“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ‘tis near Halloween!” – Anonymous

The day of spooks and frights–Halloween–finally arrived! October 31st was the perfect time for trick-or-treating, dressing up in costumes, and showing off pumpkins. However, at Science Hill, another event lurked. Science Hill High School Swim Team, led by Coach Chris Coraggio, celebrated the occasion with their annual Halloween Swim Practice.

According to Aylin Aguilar-Rodriguez, “Regular swim practice helps us grow as a swimmer and get faster times, but I think fun practices like the one today help us grow as a team.”

Swimming, as a competitive sport, involves athletes racing to move through the water using various stroke techniques. The goal is to reach the “finish line” as quickly as possible within a specified distance or number of laps. There are four main strokes in competition: Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly. During regular practice, Coach Coraggio has his swimmers work on their techniques, build stamina with fast intervals, and focus on other factors to improve their times.

“Our team works hard,” Coraggio affirms. “Our training is hard, and I know that the team does their best, so we have these fun practices as a way for them to enjoy themselves and have fun.”

To start off this spooky event, let’s dive into one of the highlights–the costume contest! Usually, swimmers arrive at the Freedom Hall Swimming Pool after school for a two-hour long practice. Today, however, they could dress up into a Halloween costume for the costume contest! Starting at 3:10 p.m., all swimmers lined up on the deck. Those wearing costumes gathered on one side of the pool, where, one by one, Coach Coraggio would call out the names of the contestants and what they were dressed up as. Once they are called, the audience would clap and cheer for the contestant. Once all the contestants had been introduced, Coach Coraggio determined the top three winners based on the loudest cheers from the audience. In third place was Ethan Swartzentruber who dressed up as Majima from Yakuza, an action-adventurous video game! Coming in second was Jack O’Connor celebrating a different holiday on Halloween dressed up as the Leprechaun! And last but not least was Anna Rose Culver in first place dressed up as the infamous Bob Ross, truly a worthy title!

After the costume contest, the swimmers changed into their swimsuits and got ready for the relays. In a relay, a group of swimmers—usually four—swims a designated distance or stroke in a specific order. Coach Coraggio randomized the team into groups of four or five and announced the relays. These relays were quite bizarre, having the swimmers go halfway down the pool and back, or wearing a t-shirt that had to be swapped with a teammate. 

Of course, nothing could beat the excitement of the thrilling game of water polo! Water polo is an aquatic sport where two teams try to score points by throwing a ball to the opposing team’s goal. The game was intense, with  swimmers splashing and dunking, slamming the ball to the goal post, and continuously treading on water. Once it finally ended, the scorewas 5-2.

After the game, the swimmers dried off in warm towels. As they headed home, buzzing with passion to trick, they treated themselves to another Halloween night under the bright moon.