The 2023-2024 Silver Creek High School Girls Swim season has been a fun one as it came to an end. The girls spent their last few weeks getting ready for conferences and finishing up their last few practices.

As the season has ended with conferences being the last few meets of the year, the girls find that week leading up to it, has been a crazy one. Celebrating all they’ve accomplished by doing a “taper week” which is a week of practices filled with different themes for the girls to celebrate.

During taper week, the girls swim less to allow themselves to rest for the conference meet. While they are still working on their events, dives, and turns, they also have the opportunity to have some entertaining practices. One day, the girls dress up by wearing extra clothing over their swimsuits.

Although it is a silly activity, it helps the girls prepare for conferences. Wearing these outfits with their swimsuits allows more resistance on their bodies, helping with their speed. Along with this, they focus on swimming fewer yards to rest before the big event.

The girls find these practices not only helpful to their times, but to their mindset by helping them relax.

“Last week we had glow-in-the-dark bikini practice which is a super fun way for us to practice and bond with the team… since we have spent the entire season preparing for the conference, the practices leading up to it we get to take a little break and have some fun,” says Noella Weber, a senior on the Silver Creek Girls swim and dive team.

Conferences are for students who are in the 4A division and are two-day-long events for the swim teams at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton, CO. All of the teams in the 4A division attend conferences and preliminary and the top students move on to finals. Conferences are the final meet for students in the St. Vrain Valley School District before the state meet for those who qualify.

Silver Creek’s Girls Swim Team has had the opportunity to go to conference and state for many years now. The girls have showcased the skills that they’ve worked so hard on all season. Not only have they been able to gain skills they learned along the way, but the bond the team has will stick around.

“My favorite part of the team is the girls. I have made such strong bonds with a lot of people from swimming.” Weber says, “I also really love how we all support and encourage each other. Although swimming is mostly an individual sport you still root for and encourage all the girls on the team”

The girls have all done amazing this past season with multiple girls qualifying for state, they are sure to do incredible things at the meet. The bond the girls make will continue to grow for the next years and the next set of swimmers who decide to participate.

It’s clear to say, everybody has put in a great amount of effort into the team and it is important to recognize the preparation that has gone into preparing for states.