Everyone's a winner at this swimming meet

Mount Kisco team members pose with their first-place trophy at the end of the Katonah Invitational. GREGORY KAPLOWITZ PHOTOS

Vanessa Herrera swims backstroke.

Gabby Gonzalez of Mount Kisco leaps from the starting blocks.

By JIM MACLEAN

All summer long, hundreds of swimmers are competing hard in the Northern Westchester Swim Conference for their town or club pool teams. The season culminates with the championship and All-Star meets to be held this coming weekend on Aug. 1-2, but it’s always nice to have a little fun meet together and that is exactly why teams love to compete in the Katonah Swim and Dive team’s annual Katonah Invitational.

Six teams compete

A total of six teams competed at the Invitational on July 26, with Mount Kisco, Bedford Hills, Birchwood, Pleasantville and Willowbrook taking to the starting blocks against host Katonah.

The pool deck was packed, and the cheering was loud, a day of fun, but make no mistake about it, there were some of the biggest trophies you will ever see waiting to be won and every racer for every team knew they could add to their team’s chances to take one home.

At the end of the day, Mount Kisco took home the biggest trophy coming in first place overall, while host Katonah was in second place, with Bedford Hills and Willowbrook in a tie for third. 

No matter where they finished, every team was smiling at the end of the day, because this was not your typical swim meet.

“The Invitational is the end-of-season celebration and one of the most anticipated meets of the summer,” Katonah coach Anna Herrera said. “Instead of a traditional dual meet between two teams, it brings together six teams from the conference for a day of friendly competition and fun. While teams compete for the championship trophy and every event counts toward the team score, the Invitational is known for its creative, non-traditional events, incredible team spirit and festive atmosphere. More than anything, it’s a chance to celebrate the swimmers’ hard work, sportsmanship, friendships, and another great summer season together.”

Festive atmosphere

From the start of the diving events to the final relay, it is a boisterous, festive atmosphere with a large crowd cheering louder and louder competing for the team title.

That is true at any swim meet with six teams in the pool, but the Invitational is designed for fun and that spirit is evident by the end of the meet. Everyone still wants to win, but this is a chance to have fun with less stress before the upcoming championships.

“The atmosphere is unlike anything else during the season, the energy is incredible from the opening races through the final relays,” Herrera said. “For many of our athletes, it’s the meet they’ve been looking forward to since the first day of practice. The excitement of competing alongside so many friends, combined with the festive atmosphere, makes it an unforgettable experience each year.”

Events to make you laugh

What makes the Invitational different is a unique setup of events. Each swim meet during the season includes races for each age group in the four strokes of backstroke, freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke, along with diving, but the Invitational mixes it up.

It’s hard not to laugh when you are competing in the doggie paddle, swimming with clothes on, and it may be the only meet during the season where a diver can unleash a cannonball for a chance to win the biggest splash.

“One of the things that makes the invite so much fun is all of the unique events you don’t see at a regular swim meet,” Herrera said. “We have crowd favorites like synchronized diving, the biggest splash contest, and most entertaining dive. There are fun relays like kickboard relays, doggie paddle, a clothes-on relay, and our ‘crazy’ relay where swimmers race using unusual strokes like corkscrew and Hawaiian breaststroke. The day wraps up with the always popular parents relay and coaches relay, which don’t count towards the team score, but are a huge hit.”

The fact that just about everyone stays until the end is a testament to how much fun the meet is. Of course, everyone wants one of the big trophies, and everyone is interested in the 50 raffle prizes. It is a big undertaking with the help of dozens of volunteers to make it possible, according to Herrera.

“All events count toward the overall team score, so every point counts and the kids definitely want to win the big trophy, but these events also remind everyone what summer swim is all about — having fun, cheering each other on, bringing together the community, and making great memories together.”