Freedlander has changed, but its quality has remained the same

  • brian questel
  • June 29, 2011
  • 290
                        
070411 freedlanderswim Promo: Lure of Freedlander draws swimmers from across the region Freedlander has changed, but its quality has remained the same By Brian Questel The Freedlander Swim Meet has been a mainstay of the outdoor swim season for many swim programs across the region for four decades and that certainly hasn’t changed this year. Dozens of teams and hundreds of swimmers will be coming to Wooster July 8-10 to compete in the 43rd Freedlander Swim Meet and take advantage of Wooster’s long-course pool. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 43 years,” said Wooster Parks and Recreation swim coach Larry Smucker. “What a great day it was when the Freedlander’s gave that land to the city. It’s amazing when you think about it. Building that pool today would be unbelievable. We were talking about that recently. Those costs were very small compared to what it would cost today. “You probably couldn’t build it,” said Smucker. “I’m still amazed at what we’re able to do and offer. One of the real plusses for the Freedlander Meet is that we have free parking … and free admission. The only cost is the cost of the heat sheets and concessions. It’s a real deal. At other places you have to pay to park and the food is expensive. And, camping is only $10 a night.” Nearly 800 swimmers will take advantage of that gift as they look to hone their skills for their end-of-the-season league swim championships at the end of July. That competition, as Smucker noted, is one of the highlights of this meet. “On the record board we have someone who came from Akron Firestone who was in the Olympics as a breaststroker,” said Smucker. “That’s neat when you have someone who swam in the Olympics and you can say he swam in the Freedlander Meet. Over the years we’ve had people come from a lot of different locations to swim here.” The growth of the meet has come in other forms, too. “We talked about that in a meeting we had to get ready for the meet,” said Smucker. “We don’t put up snow fence and haul bleachers in any more … we put in the scoreboard and the bleachers in 2002. We don’t have to do near what we once had to do. We’ve shortened the work list tremendously. “I had to laugh at our ‘B’ meet last Saturday with the steps in technology. We used to use walkie talkies and then we had a phone from the deck to the pool put in. Now we text – we use cell phones and text. “That’s just one technical thing. Back in 1975 we had hand-wound stop watches, we had to hand-enter all the times. We used to write out all the ribbons by hand, and now we have machines. Thanks God for computers and printers and copiers because things go so quick. We had a meet with Orrville and Green last week and within five minutes of the end of the meet, everyone is walking out with all their ribbons and meet results. “It didn’t used to be that easy.” The Freedlander Meet will begin Friday evening, July 8, at 6 p.m. with the distance events. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, swimming will begin at 9 a.m. with the 12-under age groups, with the 13-and-overs starting at 1 p.m.


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