Metro Conference schools are set to take the plunge into the water March 11 when the 2021 swim season is scheduled to begin after last year’s season was cut short following the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Mesa openers, Mater Dei Catholic will host Hilltop, Olympian will host Bonita Vista and Eastlake will host Mar Vista.
In South Bay League openers, Southwest will host Montgomery, Sweetwater will host Chula Vista and San Ysidro will host Castle Park.
There are major differences as the sport resumes after nearly a year, including schools hosting meets at four pool sites — Mater Dei Catholic High School, Loma Verde pool, Parkway pool and Las Palmas pool — because of inability for the district to host meets at Southwestern College.
As a result, teams will need to be flexible while following rules and protocols established by three different cities.
“This is going to be a weird season,” said Craig Collins, Olympian High School’s water polo coach who will serve as interim swim/dive coach this year for the Eagles.
Collins said at this point far fewer athletes have come out for swim than last year. Team sizes appear to be reduced across the board to comply with new safety guidelines and regulations that limit how many athletes can be in a lane at any one time.
Collins list Grace Hills as Olympian’s top returning female swimmer and Nathaniel Cabrera and Caeleb Collins as the team’s top male swimmers.
Diego Munguia, a CIF qualifier two years ago, is the top returning diver for the Eagles.
Eastlake High School head coach Steve Wiggs said the challenges teams will face is the unpredictability of where and how the pandemic will direct the course of this season.
“For the first time in over 25 years of coaching high school swimming, I am going to have to make cuts,” Wiggs explained. “Number one, it is to support the safety of the athletes, and number two, to work within the COVID-19 guidelines set forth by the state of California, CIF-San Diego Section, Metro Conference, and the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista and National City.
Wiggs said the recent decision by the State CIF Office and San Diego Section, with clarification from the California Department of Public Health, will make a big impact on the upcoming season.
“With Rule 600 being removed by CIF it helps by allowing the year-round club swimmers the opportunity to get their continued training with their club teams and coaches,” Wiggs said. “This should reestablish the competition of CIF-SDS high school swimming in 2021.”
Wiggs said other good news is the establishment of a safety-oriented championship meet to end the season.
“It’s great to hear the news that the CIF-SDS swim and dive championships, as of now, will be an in-person meet without spectators,” Wiggs said. “It will add some normalcy to these student-athletes’ lives and give the swimmers and divers the opportunity they missed out on last year. It’s very exciting to be moving forward, not backward.”
After a year out of the water, old rivalries will finally be resumed.
“We’re looking forward to picking up where we left off last season,” Mar Vista coach Chad Kavanagh said. “We should be able to compete with almost everyone in the league. Eastlake typically has more year-round swimmers, so we hope to battle for second. But this is a weird year, so who knows. Not all swimmers are returning this year, so we will see.”
Making a splash
Top returning individuals this year for Eastlake include seniors Nathan Bjornstad and Christian Johnson, juniors Emily Lundgren, Erin Gidley, Morgan Watson and Riley Anderson, and sophomores Alex Tilley and William Coziahr.
Freshmen Jared Ritchie and Sophia Jarina expect to impact the Titans.
Top swimmers from Bonita Vista include junior Paola Castillo and senior para-athlete Paola Martinez, who won the 200 Backstroke in the S10 category at the 2019 national championships.
Other top returners in the Mesa League include Otay Ranch senior Alejandra Lopez, Olympian senior Yad Hasan, Mater Dei Catholic senior Federico Rubio and junior teammate Marco Croshier.
Otay Ranch freshman Isabella Dang also expects to be an impact newcomer.
Top returners for Mar Vista include Annie Dickson and Iliana Lopez on the girls side and T.C. Spaulding and Fletcher Field on the boys side. Top newcomers include Bradford Dickson and Ethan Hastings.
Safety net
Safety protocols in place, as issued by the San Diego Section in conjunction with national, state and local health officials, are numerous and strict and apply to both meets and practices.
“We are absolutely abiding by county and state guidelines and the tiered system,” Collins said.
Among the new guidelines and regulations:
- All coaches, student-athletes and game officials will be screened prior to each practice of contest for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 prior to participating.
- Teams traveling for a contest should screen their student-athletes prior to boarding transportation to the event and again upon arrival at the event site. The home site is not responsible for screen visiting athletes and coaches.
- Any person with positive symptoms should not be allowed to participate, should self-isolate and contact their primary care provider or other health-care professional.
Safety protocols issued by the section apply to all Season 1 sports, not just swimming.
Hygiene protocols, when practical, should include handwashing/sanitization stations available for all student-athletes, coaches, officials and spectators at all times.
Frequently used items and surfaces are to be disinfected on a daily basis.
Everyone entering campus sites must use face coverings at all times.
Additionally, all student-athletes, coaches, officials and spectators must bring their own water bottles. Water bottles must not be shared; food should not be shared.
Safety protocols extend even after an event is completed.
All athletic facilities and equipment should be cleaned and disinfected at the conclusion of each practice or contest. Prior to an individual or group of individuals entering a facility, hard surfaces within that facility should be wiped down and sanitized. These include chairs, furniture in meeting rooms, weight room equipment, bathrooms and athletic training room tables, among others).
Public gatherings at entrances and exits to facilities should be limited to discourage crossover and contact.
Rules of engagement
Specifically, in regard to swimming and diving, student-athletes should arrive at facilities prepared for practice in proper attire with minimal personal belongings as locker room storage may be restricted. Athletes should plan on leaving the facility in their suits, showering and washing clothing upon arrival at home.
All individuals should practice safe personal hygiene, including hand washing, refraining from spitting and from congregating when rinsing off. Only outdoor showers should be used and only when permitted by facility staff.
All individuals not actively participating in athletic activities must wear face coverings. This includes coaches, athletes and volunteers.
All individuals should be socially distanced to the furthest extent possible.
Athletes should be spaced out in the pool to ensure social distancing at all times. It is recommended that no more than four athletes share a lane at a time, alternating two athletes at one end. There should never be more than two athletes stopped at the wall in the same lane. This applies during practice, meet warmups and during a meet.
Teams should limit the number of individuals in attendance at practice and meets. Only meet participants and essential volunteers should be in the facility.
Schools should follow section, facility and district guidance regarding spectators during meets. Meet hosts must communicate with visiting teams several days prior to competition to ensure everyone is aware of all facility rules and regulations.
Those in attendance on the pool deck should be limited to essential volunteers, main coaches and meet participants unless other arrangements have been made that abide by all school, district, CIFSDS and facility guidelines.
It is suggested that teams use athletes not participating in the meet as timers to limit the exposure to individuals not regularly around the team.
Timers and relay takeoff judges should wear permissible facial coverings.
Because of social distancing protocols, celebrating will take on a twist. No high-fives and group cheers are allowed between participants.
Lap counting personnel should be limited to one person per lane. Host teams should provide cleaning materials so that lap counters can be sanitized between heats. It is recommended that coaches coordinate with athletes to do this efficiently.
During competition, divers may not approach the board until their turn to compete.
Dive order sheets should be posted in multiple areas to reduce number of divers viewing at the same time.
Divers should remain in the pool and remain six feet apart.
Relay swimmers should be spaced apart from another. Swimmers should refrain from gathering behind blocks.
Because of these guidelines, all individuals — athletes, coaches and volunteers — should be aware that the pace of the meet may need to be significantly slower to allow for safety measures to be properly adhered to.
All individuals should prepare to leave the facility as efficiently as possible.
Coaches are encouraged to exchange results electronically.
There is more.
The Sweetwater Union High School District has imposed even stricter guidelines to follow.
Meets will have no spectators and no district transportation will be provided for practice or competitions.
Furthermore, student-athletes must present negative COVID-19 tests at the start of the season and at three-week intervals throughout the season. Any reports of positive COVID-19 cases and/or close contacts with positive COVID-19 cases among student-athletes or coaches may result in teams being mandated to quarantine for up to 14 days and possible forfeiture of scheduled competitions.
Students may access COVID-19 tests from their personal healthcare providers or may go to a COVID-19 testing site managed by San Diego County.
Welcome to the new normal.
Welcome back to the pool.
For more information, visit the website at www.cifsds.org.
Metro Conference Swim Schedule 2021
Thursday, March 11
Hilltop at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Olympian, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Mar Vista vs. Eastlake, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Montgomery vs. Southwest, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Chula Vista vs. Sweetwater, Parkway pool, 5 p.m.
Castle Park vs. San Ysidro, Loma Verde pool, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, March 16
Hilltop vs. Otay Ranch, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Olympian, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Bonita Vista at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Thursday, March 18
Eastlake at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Olympian vs, Mar Vista, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Otay Ranch vs. Bonita Vista, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Sweetwater vs. Southwest, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Montgomery vs. Castle Park, Loma Verde pool, 3 p.m.
San Ysidro vs. Chula Vista, Parkway pool, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 23
Hilltop vs. Olympian, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Otay Ranch at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Mar Vista, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Sweetwater vs. San Ysidro, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Montgomery vs. Chula Vista, Parkway pool, 5 p.m.
Southwest vs. Castle Park, Loma Verde pool, 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 25
Otay Ranch vs. Eastlake, Las Palmas, 3 p.m.
Bonita Vista vs. Hilltop, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Mar Vista at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Castle Park vs. Chula Vista, Parkway pool, 5 p.m.
Southwest vs. San Ysidro, Loma Verde pool, 3 p.m.
Montgomery vs. Sweetwater, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 6
Otay Ranch vs. Mar Vista, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Olympian at Mater Dei Catholic, 2 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Hilltop, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Thursday, April 8
Hilltop vs. Mar Vista, Las Palmas pool, 3 p.m.
Eastlake vs. Bonita Vista, Las Palmas pool, 5 p.m.
Olympian vs. Otay Ranch, Las Palmas pool, 7 p.m.
Montgomery vs. San Ysidro, Loma Verde pool, 3 p.m.
Southwest vs. Chula Vista, Parkway pool, 3 p.m.
Castle Park vs. Sweetwater, Parkway pool, 5 p.m.
