As the new year dawned bright and full of hopes the SHS Foundation received a $3K Bear Grant request, masterfully written by Amy Peterson to fund a Swim Team. This is a big first for Summerville as the team will work out of the Sonora Sports and Fitness Master Swimmers pool, daily. It is a revolutionary idea!
Candice Myers said that her daughter, Maddie a junior this year, has always loved to swim, as has her best friend Hosanna Atkins. Discussions about having a swim team have circulated for years but with no results. However, these two young women, with the help of their parents created a plan and shared the idea with Amy, the SHS Athletic Director. Amy wrote the Bear Grant and it progressed through the various approval processes with positive discussions that led to positive results. This time the idea of a Swim Team became a reality with many people working to support the idea.
The team will practice daily with real competitions happening this spring. This is a trial year to see how the students do with traveling to the gym to practice and competing with other schools. If everything goes according to the plan the Swim Team will be offered in the 2023-2024 school year. Over thirty students were interested in being on the team. The new team will have eight women and 8 men. In fact, while putting together the grant, it was discovered that some students who wanted to attend Summerville chose Sonora in the past, because they have had an active swim team for many years.
Bear Grant funds will pay for uniforms, pool rental fees, and transportation back and forth to Sonora Fitness. Lauren Gerber, a 2001 alumna of SHS, and a 2021 Hall of Fame Honoree, has loved swimming her whole life and had been approached several times over the years about coaching a swim team, has stepped up to coach the new team.
The SHS Foundation was delighted to be able to fund this program as it is just the type of innovative and creative idea that deserves a Bear Grant. We wish the team every success and we all hope the SHS Swim Team will be part of the Athletic Department at Summerville for many years to come.
