In a recent meeting the Colorado High School Swimming & Diving Legislative Committee made determinations on State Meet Locations, girls State Meet qualifying times, and made the decision to establish a new 3A division.
The addition of a 3A division will allow swimmers at smaller high schools a shot at competing at the State Meet. In an interview with CHSAANOW, Assistant swim coach Aly Brinkema of Holyoke High School expressed the impact that the new 3A division will have on swim teams at small schools like Holyoke.
“This 3A means everything to me, because now I can work these girls with the limited time I have and go far with them. Every once in a while you’ll get a kid that’s really phenomenal and can really run with that one individual, but swimming is a team sport, and in town and school like Holyoke, I may have the stars, but not necessarily the depth,” said Brikema. “By creating 3A and adjusting those qualification times, I’m able to take more than one or two to state, and it really becomes a team experience. The team culture change has already been dramatic and the girls are working hard because they know they have a chance now.”
The 5A and 3A State Meets will take place together at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton, Colorado on February 9-11.
We wish the boys and girls season was together – during the fall – when outdoor pools could be used
Just like MANY states in this country
Its delusional to think that outdoor pools could be used in the fall season in Colorado. The championship meet would be sometime in November.
Here is a fall sport – Colorado Cross country and their calendar – done in October
Many teams swim out side through October
2016 SEASON CALENDAR
FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE …………………………………………………………………………. Monday, August 15, 2016
CROSS COUNTRY REGIONALS COMPLETED ………………………………………………………. October 20-22, 2016
STATE CROSS COUNTRY (ALL CLASSES) …………………………………………………. Saturday, October 29, 2016
Anyone who has spent more than a few years in Colorado has memories of a huge September snowfall. You can run cross country meets or even have outdoor tennis matches in 45 degree weather if you have to, but hosting an outdoor swim meet in those conditions is pretty far-fetched.
And having boys and girls swim together would be helpful in a number of ways, but if you have a high school with only a 6-lane 25-yard pool and no separate diving well, how are you going to handle a workout for a team of 20 boys, 20 girls, and 5 or 6 divers?
Its delusional to think that a GOALRILLA could swim any time of the season.
I grew up swimming in Colorado in an era when all the high schools competed at one state championship meet. Did that provide an advantage to the big schools? Sure. But what it ensured was that all of the best swimmers in the state competed against one another, irrespective of how big their high school was. Nowadays you have the situation where the 5A state champ and the 4A state champ might be within a tenth of a second of one another, but they swim in two separate meets and don’t have the chance to go head to head to see who really is the best in the state. I think Colorado should go back to one big meet where… Read more »