By Brittany Oxley, Swimming World College Intern
One thing I have learned through my swimming career is that the swimming community is small. Someone you know always knows someone else you know.
Swimming has given me friends all across the country in different states. When your team travels to out-of-state meets, it is wonderful to see faces you may only see once a year. Coaches all know each other and your best friends may not even swim on your team. I started to notice just how inter-connected the swimming world was when I began my collegiate swimming career.
A Swimmer Abroad
Photo Courtesy: Claire Pinson
In the summer of 2013, Claire became interested in studying abroad. Being a competitive swimmer, she knew it would not be an easy task. Claire decided to go to Japan and experience the culture and lifestyle in the Land of the Rising Sun.
She contacted a swim team, WaterMates, located in Yokohama, Japan. From there, the exchange between Claire and WaterMates swim team flourished. She stayed with a host family for a month while training and was able to experience the differences between training in Japan and training with her club team in Sacramento, California (Davis Arden Hills Racing Team).
She discovered a huge emphasis placed on core strength and dryland training. Their practices were much more sprint-based than her California club practices. She swam 2,000 meters less each practice than she would with Arden Hills. A different training environment in a different country were both huge culture shocks, but she found herself in love with the country.
Breaking Down Language Barriers
Photo Courtesy: Claire Pinson
The December following her first trip to Japan, Claire’s host siblings came and trained with the DART Arden Hills location during winter training. I was swimming with Arden Hills that winter and experienced what it was like to train with swimmers from another country. It was fascinating to me how even though there was a language barrier, we could still communicate and support one another in the pool. I realized what Claire fell in love with in Japan the summer before. Even though it was a different country, we all speak the same language– swimming.
The friendship between WaterMates and the Arden Hills site of DART continued as Claire stayed in contact with her host family and other friends she had met while training in Japan.
A Bridge the Clears the Pacific
Photo Courtesy: Claire Pinson
This past June and July, Claire, along with several other swimmers from DART and Coach Brian Nabeta traveled to Yokohama to train. Claire introduced the swimmers from DART to Japanese culture. Practices in Japan were once again different than what Claire and her teammates were used to back home.
The major takeaway from their trip was how much they were able to learn from others. Sure, there was a language barrier and it was sometimes hard to communicate, but the swimming world is so close-knit that all swimmers can connect on some level.
Forging through hard practices together connects you to those you train beside. The WaterMates swim club became a support system for Claire and her teammates.
Though Claire is now a freshman at Harvard, the relationship between WaterMates and DART will continue. The world may be large, but the swimming community is small, and Claire has helped bridge a friendship across the Pacific Ocean.
Go Brit!!!