Last Saturday Magic Bear had the first swim meet.
Magic Bear tend to drag his feet at any firsts; he didn't want to put on his swim trunk in the morning of the meet at home. His mom and I had to use some extra coaxing to get him onto the car.
Once we get there, the meet was already under way. I got anxious and went straight to the registration desk. I found his name on the list. Magic Bear initialized on it, and cycled the three events we registered him for: 25 Breast, 25 Fly, 25 Free.
I paid close attention to how the event is run: 'ready - set - go' appears to be 'long whistle - on your mark - beep'. Magic Bear got ready after a few laps in the small warm up pool.
For the first event, Magic Bear was in the 3rd heat. During the first two heats, I noticed that one child was standing on the deck instead of on the starting block. I told Magic Bear that if he is not used to the starting block, jumping from the deck would be OK too. But he appears not afraid of the jump. So there he goes.
And he was all right. The posting appears to show him getting an 8th place ribbon for the C group for this event.
The second event was well after lunch.
His goggle was still on top of his head when he stepped on the block. I had to call him many times trying to get his attention. Finally he realized, put on his goggle, adjusted it. The buzz sounds and off he jumps.
Finally, the "25 Free" event came. I knew he is more than ready for it. Although he could have jumped a bit further, he was crawling fast, doing the 3 stroke breath left and right just as I had trained him, catching up on the leader of the pack. Right after reaching the wall, he turned slightly and looked at the clock on this side of the pool. A picture perfect moment I wished I had a camera ready for.
