Just over the horizon there is a new swim culture building in the Chequamegon Bay and Bay Area Swim Team is part of bringing local youth into the sport. Swimmers come to the team after gaining experience through lessons or spending the summer in the lake and our team provides further stroke development and eventually race development.

Being part of a swim team is different from a lot of sports because athletes of different ages and abilities can practice together and individually be improving, regardless of their starting ability. Young swimmers are easily mentored by their seasoned teammates as they learn the culture of sharing a lane, finishing hard sets together, and attending meets. Seasoned swimmers are always refining strokes, breathing, flips and starts so that they can shave seconds and race competitively as part of relays or individual events. All swimmers, regardless of their speed, are part of the team and have the chance to represent BAST in competitive meets.

Like most group activities, the pandemic was hard on the Bay Area Swim Team. After one season out of the pool, the team came back together in October of 2021 for a non-competitive season. 2022 started with a new coach, Erin Thompson, and has been building in skill and spirit each year. This year we have over 12 new swimmers joining the team – that’s about a third increase in team size and brings us back to a team close to pre-pandemic times.

Swimming is a rigorous sport that can deter those unwilling to put in the work and push through the full body exhaustion, but our swimmers are well supported and have a lot of fun together in and out of the pool. After the initial learning curve and getting muscles strong against the resistance of the water, we watch swimmers quickly gain confidence as they swim straighter and faster down the lanes. From the pool deck you’ll hear quiet words of encouragement and loud cheering as swimmers demonstrate the value of growth not just for themselves, but also for their teammates.

Parents get to share in the joys of the Rec Center with their kids and build these joys as part of their family experience. While the team is practicing, parents swim for exercise or with their other children, get work done in the community room, or hangout in the sauna. On days that the team isn’t officially practicing we often have families in the pool, splashing and playing or swimming laps together.

We are excited to start the 2024-2025 season off on Monday October 14th. If you have a swimmer age 6-18 who can swim a lap in the pool and wants to grow with a team, we invite you to join us (free!) for the first week of practice to see if it’s a fit!  A parent information meeting will be held Monday October 7th at 5:30pm at the Bayfield Rec Center.