Every January, college swim teams across the Northeast pack up and migrate south to spend the worst month of the season in the sun. This season, Skidmore swimmers planned their second trip to Pompano Beach, Florida. They looked forward to the incredible and sunny Coral Springs Aquatic Center where they swam two years ago, training next to Olympians like Dara Torres. But, as they soon found out, things wouldn’t be quite as pleasant this time around. The team did indeed practice at Coral Springs (next to Dara Torres!) twice a day for eight days. One thing, however, was out of their control. Skidmore managed to hit one of the coldest weeks Florida has seen since the 1970s! You could say they might as well have been swimming outside in Saratoga Springs.
Despite the sometimes 28-degree weather, the team swam outside, wearing nothing but Speedos. On top of doing two-a-days, weight lifting, and dry land conditioning, the swimmers were constantly frozen. Even back at the Ronny Dee Resort Motel (oxymoron?) it was nearly impossible to warm up. Luckily, they did get two or three days of sun. Some girls even braved the beach in hopes of getting some color to break up the endless Saratoga winter. Despite the physical exhaustion and near hypothermic temperatures, spending every minute of every day together brought the men’s and women’s team that much closer. In between practices, they managed to squeeze in some time for fun. Trips to the mall, seeing Avatar in 3D, and a big family meal were some of the highlights. The Skidmore Swimming and Diving team returned home on January 13th to finish out winter training (more two-a-days!) here at Skidmore’s pool. This past Saturday, the team put up a good fight against RPI but eventually fell to their overwhelming size and ability. Come out and support your girls at the Skidmore Women’s Sprint Invite on February 6th at 1 p.m!