Agner 1 Sarah Agner Mrs.

Fuentes English 1101 11-08-2013 Swimming Ethnography Based off of a public survey, swimming can be defined in many different ways. Some say that swimming is not a sport while others consider swimming to be the most difficult sport there is. To find out the details of swimming on a club team, Mckenzie Stevens answers a few questions. When McKenzie is asked about her long term experience on Rowan Aquatic Club swim team she states Being on a swim team is more than just training together, we do everything together in and out of the pool; we consider ourselves to be more like a family (Stevens). Swim teams are known for having a discourse that many are not aware of that allows the team members to develop close relationships. Observations prove Stevenss response to be true. The Rowan Aquatic club, unlike high school swim teams, meets every morning at 5:00 and every afternoon at 4:00 for practice. The way the team mates interact, and talk to each other shows that they have all known each other for a very long time and are comfortable around one another. Sharing food and drinks, carrying the same practice bag and laughing and joking together are all things one would easily notice about this team. On the pool deck team members divide themselves into six different lanes for practice as if they were assigned to them. It does not take long to realize that the swimmers in the higher lanes such as five or six have more experience and have trained together longer than those in lanes one and two. Not only are the intervals slower for those in the lower lanes but they often

Agner 2 bounce off the bottom or pause at the end of the lane for extra breaks and even sit at the end of the lane until the coach catches them slacking. Some might argue that these swimmers do not take practice as seriously or they are not as motivated, but it is clear that these swimmers enjoy swimming due to the smile on their faces. Determining who is mushfaking is easier later in the practice. As many sports teams do, after the warm up, all of the swimmers get out of the pool to stretch while the coach speaks to them about what their practice will consist of that day. Though it appears the coach is focusing more on the upper level kids, the remaining swimmers that are not being addressed do not seem to mind. Their body language shows that they are comfortable with thought of not having the attention on them, standing with their arms crossed and their legs canted. The coach seems very comfortable with the more experienced swimmers and he even laughs with them, compared to the others who he simply tells what to do for practice and has nothing else to add. In addition to the coach telling team members what they are to swim, he also writes the workout on a white board. The board reads 8X400 I.Ms descending 1-4 & 5-8 which is hard to understand for anyone outside the swimming discourse community. In addition to the writing on the board the coach also told all the swimmers to circle swim, watch their elbows, and to leave on the top. Every swimmer at the practice, no matter what level of experience, new exactly what he was saying when he gave these instructions and began to put the coaches instructions to work. This proves that they are all in a very strong discourse community as a swim team. The practice this day did not only take place in the pool. After two hours, the team got out once again and they met in the weight room. Here the team lifted weights and did cardio sets. Moving from the weight room to the gym they completed an insanity set, consisting of cardio

Agner 3 workouts, and ran two miles. After watching this team practice together, it is certain that they are very dedicated to the sport and are working towards a greater reward. Club swim teams differ from high school swim teams in many ways. High school swim teams have a season for swimming and their practices are not as intense or long. While high school teams practice will be about 2,500 yards, club swim teams complete 10,000 yards in the pool in one practice. Also high school swim teams do not have morning practices and if they do they do not have evening practices as well. High school swim meets have about 100 kids participating in them while club swim meets have close to 1,000 swimmers competing in them. Both high school swimming and club swimming are sports but; club swimming is able to get more done due to monthly fees and sponsors. In an interview Mckenzie Stevens states I have been a member of Rowan Aquatic Club for fourteen years now, along with the majority of the others on the team. Starting at age four we began to practice together and grow up together(Stevens). Mckenzies motives for swimming on a club team are to stay in good shape, be close to her friends, and hopefully receive a swimming scholarship for college. To achieve these goals, The Rowan Aquatic Club attends swim meets several times throughout the year. This gives each swimmer a chance to improve their personal times. While these meets help each swimmer meet his or her goals, it also allows swimmers to grow closer together as a team and create new discourse. Swimming has a lot of discourse that is required knowledge if one were to swim. Phrases such as streamline, I.M.s, and flipturns are frequently used. After further research it is found that streamline is the universal swimming term used to say how to dive in the pool or push off the wall in the most efficient way. Streamlines allow the swimmer to move the farthest distance through the water without using much energy. When one says I.M. she is referring to an

Agner 4 individual medley, where each stroke is swam within one event. Research also shows that flipturns are used to transfer from one lap of the pool to another as quickly and effortlessly as possible (Rowan Aquatic Club). All of these terms make up a small part of the discourse used throughout the swimming discourse community. When Mckenzie is asked about how long it takes someone to learn the discourse for this sport she responds by saying Learning all the little terms that come with swimming takes years. The discourse changes as the rules of the sport changes, so we are all still learning as we go. I think I learned a lot of the terms just by repetition; when you hear something enough, eventually it will stick. (Stevens) One can easily relate to this statement because that is how most people learn a certain kind of discourse. A lot of swimming discourse is found to be universal. The terms that this swim team uses can also be heard at other club team practices or on pool decks. After hearing the same words being used in a certain way, it eventually becomes second nature and one does not have to think about the meaning of it. If one is interested in joining the Rowan Aquatic Club swim team, there is a Facebook page with all of the teams information included. The page will inform any reader the swim team dues per month and the upcoming events, including: swim meets, meetings, and any team outings. Facebook is this teams number one tool for keeping people easily informed and in contact with the coach. After observing the swim teams practice and interviewing Mckenzie, one would agree that swimming is indeed a sport and that this team is more like a family because the swimmers have created a bond through the discourse they speak. Not only does the swim team practice three hours every evening but they also practice two hours before school every morning. Creating a bond and a discourse community would not be difficult for those who have grown up

Agner 5 together and are around each other all the time. Mckenzie says We do not always get along. We are around each other so much and we are all so competitive that we argue like siblings. I think this only pushes us to go harder in the pool! (Stevens) This swim team is different than high school swim teams because they do not have a season. Rowan Aquatic Club trains all year round and attends swim meets throughout the year. Also this team is unlike others because they are able to stay on the same team throughout their entire swimming career, starting at age four and finishing when they leave for college. Most sports teams make the athlete move from team to team as they get older, making it difficult for the team to create a family like bond. No matter what people will always have a different opinion about whether or not swimming is a sport or not but it is very clear that the kids on Rowan Aquatic Club are athletes. The amount of work and dedication each one of them puts into their practice is reflected in the performance they give at swim meets. Nearly everyone can go out and run, or lift weights, but more than fifty percent of Americans are unable to swim (USA Swimming). Not only is swimming a sport, it eventually becomes ones family, their discourse community, and it opens up opportunities throughout ones life.

Agner 6 Works Cited Stevens, Mckenzie. Personal interview. 11 Nov. 2013. "Rowan Aquatic Club YMCA :." Rowan Aquatic Club YMCA :. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. "USA Swimming - Saving Lives Through Make a Splash." USA Swimming - Saving Lives Through Make a Splash. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.