Swimmers SAIL into summer

By Leigh Savage  

JUNE 7, 2012 10:07 a.m. (0)

Those long lines of cars wrapping around your neighborhood pool on Thursday nights mean two things: school’s out and SAIL – the Swim Association Invitational League – is in session.

SAIL has been introducing Greenville County kids to competitive swimming since 1964, and has become a rite of passage for many area children – and now, their children. Bob Knight, president of the SAIL executive board, says he expects the league to feature more than 4,200 swimmers on 38 neighborhood teams this year.

Knight says he’s seen steady 4 to 5 percent annual growth since he joined the board three years ago. “There’s just something so American about it. Your neighborhood coming together, joining in an event everyone can share.”

SAIL was the brainchild of Willard Metcalf, who was recreation chairman of the Greenville Parent-Youth Association in 1964. A former collegiate swimmer, he organized a youth swim meet that included almost 300 swimmers. By 1976, 10 neighborhoods participated in PYA-sponsored summer swim meets, and SAIL was organized to accommodate growing demand. By 1984, 26 neighborhoods participated.

One of the kids swimming in 1984 was Amy LaRosa, who swam for Poinsettia, a Simpsonville neighborhood, from ages 6 to 16. Now her children, Lauren, 10, and Connor, 5, have joined SAIL – at the very same pool where their mom once swam.

LaRosa says participating in the league provided far-reaching benefits. “I made lifelong friends, and it was such a huge part of my summer, through practices, meets and social outings,” she said. “I think I am more athletic to this day because of it.”

Now she is watching her children learn strokes and make friends, just like Tracy Kramer has done for 14 years. Her daughter Natalie, now 18, started swimming as a Pebble Creek “Guppy” at age 5. Son Brad, now at Clemson, also swam and coached. Through the years, Kramer has volunteered in many capacities, including serving as team SAIL representative for 11 years.

“I think what has kept me committed to building and growing the team is that swimming is a sport for everyone,” she said. “All ages, all sizes, all ethnicities, no matter your skill level; everyone needs to know how to do it.”

The Pebble Creek motto is “fun, fair and fast,” and she says the team focuses on fun first. “It’s our swim family,” she said. “Even if we don’t socialize the rest of the year, for those two and a half months, we see each other every day.” It keeps her family busy, but the fitness, team spirit and camaraderie more than make up for the effort.

Knight said the only negative he hears about SAIL are from some neighborhood residents who don’t like the crowds and parking issues on meet nights. “We try to remind everyone that we are guests at the pool – the homeowners’ association owns the pool,” he said. Strict parking rules, reliable clean-up after meets and staying off neighborhood lawns goes a long way to engendering goodwill.

But most neighbors appreciate the positive aspects of swim teams, even if they don’t have kids who swim. “Neighborhoods are struggling to keep pools operational,” Knight said. Hosting a swim team is a good way to boost membership, since team members join the pool and pay dues – and many swimmers come from outside the neighborhood.

“I would guess that 30 percent of swimmers or more come from out of their team neighborhood,” Knight said. At some older neighborhoods, the out-of-neighborhood percentage is much higher. The SAIL website, www.swimsail.org, posts a list of swim teams with open memberships that anyone can join.

Knight says swim teams attract young families, and young families can drive up pool memberships, interest in a community and even property values.

But for parents like LaRosa, it’s all about giving her kids the kind of experience she had as a swimmer. “When I look back on my childhood, growing up in Poinsettia, I only have fond memories, and SAIL is a huge part of that,” she said. “It’s one of the best things I did, and I am so glad my kids get to experience it.”

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