Rose State adds swimming to its athletic portfolio Published January 3, 2017

After two years of asking for the creation of a Swim Club, the dream has become a reality. 4 female and 8 male swimmers competed in their first meet in November against the Oklahoma State University Swim Club. 

Blake Shawn, head coach for the Raiders Swim Club has been coaching the Mid-Del area high school swim teams for several years. Shawn said, “We had an influx of good swimmers coming into the school who were interested in swimming for the college but a team was not available.” Most are previous swimmers but because it’s a club team, all are welcome and some of this year’s swimmers are new to the sport. 

The student driven effort led to the creation of the club as a way to feel out the interest and possible success of such an endeavor. Shawn hopes to see the club grow from 12 swimmers this year to 20-30 for the next academic year.  

Funding for travel and swim gear is provided mostly by donations. $1,240 has been raised from outside donors so far and the RSC Student Senate has provided some funds to help get the club off the ground. The team will continue to raise funds to fund future travel and fees associated with meets. 

One way Rose State is saving money, along with other schools with swim clubs, is by competing in virtual swim meets. These virtual meets allow schools across the country to compete without the expenses of travel for the team.  Each participating team has an official time their events and the times are submitted to the host site for compilation and scoring.

The next live meet is an invitational at Wichita State University scheduled for February 10-11. The club will compete against varsity collegiate teams from Wichita and Oklahoma. 

Keep up with the team and upcoming meets on the Swim Club page. 

Photo cutline: 2016-2017 Rose State College Swim Club