Preparation

My Introduction to Swimming

200 Meter Breaststroke 2017. (Photo Credits: TAISM Website)

One of my first and most defining experiences at OSC was the day I joined the varsity swim team. I had no prior experience in the pool, but I had a background in athletics and assumed that swimming a few times a week would be a manageable, if not trivial task. This assumption could not have proven to be further from the truth. Despite my inexperience, I was thrown straight in with the rest of the team and endured 2-hour sessions 3 times a week (not including optional morning practices each weekday) for three months. I was constantly exhausted but determined not to quit, because at the end of it all lay the South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association swimming competition (henceforth referred to as SAISA or SAISA swimming). The meet was like nothing I had ever experienced. The constant pressure, the pain of the races, and the exhilaration of competition combined to create an emotional and profound experience for me. I walked away with four medals, three in relays and one individual (in the 100-meter breaststroke), as well as an eternal love for swimming.

Training

Initial Time Trials. (Photo Credits: Hana Hettiaratchi)

The five-month period leading up to the SAISA swimming competition is certainly the most stressful time of the year. Training begins in June and remains a major part of my life up until its ultimate culmination at the SAISA competition in late October. This year was my first year training in the fastest lane, although practices have gotten incrementally easier for me as I have become more experienced. Also, since my first year, I have learned to prepare for the season with summer training, which has made school practices much more manageable.

Competition

Day 1

This was it. An entire season’s work led up to this. I had four races on Day 1, the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries, the 50-meter freestyle finals, the 200-meter breaststroke, and, ultimately, the 200-meter freestyle relay (in which four swimmers swim 50 meters each). That was my main event, as for the entire season, my teammates and I were focused on a single goal: breaking all three men’s relay records. the morning went extremely well, with me placing fourth in the 50-meter freestyle preliminaries (with a time of 26.44) and sixth in the 200-meter breaststroke finals (with a time of 3:04.85). The early afternoon was equally as successful, with the solidification of my position at fourth after the 50-meter freestyle finals (in which I swam a 26.55). Finally, it was time to swim the race we had spent all season preparing for. I swam the leadoff leg, and we were in second place after my 26.49-second swim (I was beaten narrowly by the bronze-medalist in the 50-meter freestyle). As I touched the wall, my teammate Takuro Fujiwara dove in and brought us close to a lead with a time of 27.0, followed directly by Karven Chandrasena’s 27.1. At this point, we were within a half of a body length of our main opponents, and in dove Ritheek Silva (the reigning silver medalist in the 50-meter freestyle). He brought us ahead of the field and we ultimately won by more than half of a second, setting a new SAISA record with a time of 1:45.37. We had shattered the previous record by almost two full seconds.

Day 2

Day 2 was by far the most difficult day of competition for me personally. In the morning I had the 100-meter butterfly finals as well as the 100-meter individual medley and 100-meter freestyle preliminaries. In the afternoon, I had the finals for both the 100-meter individual medley and the 100-meter freestyle, as well as the 200-meter medley relay (in which I would swim the final leg; the freestyle). The morning proved to be a rough one, with a disqualification in the 100-meter fly for an accidental illegal kick, an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter IM prelims, and a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle prelims. the afternoon was better, but not by much. I received a sixth-place finish in the finals of the 100-meter freestyle, and we ended the day with a disappointing second place in the 200-meter medley relay (both us and the winners broke the record by more than three seconds, but they beat us by about a second in the end). I was proud of my performance in the relay, however, because I had swum a 25.49; a new personal best for me by almost a full second

Day 3

The final day of SAISA swimming was an emotional one for myself and my teammates. The day began with a 50-meter butterfly followed by a 100-meter breaststroke. I swam new personal bests for both events, with a 30.4-second 50-meter butterfly and a 1:16.99 100-meter breaststroke. I ended up going into the finals seeded eighth and third respectively. In the afternoon, despite conserving my energy in the 50-meter butterfly, I set another personal best of 30.04 and moved up to seventh place overall. However, the news was not as positive in my 100-meter breaststroke. I ended up being beaten for third place by one-tenth of a second by my teammate Takuro Fujiwara and ultimately came fourth. The relay had the same story as yesterday, but with this time with us being out-touched by a different team. Once again, we both broke the record by more than three seconds, but we were ultimately edged out by a minuscule margin. Thus concluded SAISA swimming 2019 with a bittersweet ending. I was obviously disappointed that we had not kept all three records, but at the same time, I was so proud of myself and my team for all of our hard work and progress throughout the season.

Reflection

Goal Reflection

I ended up missing most of the goals that I put forth at the beginning of the year. Technically, we broke all three relay records, but practically, we kept none and thus I am listing that as a failure to meet the goal. I also received no individual medals (I did place fourth in two of my events), but I did set personal bests in all seven of my events. Knowing this, I can decisively say that I met only one of my three original goals. Despite this, I view the competition as a total success, and I truly enjoyed my time preparing for and participating in SAISA Swimming this year.

Learning Outcomes

My experiences throughout the 2019-2020 SAISA swimming season can be closely linked to several important learning outcomes, including strength and growth, challenge and skills, and commitment and perseverance.

• Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
  • This learning outcome could be applied to my experience on the swim team on several levels. Firstly, throughout the season I was able to identify areas of strength for myself within the individual strokes (I specialize in short-distance freestyle and breaststroke events) as well as areas for improvement (my weaknesses are generally backstroke and longer distance events). Moreover, I was able to identify areas for improvement outside of the strokes themselves, such as my dives and turns.
• Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
  • The season was, to say the least, a challenge for me both physically and mentally. The training was probably the most challenging aspect of the experience, but it allowed me to develop as a swimmer and a person.
• Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
  • Challenge usually goes hand in hand with perseverance, and by successfully completing the swim season, I clearly demonstrated both my commitment and my perseverance.