North Shore Swimmers Excel Against International Field in Florida

Last weekend 20 athletes from North Shore Swim Club traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to compete in the Speedo Champions Series Sectional meet, hosted by Fort Lauderdale Aquatics at the International Hall of Fame Pool.

The team trains at , among other locations on the North Shore, and has many Hamilton and Wenham swimmers, including Emma Gaquin, one of the team’s senior swimmers who has been part of the team for over 10 years.

The pool was picturesque surrounded by beach, palm trees, a canal full of boats and far from the cold weather in which the athletes came.

Competing against over 30 Olympians and teams from all over the world, NSSC swimmers finished 17th out of 121 teams. North Shore finished just five points behind the delegation from Greece. NSSC swimmers broke 10 team records, and went for a combined 95 percent best times between individual swims, relays and time trials. The performance came after competing in swim meets every other weekend, plus high school meets for almost 14 weeks.

The meet was an opportunity for North Shore athletes to step out of the comfort zone of New England swimming. North Shore had kids ranging in age from 13-18 years old, with at least one kid from all our sites making the trek down to Florida.

After the exciting weekend, the team is heading into its reorganizing and reenergizing time of season as the grass and flowers start to grow and stretch towards the summer sun - so will the team.

North Shore Swim Club is now accepting registrations for its fifth session starting on  April 11.

For more information about the North Shore Swim Club, visit its website or contact coach Tony Padvaiskas at tonypad@aol.com or 978-314-5445.