"Does this mean I get to wear a varsity coat now?!" a Chardon swimmer
After six years of trying, Chardon High School has approved the creation of a boys and girls varsity swim team.
By creating the head coach position, the board of education officially launched the program on May 12.
The club team originated with five swimmers and grew slowly to 13 boys and girls last season, when the girls finished second in the Premier Athletic Conference.
Becky Repasky, who has been the club team’s head coach, said the five board members learned quickly of the program’s support after casting their unanimous yes votes.
“It was quite a humorous sight to see the faces of the board members of why there were so many red Chardon swimming shirts there.” Repasky said in an email after swimmers and their families packed the BOE office.
The swim team has always operated on its own budget, mainly supported by the Chardon Hilltopper Invitational, which was held at the SPIRE?Institute in Geneva last season.
And then there were the swim parents.
“Without their endless volunteer time, drive time and continued push for their kids to be in a varsity sport, this would have never happened,” Repasky wrote.
High school administration, athletic director Doug Snyder and Superinten-dent Michael Hanlon were all on board with the idea.
“We met and reviewed the information concerning the swim club,” Hanlon said. “They demonstrated considerable history of stable operations and developing the number of students who are involved to the point where it has satisfied the typical expectations.”
Hanlon was involved in creating a varsity swim team at Harvey High School when he was superintendent there.
From a financial perspective, Hanlon said pool time is the major expense, since Chardon Schools does not own a pool.
Through the agreement of becoming a varsity sport, the district will pay for some of that pool time, and parents would accept any additional responsibility the team may feel it needs.
That number can be determined by participation year to year.
Swimmers will have the same pay-to-participate fees as other varsity athletes. Board members will vote on a reduced pay-to-participate amount at its June meeting. The previous fee was $450.
A sport like ice hockey, which Chardon does not have, is often times in a similar situation with districts, Hanlon said, because of a lack of facilities and equipment.
“They are those unique sports that require things we don’t have, so there is a cost,” Hanlon said.
Still, Hanlon and Snyder both think the extra extracurricular will be a positive thing for the students.
“I?also think that the league Chardon is moving into is fairly well represented in swimming by other schools,” Hanlon said. “It makes us an equal partner in that new league.”
Chardon will move into the Western Reserve Conference in the 2015-16 school season, adding some larger schools to its schedule like Kenston, Mayfield and Brush.
Other schools in Geauga County that have swimming include Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, Kenston and Chagrin Falls, which are all varsity sports. West Geauga’s swim team is still a club team.
“The swimmers, coaches and parents have done everything asked of them since the inception of the club,” said Snyder, the athletic director. “They have grown their numbers, and they have been fiscally sound. They have also been very competitive in the PAC meet.”
Hanlon said the school has not determined who will be the new sport’s head coach, but the same contractual process as all other sports will be followed.
He did say Repasky and Matt Parrill, who is coach of the Geauga YMCA’s swim team, the Otters, deserve a lot of credit.
“They have helped it get to the state it is at right now,” he said.
Aside from the minutiae the adults worry about, for the swimmers it’s about symbolism.
Danielle Scerbo was the captain of the swim team her senior year. Scerbo will never have the chance to receive a varsity letter after she graduates in June. But she’s happy for her teammates.
“I?am ecstatic to see it possible … for all of my teammates to be able to receive a letter,” she said, also saying she was “beyond excited.”
The best quote Repasky got the night of the vote: “Becky, does this mean I?get to wear a varsity coat now?!”
“That alone was awesome to hear,” the coach said.
