200 swimmers take part in Belleville High School’s ‘Tiger Invite’

By John Cast
BHS Pool Manager
Not since the Belleville High School coaching days of Sam Vicchy came to a close, has Belleville hosted an aquatic event. That is, until this past week end.
Saturday, Jan. 25, Belleville Swimming hosted its first invitational swim meet, called “Tiger Invite.” Teams from the surrounding area were invited to participate in this aquatic adventure.
From all that were invited, nine teams attended; Belleville, Monroe, Ypsilanti, Redford Thurston, Fordson, Dearborn Edsel Ford, Wyandotte Roosevelt, Crestwood, and Taylor Co-op. Those swimming numbered 200 strong.
As an invitational meet, team scores were not kept, and all events were swum as timed finals. The emphasis was to have swimmers enjoy themselves and swim events they normally would not swim.
Medals were awarded to those finishing 1-8 and ribbons 9-16.
In spite of our lousy weather, this meet was a huge success with five new pool records set in the following events: 200IM, 50 Free, 100 Free, 500 Free and 400 Free Relay. Monroe High School has the honor of now holding these pool records.
Our goal is to host this same format with the same meet name in the future. Next school year girls’ swimming will be added, followed by middle school swimming.
This meet would not have been a success had it not been for the efforts of Belleville Swimming parent’s group and BHS.
The Belleville Swimming Parents’ group was well represented by both current swimmers and alumni swim parents and we would have been lost without their help. Parents handled meet programs, tee shirts, and concessions and a big thank you goes out to them.
A strong thank you to Van Buren School District employees who cleared our parking lot, sidewalks and athletic wing. We received nothing but praises from our many visitors all day. Visiting parents and swimmers left our facility very impressed and anxious to return.