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One of the fundamental rules of swimming
is that in order to have a swim team,
there
must be a place to practice. In the summer of 1987, the Raleigh Swimming
Association found itself short of the
pool
space needed to offer excellence in
competitive
swimming. As a result, RSA entered into a contract
with an area businessman to rent pool
time
in a pool he intended to "bubble."
The team was excited about the move
to Candler
Swim Club as practices began out doors in mid-September. However, four days before the bubble was
to go up in Mid-October, the businessman
defaulted and told RSA he would not
be putting
up the bubble. RSA had quite a dilemma – cold weather, 120
young swimmers and no roof over the
pool. After several emotional meetings among the
head coach, treasurer, past president,
general
information and the president, it was
determined
that this setback could possibly be
overcome.
The group realized that quick action
was
needed to secure temporary pool space
for
the swimmers.
With the help of some parents who had connections, emergency pool space was arranged
at Meredith and Peace Colleges as well
as
the Governor Moorhead School. Although the pool time was not ideal, the
schools were very helpful in accommodating
the RSA swimmers.
At the same time, the RSA Board of
Directors
received permission from John Candler
to
lease directly from him if RSA could
secure
a bubble of its own. Another committee
checked
into the costs and feasibility of purchasing
a bubble. In addition, Don Wall, Treasurer, was checking
into financing possibilities.
Within one week of the failure of the
original
bubble, the Board was ready with a
concrete
proposal for the General Membership
to purchase
a bubble and lease long term from John
Candler. Buying a bubble and having a home of its
own was something RSA had talked about
and
dreamed about for several years. Now,
because
of necessity, it appeared this dream
might
become a reality.
At the General Membership meeting,
the families
of RSA decided that what was originally
perceived
as a setback might now be a great opportunity. The vote was unanimous to purchase a $40,000
bubble from Thermaflex, Inc and pay
for it
with loans and contributions from within
the club. This showed that RSA was proud of its swim
team and bold enough to take steps
to see
it grow stronger. It was determined
that
it would take approximately five weeks
to
get the bubble to Raleigh. In the mean time, there was a swim team to
run. The swimmers showed a lot of character by
performing well at meets under adverse
practice
conditions. In addition, the strength of RSA was shown with the hard work of its Swim-A-Thon
chairman and swimmers producing one
of RSA's
most successful Swim-A-Thons in its
history.
Practices continued and the anticipation
of arrival of the bubble grew in late
November. There was another snag; this time the weather stalled the shipment
of the bobble. In order to get the bubble and accompanying
equipment on time, several parents
made two
trips in a rented truck to Charlotte and hauled it all back to Raleigh.
Support for RSA came from outside the
club
as well as from Yellow Freight, Raleigh
Truck
Leasing and J. C. Edwards, Inc. as
they assisted
in the transferring of the bubble. In addition, First Federal Savings and Loan
was very helpful in providing short
term
financing. On December 6, 1987, the
families
of RSA unfolded the 3600 pound bubble
and
pulled it across the Candler Swim Club
pool. In attendance was Raleigh City Councilman
Charles Meeker. The blowers were turned on and one and one-half
hours latter, the bubble was up and
a new
era in RSA swimming had begun. A party ensued as everyone connected with
RSA bubbled with joy and pride at the
sight
of the new home.
The first practice in the new home
was filled
with excitement and there is still
a grin
on everyone's face when they come into
the
bubble. Already, the RSA program has
expanded
by adding a new training group and
using
training devices not previously available
to the RSA swimmers. Other activities at the bubble currently include
high school team practices, SCUBA classes
and Raleigh Area Masters practices. In addition, this May RSA will run its biggest
and best ever RSA pre-summer stroke
clinic. Having the bubble will double the capacity
of this program and allow even more
summer
league swimmers to get a head start
on the
summer.
The real joy of all this was in the support and strength gained by RSA
in the face of adversity. The parents, coaches and swimmers of RSA
took a situation that appeared hopeless
and
could have decimated the team in October
and turned it into an opportunity to
grow
and expand like RSA has always dreamed
of. The dream has indeed come true.
from Swimming USA Magazine, April 1988
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