Over the past year, regarding COVID-19, many sports have been disrupted or cut short with the constant uncertainty with rules and state guidelines changing every day.
However with the new CIAC protocols implemented this year, the RHHS Girls Swimming and Diving Team hopes for a comeback from the previous season cut short due to school-wide quarantine. The Rocky Hill Girls Swimming and Diving Team is a group of about thirty to thirty-five girls, including the girls from Cromwell and Portland, since the team has a co-op with them.
According to the captains, Jenny Patel and Julianna Violette, one thing that makes the swim team unique from the rest of the teams at RHHS is that they are a welcoming, close-knit group of girls who “genuinely like being around each other” and treat the team as their family. Over the past year, the team has become closer by supporting and being there for each other throughout the season.
With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the CIAC rules implemented last year, not everyone got to perform the way they wanted to since they did not compete with other teams directly but rather with each other.
However, this year with the new CIAC rules and protocols, the team is able to compete in person against other teams—unlike last year when the meets were virtual—making this season all the more worthwhile. Furthermore, since the season last year was cut short due to quarantine, the girls did not get the opportunity to attend the conference championship or state championship.
This year with less strict rules, the team hopes for a strong comeback by making it through the season and state championship while doing their best to win—especially their senior night.