Mighty Mini’s

Written by Lauren Essig, Photographs by David Wheeler

On a sweltering hot Sunday, 134 swimmers from 5 different swim teams joined together for one of summer’s most anticipated events for our youngest swimmers.  Manchester Farm Swim Team in Germantown, Maryland  played host to it’s annual mini meet, hosting teams from Washingtonian Woods, Lake Marion, Waters Landing, and the British Swim School that saw swimmers as young as 2 years old test the competitive swim waters for the very first time!

Any seasoned swim parent knows how rewarding a mini meet can be for the 9 and under swimmers.  It’s a place where many beginners get their first taste of what swimming in a real meet feels like, it’s a time when many pre-team swimmers get a chance to finally compete, and it can even be a place where more experienced swimmers get a little extra practice in the pool.  Regardless of a swimmer’s ability level, every swimmer is a winner at the MFST Mini Meet.  After every swim, athletes get to pick a lollipop from the lollipop stand, and if they’re lucky and that lollipop has a special mark on it, they get a prize to go along with the candy treat!

The MFST Mini Meet saw it’s fair share of highlights this year.  In the boys 6 and under freestyle race, brothers Jonah (4yo) and Rowan Hu (2yo) from the British Swim School won the crowd over with both their cuteness and their swimming ability.  A 2 year old in a mini meet?  There’s nothing more fantastic than that!  The girls 6 and under freestyle also featured Manchester Farms 4 year old Sophia Goldberg with a super fast sub 60 freestyle and twin sister Olivia bringing it on strong in the kickboard race  – they zoomed their way across the pool like they’ve been swimming well beyond their  years.

Another highlight was the girls 6 & under backstroke, which featured a 3 year old (Kaytelin Baughman – BSS) and two 4 year olds (Lulu Alcid, Bella Rewega – BSS)!  Additionally, this meet had swimmers try breast and fly for the first time, and even older swimmers getting personal best times.  Congratulations go out to 9 year old Lewis Montgomery, from Washingtonian Woods, who took first place in all 4 events he swam.

A swim meet of this magnitude cannot  be run without all of the amazing volunteers helping pull it together.  There were many young MFST  swimmers in the pool and on the deck helping young swimmers in the pool to feel confident and safe in the water.  We also owe a special thanks to Kate Ulicny from MFST for heading up the Mini Meet this year.  Without her, this great day wouldn’t have been possible!  Every swimmer was truly a winner at MFST today!