January 14, 2005
Friday

After reading Loren Stanton's negative comments about swimming, I feel that I need to defend my children's chosen sport. Swimming is a year round sport and has been since its inception here in Ketchikan back in the 1970's. I would like to point out that there are other year round sports/activities that Loren did not pick on. What about ballet and gymnastics? Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are also year round and can interfere with sports..... and so can music. Where do you draw the line?

Kayhi swimming is a fall sport, running from August thru November, and those Kayhi swimmers who also sign up for KYSL should choose swimming over soccer.

There is NO PENALTY for Killer Whale swim club swimmers who chose to play soccer or any other sport and there never has been. It is a choice that the child and parents make. As a parent, I have never sent my children to a swim meet that conflicts with a soccer tournament game. Most parents do not make that choice. There are a few who do. During soccer season it is common for KKW swimmers to skip swim practice to attend soccer practice or a soccer game. Many is the time that my children have gone directly from swim practice to soccer practice or a soccer game.

The last point I would like to make is that children who swim are in excellent physical condition, something that should be applauded. By and large, they can run faster, further and longer than their non-swimming counterparts. Some children actually swim in order to get into shape for soccer and basketball. In an era in which PE is being cut from school curriculums and our children are getting fatter, swimming is a good thing and I am saddened by Loren's negative and unfair comments about it.

Diana Chaudhary
Ketchikan, AK - USA

Related Viewpoint:

More sports. More conflicts. by Loren Stanton - Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

 

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