wow. All the above are spot on. BuckBackHome encapsulated it nicely. Our daughter swam since age 6, all the way through college. You've missed the worst of it (setting pop-up up at 6:00am), napping during warm-ups, volunteering to be a timer, becoming stroke-and-turn judge, starter, and finally meet director. And that's just for the parents. Your kid will have to put in many hours in the pool, and depending on event (1,500 yards or 50 yd sprints), lots of yards to condition, and in college, 5:00am workout times before showering up and going to class. In HS, we did not get suits, but had to shell out hundreds to buy the 'fastest' suits. Googles thought is spot on. And there's always the kid who 'forgets' theirs, so at last minute, races around borrowing someone's (and usually 'forgets' to return). Smiled at the passing down suits. Each swimmer tries on a suit, it's more like a compression chamber, and disintegrates with the heavy chlorine. Haley got maybe a season out of one (in college), with a new one for nationals. And that's with soaking/washing in water after each meet. Swimming is probably the greatest overall conditioning one can do, so there's that. Also, the chlorine will save you money, as the water will turn hair blonde. Also, acne will go away, as constant immersion in the chlorine will work its wonders. All that being said, wife and I miss it alot, so enjoy while you can. PS, growing up, if our daughter got two PBs (personal best times) during a meet, she got to choose where we went to dinner. Plenty of happy meals, Hometown buffets, and later more expensive dinners. All meant to provide motivation, as you're correct, it's about competing with yourself. Enjoy.
