Inside SAAC Swim 2023

November 29th, FDR’s swim team set out to São Paulo, Brazil to compete in this year's SAAC   (South American Athletic Competition). A total of 30 students traveled to represent our school and they did not disappoint. The results of FDR’s swim team this year have boosted their confidence as they continue to the next semester. 

 (SAAC 2023 FDR roster)

What even is competitive swimming?

For those who are not familiar with competitive swimming, competitive swimming comprises 4 strokes: Free style, breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. Before the swimmer commences the stroke, they are required to make their body more aerodynamic in the water to gain more speed. This is called a streamline. Swimmers will perform these strokes in a 25 or 50 meter pool. Their coaches will then instruct them to swim one or more of the strokes in a certain amount of meters – 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500. The goal of the sport is to become skilled enough to be able to complete the length using the stroke as fast as they can. 

Swimming is a very beneficial sport. For any “gym rats” out there, you may consider joining the FDR’s swim team next semester. In swim, muscles are worked in different ways, which means the likelihood of an injury is very low. Each stroke uses different muscles in your body but the muscles you will see the greatest improvement in are the following: core, abdominal, and lower back in streamline; deltoid, shoulders, forearms, and upper back are utilized for all 4 strokes; and glutes and hamstrings are used while kicking yourself through the water.

Results

Coming in first place overall against six other schools, FDR took the cake. With boys taking first place and girls taking second, FDR swimmers continue to show their hard work to the world. Renzo N. (10-12), Hyun L. (15 & above) Joaquin R. (15 & above), and Sophia N. (15 & above) were awarded the title of Best Swimmers, and Hansoel L. and Brunella Q. were awarded the Sportsmanship award by the coaches. Great job swimmers!

A peek into the life of an FDR swimmer

All of these swimmers have dedicated many hours to the sport of swimming. Here’s what Addison Kox, a Junior and swimmer at FDR, had to say about his start in swimming: “I started swimming about a year ago for FDR. I found it stressful to keep up with my team, but I spent this past year working hard to become a great swimmer.”. 

Inside SAAC

Maria Rangel, a sophomore and swimmer at FDR, had a blast at this year's SAAC swim. She told The Reporter, “I loved my time in SAAC. It was in another school and country, so it was a great experience to travel with the team. It was an opportunity to get to know each other more and get to know people that you usually don’t talk with. It was also a great experience to get to know other people from different schools and get to see the people you met last year in SAAC. I really loved the time I spent as a team and the time I spent with the other schools. I also loved the environment and energy it brought, as every school motivated each other and how we worked as a team to get the best results.”  

Conclusion

This victory has lit a fire in the swimmers of FDR and motivated them to stride on to train hard and to continue a winning streak at next year's SAAC. If you are interested in joining the FDR swim team, visit the pool or contact the activities office.