Swim club dives into Swim-A-Thon

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Members of the Wrangell swim club will be diving into this year’s Tent City Days festival during Saturday’s Swim-A-Thon.

Alex Campbell trains hard. She’s part of the Wrangell swim club and she’s getting ready for something big.

“I’m getting ready to swim a marathon on Saturday for the swimming pool,” she said.

Swimmer Alex Cambell training with coaches Asia Prus and Kimberly Coblentz – Photo by Shady Grove Oliver/KSTK News

Even before getting in the water, the team does push-ups and crunches on the deck. Coach Asia Prus explains:

“From what I’ve learned over the years is working out is the best thing. And they’ll get stronger and faster as they go,” said Prus.

During this Saturday’s Swim-A-Thon, these swimmers will be trying to complete as many laps across the pool as possible within the time limit.

But this is about more than just swimming around. The kids have been going door to door and making phone calls to collect pledges before the event.

Jamie Roberts’ daughter, Renee, is a swimmer in the younger age group. She said, so far, her daughter has had good luck getting pledges.

“Oh, it’s been very positive. A lot of people are asking her, oh what’s that about? And hopefully we’ll get more swimmers from that as more kids find out about it. But, yeah, people have been really supportive,” said Roberts.

Coach Kimberly Coblentz said the money the participants raise will go toward making the swim club a better experience for all the kids.

“The funds for that are to basically help jump start us. We don’t have diving blocks. We could use a lot of other equipment, too. Also, we’d like to make a trip to Petersburg, give a little fun for the kids. It sounds like it’s going to be a clinic-type setting. They’ve got a swim club that’s gone for, like, 40 years or more. And it would be nice to have some feedback and advice, both as coaches and for our kids. So, hopefully with the money we raise, we’ll have enough to do that too,” said Coblentz.

Swimmer Campbell said she’ll be pushing herself hard on Saturday for her team by attempting to swim 110 laps across the pool.

The Swim-A-Thon will be this Saturday at the pool as part of the 2013 Tent City Days festival.