Journeys›Photograph

A Summer Saturday at the Lafayette Swim Meet

·Lafayette, California·#summer#bay area#swimming#kids#swim-meet
A child in a yellow swim cap and an adult coach stand by a pool, with the coach raising a hand.

Over the hill to Lafayette for the swim meet — hot, and the LMYA Dolphins tents ran the whole far side of the pool with the crowd packed under them. Our kid swam for SSC, yellow cap with the last name printed on it, which still makes me grin every time.

The best part was watching the coach kneel down at the block before the race, arm stretched out over the lanes, walking through where to go and what to do. The kid stood there in the team suit, hands behind the back, nodding along, then stepped up onto the block.

Between events the swimmers sit in rows of folding chairs behind the orange fencing, moving up a seat at a time until it's their turn. Goggles already on, three heats early.

Two adults and a child in a swimsuit stand by a bright blue swimming pool with tents and a hill in the background.A child in a swim cap stands beside a pool with two adults, blue tents and distant hills under a sunny sky.A young swimmer stands at a pool edge with an adult beside them, facing swim lanes and blue tents.A child in a swimsuit and an adult with a raised hand stand by a pool with blue lane lines and tents.Young swimmers in colorful caps and swimsuits sit in rows of black chairs outdoors, some looking at the camera.Young swimmers in swimsuits and caps sit in rows of chairs, an orange safety barrier visible in the foreground.A young girl in a blue and yellow swimsuit and yellow cap smiles while sitting with other children.Several children in swimsuits and caps sit in black folding chairs, one in front smiling.

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