Editorial content for the 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series Santa Clara is sponsored by Arena. For full Swimming World coverage, check out our coverage page.
By Chuck Kroll, Aquatic Historian and Swimming World contributor
The first night of the Arena Pro Swim Series Santa Clara featured the distance freestylers taking center stage.
Here are 5 takeaways from day one from the perspective of a historian of the sport.
1. Santa Clara George Haines International Swim Center
The facility looks amazing for a complex built 6 decades ago.
The competition pool is nine lanes (yes nine) and is overseen by an amazing sculpture of the legendary Hall of Fame Coach George Haines himself. Since the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle, USA Swimming has continued to pursue ways along with its sponsors to visually enhance the actual swimming venues.
Team Arena has done an outstanding job of making this entire site a sports marketing visual dream.
2. International Stars Are Everywhere
Coach Haines created the Santa Clara International Invitational Swim Meet. Over the years the meet has hosted tens of thousands of swimmers from across the USA and indeed from the all over the World.
This year’s edition is no different with at least eight different countries represented. Teams from Canada and Mexico were evident on the first day with individuals from South America, Europe and Asia also in attendance. (With apologies to Miss Lauren Boyle, knowing that New Zealand is not really part of Asia).
3. Olympic Superstars Bring Bright Lights
Missy Franklin & Michael Phelps and so many more. Olympians with medals (some heavy medals), Olympians 2x, 3x, 4x!
Just as important there are future Olympians going to be in the water over the next three days getting ready for the next big meet of their careers later this summer. There are going to be some terrific swims!
4. The #FunnestSport
Although I arrived on the deck late today, as I spent most of the day on the beach from Santa Cruz to the Sutro Baths ruins in San Francisco, it never ceases to amaze me as to how much fun a swim meet like this can be with so many Swim stars, fast swimming, fit bodies, great facilities (see #1) and so many friends from over the years.
Whether they be your teammates, individuals you have swam in the past or coaches, officials, parents and others you have met throughout your swimming career.
5. Santa Clara/ISHOF Future Looks Bright
The future of Santa Clara and swimming. Plans for a new Aquatic facility are in the works. Included is a potential new home for the International Swimming Hall of Fame. The ISHOF Inductions and Awards Ceremonies are to be held right here in Santa Clara over the next two days. This is an exciting and eventful week for the entire Swimming World!
-Right, New Zealand is the largest island of Polynesia, and also part of the larger geographic area Oceania! Go Kiwis!
-I’m really glad that ISHOF was moved from Ft Lauderdale to Santa Clara given the latter’s more prominent place in swimming history and Ft Lauderdale’s former lack of respect for the institution; while they did improve on it, it was once more of an eyesore than anything.
-Sutro Baths were an amazing complex of pools–wish they could be fully restored someday!!