Black, white and purple triangles sway above Cub Run Rec Center’s competition pool, water rippling and splashing as swimmers freestyle, butterfly and dive. Encouragement and applause fill the air as a swimmer finishes her lap.

Tryouts for the swim and dive team occurred from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, with so many people attending that one event was pushed back a day. This year, the girls team has 29 swimmers in total, 16 of which are new to the team. 

“I think swimming tryouts went okay,” freshman Nicole Taylor Zhang said. “I wish I did better, but I think I’ll do a lot better this season. I really hope that a new coach can [give] me a new perspective on swimming and help me be a better swimmer.”

This year, the swim and dive team posted numerous flyers around the school and advertisements on their Instagram, @chantillyswimanddive. Moreover, lifted coronavirus restrictions and vaccination requirements meant more people were open to joining the sport.

“The turnout for tryouts was the most it’s ever been in the past couple years,” junior Carly Lahr said. “Unfortunately, that means that more people will get cut, but now we will have enough people for our girls team, unlike last year. The incoming freshmen look like they have great potential on the girls and boys side, and the dive team also looks like it’s going to be great this year.”

To prepare for meets, which are usually on Fridays and Saturdays, practices for the swim team take place Mondays through Thursday, from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition, the swim team spends time together during weekly potlucks and bus rides after meets.

“Our girls side has been struggling the past couple years, but I hope this year we can all work on bonding better as a team,” Lahr said. “You truly get to swim with so many different people that have different speeds and different skill levels and it’s great to see the hard working effort no matter what level the swimmer is at.”

Although swimming is sometimes thought of as an individualistic sport, the relay race is a cooperative event requiring four swimmers. Each swimmer completes an equal distance with different swimming strokes, creating opportunities for newer members of the girls team to work with each other and show off their strengths.

“I think the new people will really help because we can fill all the events and have more relays than last year, which will help because we can be more competitive against other teams than last year,” swim captain senior Jojo Ellis said. “My goal for the girls team is to beat Centerville and Westfield and also just have a good time and hope that COVID doesn’t spark back up.”

Last season, four members of the girls swim team qualified for states in a relay, with two of the four also qualifying individually. This season, the swim team aims for wins in the Concorde District Tournament, regionals and beyond. Their first meet was against Oakton High School on Dec. 2, where they lost, 216-99, and their next meet will take place against Centreville High School on Jan. 13 at Cub Run Rec Center.

“I think the new people will bring new ideas and more ways to team bond with each other,” Zhang said. “I’m glad that a lot of freshmen girls made the team this year because I have people that I can talk to and can relate to.”