By Isabella Rizzo, Swimming World Intern.
This weekend, two New England swim clubs collaborated and traveled to the Speedo Winter Invitational together. Bluefish Swim Club, based out of Rhode Island, and Commonwealth Swimming, in northern Massachusetts, shared a 55-passenger bus, which started picking up athletes and coaches near Boston on Thursday afternoon. It then traveled down to Rhode Island to pick up the rest of the athletes and coaches, and then they drove down I-95 to New Jersey for the meet.
Photo Courtesy: James Lenahan
Bluefish coach Chuck Batchelor explained that he and Commonwealth coach Chris Sheppard came up with idea because the two coaches have been friends for many years and it was the most cost effective way to travel. Bluefish Swim Club brought 26 athletes to the meet, with some athletes staying behind due to midterms this year.
Batchelor said that he has been coming to this meet for years because he loves the style of the meet. He said that it is a great opportunity for athletes to swim and learn at a large meet. He said that it is easy to coach from the deck and is a great way to race long course in January.
Commonwealth Swimming brought 15 athletes to the meet for the first time this year. Sheppard called the bus ride down was fun, explaining that he thinks it is really important for the athletes to develop the friendships that they make during combined practices and at competitions.
Besides for the traffic the collaborative travel went off without a hitch. Sheppard likes how athletes get to compete against new athletes at the invitational. Since this meet is far from home, athletes get to swim against competitors that they usually don’t see.
Both teams said that the experience of sharing a bus was a great success. The bus is set to leave Sunday night after finals, weather permitting, and drive overnight back to New England.
