As an incoming freshman, I followed in the footsteps of my then senior sister and mom’s footsteps by joining the school’s women’s swimming and diving team. At the time I had been swimming for the Carmel Swim Club for five years and the next step was to join the high school swim team. This was easy enough since the team was a no-cut sport. The sport was also an IHSAA sanctioned sport, which meant it filled the requirement to waive Physical Education II. Furthermore, as a no-cut sport, if an athlete on the team met the practice and competition requirements they could earn a varsity letter.
After the first year of grueling practices and the strong sense of family on the team, it was clear that I would proudly be labeled a swimmer for all of high school. My sophomore and junior year swimming experiences were similar to that of my freshman year. Locker room and pool space shrunk as the team grew larger with each passing year. Last year the total number of girls pushed 130.
And then this summer, an e-mail from head coach Chris Plumb was sent out to all team members who did not graduate last year. The e-mail said that due to the unmanageable numbers of swimmers, the team was changing to become a cut sport with specific time requirements for the first time ever.
The tradition in the CHS women’s swimming and diving program has been groomed for the past 30 years and is built off of common values like hard work and family. The reputation of the team precedes itself and is a beacon to many girls who want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves. It is now limited to only the girls who are capable of swimming fast enough. I myself feel confident that I will pass the requirements yet I already know of friends from last year who will not even try out because they are discouraged by the time standards. The once all-inclusive family will now seem more selective and elite.
The end goal of the expected reduction in team size is to increase pool and locker room space and to allow team members to be able to participate in more individual events at meets. The trade-off is that the team could lose a chunk of the cheering section and parent volunteers at meets.
While being a member of the team guarantees that one will swim in a meet at least once, it in no way guarantees you a spot on the sectional or state meet line-up.  These spots are reserved for Carmel’s fastest, and this usually includes about 25 girls. Dual meet spots are competitively sought after for the other 105 girls. One of the positives of the expected reduction in team size is that at smaller meets, each swimmer will now be able to swim in more events.
I have no doubt in my team’s ability to win another state title this year, yet in the back of my mind I continue to wonder about the girls who won’t even bother trying out.