That meet was incredible!

I volunteered at the disability meet today. I was both proud and amazed to be part of this experience! I've watched and participated in countless meets in my life, but not a single one was as inspiring or smile inducing. These athletes are incredible. I didn't know what to expect going into it, I was sure I'd see some great swims considering their conditions, but this was just awe inspiring! I saw athletes without limbs just absolutely HAULING through the water, great stroke form and really good times! There was a kid, probably about 13 who had the most perfect rhythm to his stroke, his right leg and left arm below the elbow amputated. He had a great start and a really good backstroke! I witnessed multiple Para-Olympians have some great swims, saw a lot of Para-Olympic caps and a "Athens 2004" Olympic Tattoo. I had a few swimmers in my lane who were blind, these athletes might have amazed me the most. Not only have they mastered multiple stroke techniques while having never seen the strokes performed, but they're not afraid of diving into a pool they can't see, or do flipturns! I had a few mixed feelings about some of the rules of the meet, but I understood after considering the situations. Such as, the officials would come over immediately after a blind swimmer finished a race and they would have to inspect their goggles to make sure they were 100% black and no light could show through. This struck me as rude until I considered that they're very competitive in a division of swimming created for only the blind. It's just unfortunate that they have to check after each race, it made me feel like they were constantly checking for cheaters... but I understand. I noticed that there were a lot of disqualifications, which kind of rubbed me the wrong way. My instinct was "Hey, give them a break, jeez?!". I didn't witness anything that was worthy of disqualification, but I overheard a few stories from the athletes. One was talking about coming off a wall during butterfly and getting a wave of water in their face, they started to choke on the water and had to do a few strokes freestyle just to stay afloat. It's just unfortunate that they have to DQ a swimmer for that, but I understand that's breaking a stroke rule. Overall, the entire meet was a really positive experience.

I was just all smiles the whole day, I spoke to a few officials during the meet, they're just like everybody else helping out, they love every second! Everybody was very thankful that we were helping out which I quickly turned around to them and thanked them for the experience. I have to give a huge Thank You to GTAC (Greater Toledo Aquatic Club) for putting on a great meet and giving myself and the rest of the volunteers the opportunity to witness some great swims and inspirational athletes!