- April 25, 2024
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To the members of the Sarasota Tsunami youth swim team, victory does not taste sweet.
It tastes like a piece of paper.
The team has a tradition involving its relay cards, a tradition to which no one seems to recall the origin. Regardless, it exists, and it goes like this: Before each relay, the swimmers involved in the race will tear off a tiny piece of the card telling them the race order, usually from the corner. They will then place it under the elastic of their swimsuits or, alternatively, they will eat it.
It does not taste good. But who are the Tsunami to argue with the ritual’s results?
The team won its second-consecutive Florida Age Group Swimming Championships, or FLAGS, which was held March 3-6 at Tampa Bay Aquatic Club. This time it was the short course championships; back in July, it was the long course championships. The two wins make it hard to argue for any other club being tops in the state over this swim season. They are also the first two FLAGS championships in club history, something that makes club coach Ira Klein beam with pride.
"It helps to establish that we're on the same level as the best teams in the state," Klein said. "That's why we take pride in winning. The club is here, and it is on its way."
Klein started the club in 2010 with no swimmers signed up. By the time the first practice rolled around, there were three.
Now, 12 years later, the club is big enough — and talented enough — to win consecutive FLAGS championships. They do it while practicing at the Arlington Park pool, splitting time with the public, and not receiving financial assistance from Sarasota County.
Klein said the club's success is a testament to the organization's assistant coaches for giving their time and knowledge to the club as well as the swimmers for putting in the work necessary for this level of success.
As for the swimmers themselves, the Tsunami feel like their win came down to the support of their teammates. The team is close-knit, they said, and the loud cheers they hear from above the water during races motivates them to finish as fast as they can. The team can get so loud as to be a problem sometimes; at FLAGS, the Tsunami was told by race officials that their cheering section was too big, so they had to dial it back. In the end, it was still plenty big enough to get the result they wanted.
The FLAGS group, which includes swimmers 14 and younger, even got support from the club's older swimmers, who came on the final day and made custom signs for their younger teammates.
"We have a lot of good hype people," girls 13-14 swimmer Sofia Krajewski said. "It helps us a lot. We couldn't do this swimming alone."
It was the relays where the club took its biggest advantage, especially the 13-14 boys, who won the age group's 200-yard medley relay, 800-yard freestyle relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. The club also finished in the top-three in a number of other relays in different divisions, like the 13-14 girls, who finished second in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
The full results can be found at Team Unify, but some highlights: girls 13-14 swimmer Taylor Schwenk won the 200-yard freestyle (1:51.66), the 50-yard backstroke (25.77), the 100-yard backstroke (55.93), and the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.21), and finished second in the 50-yard butterfly (25.81) and the 100-yard butterfly (56.82). Boys 10 and under swimmer Bradshaw Shoemaker won the 50-yard breaststroke (36.75) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:20.91). Boys 13-14 swimmer Bogdan Zverev won the 50-yard butterfly (23.65) the 100-yard butterfly (52.02), the 200-yard individual medley (1:53.85) and the 200-yard butterfly (1:52.95).
"It's hard to pick out impressive performances," boys 13-14 swimmer Cyrus Matteson said. "I could name at least three from every person. Everyone stepped up."
Some of the Tsunami will age out of the next FLAGS championships, but the ones who will remain eligible, like girls 13-14 swimmer Sofia Krajewski, said they do not plan on giving up the titles now that they have them.
Klein agreed.
"We're coming into the summer and we're looking to keep building," Klein said. "If you want competitive swimming as part of your child's life, come join us."
The Tsunami are not the only area club that did well at FLAGS. The Sarasota Sharks finished second at the event, as they did at the long course FLAGS in July. Among other strong performances, girls 13-14 swimmer Riley Leach was a star for the Sharks, winning the 50-yard breaststroke (29.78), the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.35), the 200-yard breaststroke (2:17.27), the 200-yard individual medley (2:04.39), and the 200-yard butterfly (2:02.94) and finished third in the 50-yard butterfly (26.04).
