In a normal year, the Athens Swim Team has well over 100 athletes training to compete in swim meets both in Athens and across North Alabama and southern Tennessee.

However, this is anything but a normal year. The swim team, while still active, has been reduced to only having practice and a couple of practice meets against their teammates.

But that’s still good enough for plenty of swimmers who still flock to the city swimming pool four days a week to train, Athens Swim Team head coach Jessica Hopper said.

“The kids are still excited about swimming even if they can’t have meets,” Hopper said. “I was a little surprised about that, but the kids and their families are just ready to do something. They’ve not been able to do much for a few months, and they’re ready to get outside and do something fun with their friends.”

The Athens Parks and Recreation Department has closed the city pool to the general public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also not allowing the Athens Swim Team to host any meets, but it is allowing the team to practice in a controlled environment.

Practices look a lot different than normal, but Hopper said it is worth it to be able to allow the swimmers to have some sense of normalcy in the summer. While normally the team will practice morning and evening, this summer, they are practicing in the mornings on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

“We’re having smaller practice groups and shorter practices for each group,” Hopper said. “We’re there basically between 7 (a.m.) and 12 (noon). We developed a list of guidelines based on the recommendations that came from the governor. Coaches are wearing masks and swimmers are divided into smaller groups and shorter practices. They have one entrance and an assigned area to put their belongings. They also have an assigned lane they swim in everyday. Normally we would have all the kids in the water at the same end of the pool. Now, we’ve got them on both ends of the pool with coaches at both ends. We’re also putting families together to try to save space and time.”

Last year, the Athens Swim Team had 115 members during its season, which normally runs from mid-May to the end of July. This year, Hopper said there are about 65 swimmers who come to practices. Part of this is due to the swim team not accepting any new members this year. Only returning members were allowed to participate.

“Normally we start mid-May and offer a clinic for the new swimmers,” Hopper said. “But with coaches being limited to staying on the deck, they can’t get in the water and work with the new swimmers.”

Hopper said she called around to other swim teams in the area and discovered they were also either not having home meets or had canceled their seasons altogether.

Two tournaments the team normally competes in at the end of the season, one in Tennessee and the Alabama Recreation and Parks Association State Tournament, were also canceled, leaving the team nowhere to compete.

However, Hopper said the team will have some practice intra-team meets this summer, so swimmers can at least have times from this year to compare to last season.

“If they show improvement, we’ll be able to have those records for next year,” she said. “I think they will enjoy those (practice meets) as well. We’re just trying to make everything a little more fun for them this summer.”