Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 29, 1993 TAG: 9307290381
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Six years ago, Beecher moved to Radford University's Dedmon Center and became natatorium director. ("Natatorium is just a fancy name for swimming pool," he said.)
He had been head coach of the Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association traveling program and swimming director at Vinton's LancerLot aquatic center.
This weekend, the RVAA members will get their first opportunity to check out Beecher's new abode. The Duane Whitenack City/County Championship Swim Meet, the culmination of the RVAA swim season, will run all day Friday and Saturday.
This is the first time the City/County meet has been held outside the Roanoke Valley since the RVAA began in 1964. The meet was held at outdoor pools until 1985 when it moved to the LancerLot, but the RVAA was forced to find a new home for the City/County after the LancerLot collapsed under heavy snow in March. After considering various options, the organization selected the Dedmon Center.
"It'll be fun," said Beecher, who was host to the meet the first two years it was at LancerLot. "I knew what I was getting into."
"This is a very large swim meet; its size has probably doubled in the last 10 years," Beecher said. "But most of the real work is done by RVAA volunteers. Most of my work involves facility management."
Beecher and his staff will take down basketball goals, bring in portable bleachers, set up chairs for the competitors and mark the facility with appropriate directions.
A record 1,800 swimmers, representing 19 clubs, belong to the RVAA this year, according to meet co-director Pat Willard. Registration for the City/County, however, is 1,059, down about 15 percent from 1992.
"The JO's [Junior Olympic trials] are the same weekend, and some people didn't want to drive to Radford," Willard said. "But, I think the pluses of going to Radford certainly outweigh the minuses." Two RVAA teams, Blacksburg and Radford, are based in the New River Valley.
Willard and co-director Don Thomas oversee a staff of approximately 150 volunteers who will orchestrate the two-day event.
"Just think about it," Willard said. "We're going to have about 1,000 kids competing, and it's so controlled you wouldn't believe it."
Each club is responsible for providing volunteers to assist in working the meet. The number of volunteers correlates to the number of entrants from each team. Elks Club, with 173 contestants, has this year's largest team, and Lady of Nazareth, with 14 team members, has the smallest. The other teams are: Aqua Net, Blacksburg, Bush Valley, Castle Rock, Countryside, Forest Hills, Hidden Valley, Hunting Hills, Lake Drive, LancerLot, North Lakes, Olympic Park, Radford, Roanoke Country Club, Spring Run, Stonegate, Tinkerview.
Competition is broken into four divisions, determined by team size; nine age groups, (6-under through 25-up); and three levels of ability (gold, silver and bronze). Boys and girls compete separately.
Many of the swimmers and coaches have been associated with the City/County for many years.
Kathryn Willis, 25, has been involved with the RVAA for 17 years, "and I've only missed one City/County."
Willis coaches the 23-member LancerLot team, which has remained intact even though the facility has not.
"We talked about disbanding," Willis said, "but everyone wanted to hang in there." The LancerLot team first practiced at the Gator Aquatic Center, and later, Lake Drive Swim Club.
"It really shows the dedication of this group," said Willis, who will further her education in radiology in Virginia Beach this fall.
Willis attended Radford and is very familiar with the Dedmon Center swimming pool.
"It's a beautiful facility," she said. "It has twice as much space as LancerLot. But since this is their first year of having the City/County there, it will be interesting to see how smooth the event runs."
This will be the fourth City/County meet for Lindsay Hock, 8, representing Elks Club. In spite of asthma and two surgeries this summer for a sinus condition, Lindsay is seeded first in four of her five events in the gold division.
"My favorite stroke is the breast stroke," she said.
When you've been competing in a championship for more than half of your life do you still get nervous?
"Yeah," Hock said. "It's scary because you might mess up."
Although the meet is closing in on three decades, performances continue to improve each year. Last summer, 45 record times were set, a record in itself.
Willard has served as meet director since 1985, and this will be her last year. She wants to spend more time with her family, including three grandchildren. "We've got a backyard pool," Willard said. "That will be enough swimming for me."
Like many of the RVAA contingent attending the City/County, Willard will stay overnight in Radford rather than make the daily commute to Vinton.
"I was so tired at the end of the day last year, I could hardly drive home from the LancerLot," she said. "I know I'm staying [in Radford]."
"We're certainly pleased to be the host," Beecher said. "And once the people get up here, they'll be pleased, too."
Beecher cited parking accessibility, an elevated viewing area for spectators, and deck space as some of the Dedmon Center's advantages.
by CNB