Underage Swimming Competitor

“Wake up sweetheart. It’s time to eat and get ready,” my dad said while shaking me awake. I looked at my alarm clock and the time read 5:00 A.M.

“But it’s only 5 o’clock. That’s way too early for an eight-year-old,” I complained.

“Not if you are supposed to be at Cheshire at seven and it takes a long time to get there,” replied my dad.

“OK, I’ll be down in a sec.,” I told him as he left. I slumped out of bed and went downstairs. When I got to the living room, I was really shocked: there were colorful banners covering the wall. They had messages on them like “Good Luck” and “Swim Fast.” Then my parents brought me bagels with peanut butter, a bowl of pasta, grapes, and bananas. I sat on the couch, eating my breakfast, watching TV. When I finished eating, I put on my clothes and my dad and I left for Cheshire (my mom and brother were coming later since my brother was only six). The whole ride there I curled up in the back seat with my pillow-pet and slept in the back seat.

My dad woke me up later and walked me inside. When we went past the gates, there was a huge turquoise pool with nine lanes; the lane lines looked like long snakes, just waiting for their next prey. The thing that was strange was that it was twice as long as the pool I usually swim in. I went to where my team was sitting and I asked my coach why the pool was so long. “The pool that we usually swim in is 25m, but this pool is 50m. That means that when you swim your 200m butterfly, you will swim four laps instead of eight,” Coach Kurt said.

We warmed up in the pool. It was not cold and it felt really good. I took off my drag suit (a swimming suit that slows you down so you feel faster when you take it off). Then all my emotions kicked in. First I was upset that I was only swimming one event. Then I felt scared, because this was my first time swimming at a championship swim meet. Finally I started crying, and once the tears started, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know what to do so I ran into the bathroom, cupped my head in my hands, and cried for a long time.

My coach was wondering where I was so he sent my friend to come and get me. When she arrived, my face was as red as a tomato and my hands were wet, (and not because I was just in the pool). My friend comforted me and asked me why I was crying. She told me that Coach Kurt was waiting for us and it was almost time for my event. I let her walk me down to the team area where my coach asked me how I was doing. “Sometimes Dominika, you’ve got to ‘take the bull by its horns,’” coach said. I didn’t really know what that meant, but I said OK anyway and he sent me up for my event. I had butterflies in my stomach, because I saw that I was the only one that was eight, everyone else was nine or ten. Right before my event, I finally realized what Coach Kurt’s saying meant; sometimes, you have to just face your fears. Now I was ready for my event.

The official called my heat and I stood onto the rough starting block, waiting on my cue to just let loose. “Take your mark,” the official said as a loud, piercing beep came and I pushed off the block as hard as I could. When I entered the water, I felt a rush going through me. I kicked to the surface and I started to swim. It felt like forever, but with my teammates cheering me on, I was determined to win. The last lap I found the power to sprint so fast that I couldn’t breathe when I finished. I was gasping for air as I congratulated the other swimmers, because it is courtesy for the winner to do so, and I got out of the water. There my brother was waiting for me and I went up to him and gave him a big wet hug. My coach and all of my friends came up to me and told me how well I did. I was very proud of myself and so was everyone else.