SELW swimming team is ready to dive in

ENDICOTT — The St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse-Washtucna (SELW) swim team has 62 swimmers on the roster, and they are all looking forward to the start of the season.

SELW will host Pomeroy and Colfax, in Endicott, for the first swim meet of the summer on Tuesday, July 9, with Garfield-Palouse-Oakesdale-Potlatch-Plummer (GPOP) hosting Pullman in Palouse on the same day.

Katie Bailey, coach for the LaCrosse and Washtucna portion of SELW and Tri-County Swim League director, said athletes who participate in swimming for the summer helps build strong relationships.

“I look forward to seeing the growth in our swimmers,” Bailey said. “Swim team builds strong, confident swimmers of all ages. The growth that kiddos make in one season is truly amazing. I also love the relationships that the swimmers build with kids from other towns. I see a lot of friendships form and, personally, I love getting to work with the other coaches.

This year, the camaraderie among swim teams and athletes is on full display as the Colfax pool is shut down for the season, so the Garfield pool has graciously allowed the Bullsharks to use their pool for practice and to host meets.

“With the Colfax pool being closed, we are excited that Garfield has opened up their pool to host Colfax meets and Palouse will host County this year, which will be a first,” said Tiffani Organ, the St. John coach for SELW. “It is exciting to see our volunteers and coaches coming together to keep our league going even when difficulties arise. Our swim team community (all towns) are always so respectful and considerate and to see this continued this year with the challenges we face is refreshing.”

For SELW, the team has several returning swimmers while also picking up new, younger swimmers to keep the program going strong.

“All of our kiddos are outstanding,” Bailey said. “We have dedicated volunteers who coach and help us run swim meets. The league runs on volunteer hours and so without our amazing community support, we would not be able to run our team or our league.”

SELW will travel to Pullman on Friday, July 12, for its second meet of the season before returning home to host GPOP and Colfax on Tuesday, July 16. The team will then host Colfax on Thursday, July 18, then head to Pomeroy for an away meet on Tuesday, July 23. SELW will then finish out the regular season at GPOP in Palouse on Thursday, July 25. Swim meets begin at 4 p.m. each day.

The championship meet will be in Palouse on Aug. 3, starting at 10 a.m.