“All these things [problems] kind of make Viator’s pool the laughing stock of our conference and all the visiting teams make fun of it,” said swim captain, senior Julie Warren. The swim team has been chasing their goal of state, but has the outdated basement pool set them back?

The pool was built with the school back in the  1960s and has seen few updates since. They have replaced the blocks and the timing system, but not much else.

“The pool used to look rather drab,” said Warren. “It still does but they repainted it and it looks brighter.”

It’s not just the look of the pool that poses problems, but rather it is extremely difficult for the swim team to host invites and meets with nine teams on such a small school deck. Over the summer, the heater broke for about a week. This is only one of the many problems they have encountered. However, this did not stop the persistent swimmers and they continued their training at Recreation pool in Arlington Heights. In addition, the chlorine levels have also been an issue.

    Outside of the pool, another set back is the locker rooms,

“It is unclean, smells gross, and has had problems with mold, pipes, and the ceiling in the past,” said Warren.

“The girls’ training routine is not for the faint of heart. They are in the pool each morning at 6:30 for an intense hour workout. They finish at 7:30, get ready for class, and then we are back in the pool from 3:15 until 5:00” said Coach Mike Milikus. The team has been training hard in order to achieve their goals for the year. The swimmers also practice outside the pool in the weight room, for what they call “dry land” training. The distance swimmers train by building up endurance, where as sprinters work on building and maintaining speed. Warren is less than one second away from breaking the school’s 200 freestyle record. The team also has high hopes for the rest of the season. The team made it to sectionals last year and senior  Hannah Higgenson came close to making it to state. Updates to the pool just might give them the final push to make it to state.

“After prospect redid their pool, they broke so many records” said Varsity swimmer, sophomore Beth Warren.

All of these challenges and setbacks have not stopped the team. It has been an uphill battle against both their conference and the pool. They continue to work hard and push themselves towards breaking records and achieving their goals. State is coming up soon in mid November and the swimmers’ hard work and practice might be enough  get them there.