive the frigid temperatures when practicing in the outdoor pool?
Estes said not only is the pool heated, but there will be blowers/heaters like what you might see on the sidelines at football games to keep warm air blowing across the pool. Kentucky High School Athletic Association protocol suggests swimmers arrive with swimsuits on and leave with swimsuits on.
“So once they get their clothes off they will get in the pool immediately. Getting out and putting on clothes when they are wet will be the worst part for the swimmers,” Estes said. “The swimmers will be warm when they are in the pool. The coaches may be freezing, though, while they are on deck.
“I’m actually more worried about the divers as they have to get out of the pool to get on the board to dive. We are planning on putting a tent or tarp over part of the pool and board to help keep the heat in while they are out of the water.”
Boyle has dive meets schedule on Nov. 14 and 27 when the weather should be warmer than in December or January.
“In the past we have had some warm winters and may try to throw a meet together last minute if we get a 70-degree day. Unfortunately, it is 2020, so I’m not too hopeful that will happen,” Ellis said.
Five indoor meets — two at Woodford County, two at Shelby County and one at Marion County — are also scheduled.
“Normally we would have a couple at Centre, including our senior night, so I’m not sure how that is going to go,” Ellis said.
The coach isn’t sure what the right word is to describe what makes the swim team willing to go to such extreme measures to have a season in today’s pandemic.
“I think the ones who are planning on swimming outside are both crazy and passionate. Our senior class is very strong. We have two that have already committed to swim at University of Cumberland and a couple others looking to swim in college but haven’t committed yet,” Ellis said.
“Both our girls and boys team have a great shot at winning regionals again this year. I think most kids are determined to fight through the cold and will definitely have some bragging rights that they are committed, motivated, and gutsy to swim outside.”
