Pull on your heaviest jackets and strap on your fluffiest hats people because this weather chills your bones!  I mentioned in my posts about snowboarding and ice skating that with the onset of winter comes a gamut of new activities and hobbies.  However, I am willing to wager that some of us show much less enthusiasm than others about the snow and wintry precipitation that will surely blanket our beautiful campus.  For those people, I would like to offer you an escape.  I would like for you to step outside the current conditions which you despise so much and step into the past.  Think back to summer!

Recall the rich foliage, the warm summer breezes, and the delicious ice cream!  Remember all of the summertime activities which winter nearly eliminates from the realm of possibility.  One activity which particularly comes to mind for me is swimming in a pool outside.  Of course, the YMCA or the White Building provide indoor pools, but swimming outside, especially without worrying about a chill after surfacing, trumps the indoor option.  Swimming means so much to me that I essentially denote the shift from summer to winter as the moment my uncle pulls the seasonal cover over the pool.  I am never happy about it at the time.

I like to think of swimming as flying through water; the freedom of motion truly is similar to a bird soaring through the sky.  In addition to these blissful movements, the buoyant force on your body given by the water provides a great deal of physical stress relief.  The water significantly mitigates the pressure and stress placed on your joints from everyday actions.  From these attributes it is clear that swimming in a pool is a serene, calming, and enjoyable activity.

Reducing both physical and mental stress in this way is fantastic, yet here at “Not Quite Sports” we look at a swimming pool with the perspective of, “How can we have some good, old-fashioned, competitive fun with this?”  A myriad of options exist; to find some answers you can ask your inner eight-year-old!  Some games which have stuck with my friends, my family, and me over the years include refrigerator, sharks and minnows, and marco polo.  The classics never get old.  I also never have trouble finding someone to race to one end of the pool and back.

In my later years, as my friends and I began to explore our ranges of motion, we became acrobatic.  After jumping on the trampoline during the long summer afternoons, we headed over to the pool to put our skills to the test.  Back flips, gainers, Lincoln-loops, and rodeos were just some of the tricks we tried to pull before splashing into the water.  We hoped for the best when it came to landing on our faces.

As you have probably seen for yourself, the options an outdoor pool provides seem without bounds.  Swimming appeals to the older folk who wish to relieve their aches and pains in a therapeutic session in the pool.  Young children can use pools to play all sorts of silly games to keep themselves occupied.  Teens can find ways to compete with one another while still having a great time.

So as you sit here in class with your heavy coats and hats on, think back to summer.  Fondly recall memories you made while splashing around on a hot summer afternoon, and share them below!  Finally, keep your head up until next summer when you can do it again!