Chlorine wafts into your nostrils, humidity greets your skin, and water splashes onto your feet as you walk across the deck of a pool. This is a feeling that excites many and it is coming to Erie High School! As of next winter (2018-2019) Erie High School will have their very own girls swim team!

For the past few years there have been many swimmers who have had to go to schools like Longmont, Niwot, Silver Creek and Skyline simply because they wanted to be a part of a high school swim team. The last two years, Justin Carpenter, Courtney Stanesa, and Kelly Shipley have fought hard to get a girls swim team for Erie. They went through a number of procedures in the process to get the team including complying with Title IX, securing a facility, finance to success, and the coaching piece. Carpenter expressed there was a swimming “need in the community” that they strived to fulfill.

In addition to creating the teams itself, Erie will also be creating new memories and encouragement. Lauren Davia swam for Longmont High School in the 2017-2018 season for the first time and found a love for it, when she found out Erie was getting its own team next year “I got super excited, I am so excited for the swim team – it is just going to be like a family.” In the many aspects of swimming, bonding and getting to know each other is an amazing quality.

It has officially been announced that Shipley, an AP Research and Chemistry teacher, will be the head coach for Erie next year! Shipley carries a deep passion for the sport as well as her swimmers. Shipley loves watching “girls embrace the challenges that make them stronger and they learn to love the struggle because it makes them appreciate their accomplishments. It is an incredible sport to coach.”  

Coach Shipley will be holding practices at the Carbon Valley Recreation Center where Erie will be the first team the facility has hosted.

Both Shipley and Carpenter have goals to build a strong foundation in the first year of the sport. As Carpenter put it “every race will be a school record,” the air could not be more full of excitement for the greatly awaited arrival of the sport.