Swim meet provides opportunities for students

On September 17, the SMIC School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) held the annual SMIC Swim Meet at the Kingsport Fitness Club next to the Elementary School. Although the Swim Meet was mostly comprised of elementary school students, there were also a few middle high school contestants as well.

The Swim Meet was not only a place to compete with others, but also a place for self-growth. Ian Kim (10C), the competitor and gold medalist of the 50-meter breaststroke and 50-meter butterfly, stated, “I didn’t worry about losing since I know it’s a race between myself, not with others.” As the Chinese saying goes, “There are mountains beyond mountains, and there are people beyond people”. In a world where there will always be someone greater than us; sometimes our best and greatest competitors are ourselves. As Andy Chen (10C), the competitor and bronze medalist of the 50-meter breaststroke, commented, “I learned that there are always people who will be better than you, so don’t stress out if you get defeated, but remember to always try your best.”

Although not every contestant wishes to become a professional swimmer, they do hope to continue this sport. Andy, a one-year swimmer, responded, “I would keep on swimming as an amateur swimmer since swimming is one of my hobbies”. For the future, he would like to be “exposed to more swimming competitions and practice more…Swimming is more of a hobby to me compared to a competition, but I’d love to join competitions since they change and make me improve.” Ian, who has been swimming for five years, also plans to extend his swimming career, declaring, “I’m not going to be a professional swimmer, but I will swim even when I’m in college and so forth. I trained kids during the summer; I would also love to coach some kids in the future”.

The SMIC Swim Meet is a place for students to come and test their limits, to challenge themselves. The school hopes more students will come attend the event next year and enjoy themselves.