43.166 Meters/Lap
The lap pool at the John Argue Swim Stadium was busy today with an all-day girls water polo tournament. I watched for a few minutes after my swim, and my guess is that everyone was age 12 or younger – some of the girls were so tiny (maybe even 7 or 8) but they were fierce! It was absolutely fantastic to see them swim after the ball, protect their space, and make goals.
The City of Los Angeles’ website says: “The Girls Play Los Angeles (GPLA) program is focused on girls’ sports throughout the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks under-served communities. The program strives to get and keep girls involved in sports and living a healthy lifestyle, while making friends, building self-esteem and having fun. It has been demonstrated, that in many underserved communities, barriers to participation exist based on a belief that there are specific family gender roles or that income should be prioritized on male family members first. The GPLA program is subsidized so that all girls can participate, regardless of economic inequalities or cultural barriers.”
Because the lap pool was busy, I swam in the family pool that has two lanes designated for lap swimmers. This was great, but the distance is a bit odd – 43.166 meters – and it did feel unusual to swim that distance. I did some rough math in my head and decided that if I did 50 laps, I would get close to the distance I typically swam.
20 laps freestyle
10 laps pull
10 laps kick
6 laps free with fins
4 laps free