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Sports

Boat Club and Swim Club Compete in Swim Meet

Summer swim meets are all about having fun.

The Winchester Swim Club hosted the Winchester Boat Club Wednesday at 3 p.m. in a swim meet for all ages 16 and under. Unfortunately, the meet only got about half way through with the Boat Club leading 254-129 before it was cancelled due to bad weather.

"I'm sure the kids swam well, that's all we really care about. It's usually fairly low-key. It's all about fun with these meets," said Chris Hill, the Swim Club's head coach who also coaches a U.S. club team.

"We have 180 swimmers on the Boat Club team, and our goal is to have fun at the meet," said Diana Matthews, the Boat Club's head coach who actually knows Hill through the U.S. club team. "There are five teams in our league, and out of those we have the largest.  It's just about getting the kids in the water and having fun."

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The five teams the league consists of are: The Lexington Town Pool Team, the Sun Valley Swim and Tennis Club, The Winchester Country Club, and the two teams that competed today. In total, about 700 hundred kids participate. There is a meet every week for five weeks for each team in the season, which started in late June and ends in early August. 

Fun seems to be the main concern surrounding these events. The meet covers all kinds of swimming whether it's freestyle, backstroke, breast, butterfly and combination relays or intermediate.

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The father of one of the swimmers in the six and under age group, Chad Riley, was busy video taping the meet for the memories and said, "It's just a great place to see the kids have fun."

Riley mused about the happy rivalry between the two clubs, jokingly comparing it to the Yankees and Red Sox, "but not on that scale. It's like any great in-town rivalry."

Riley's daughter, Katie, finished first in her event, half-pool freestyle.

"I like swim meets," Katie Riley said. "I like to have fun at them."

"Like any sport in town you play against friends, its always a good time," said Mary Ducharme, the Front Desk Manager at the Club. "It can be a little chaotic, but it's handled well. There's a little rivalry [between the Boat Club and Swim Club] but its very laid back really, all for fun, a lot of it is just extra swim lessons for the kids to improve everyone's swimming."

The inclement weather didn't dampen the mood at the pool. And for in-town swim meets, that's what its all about.

The Swim Club and Boat Club both have meets coming up in the following weeks with the final championship at the Sun Valley Swim and Tennis Club held August 7 starting at 9 a.m.

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