Swim Team At Risk

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com

Norwalk swim team member Mallory Ham credits swimming with making her the person she is today. “I’ve set so many goals for myself due to swimming on the team,” says the Brien McMahon High School sophomore. “If there’s no team, how can I achieve these goals?”
Ham fears the swim team may be eliminated due to budget cuts proposed by Norwalk’s new superintendent. The cuts would eliminate the city’s co-op (joint Norwalk High and Brien McMahon) swimming and ice hockey teams. Last Thursday at the BOE finance committee meeting, several current and former members of the swim team spoke about the importance of swimming in their lives. The captain of the boys swim team told the BOE that he was failing his classes until he started on the swim team. Now he is a high honors student.

Meredith Pramer, captain of the girls team, has been accepted early to Providence College, where she will swim for the college team. Her fellow co-captain is attending Southern Connecticut State University on a swimming scholarship. Pramer says colleges look at high school swim meet scores when assessing and recruiting athletes. This year, Pramer broke the 100 meter butterfly record for Norwalk. “The younger girls on the team have the potential to break more records,” she says.

Pramer says Norwalk has a small team but that it is respected throughout the state. “For a small team we place pretty high,” she says. “Not only would it be devastating for the team, but for the whole state.”

In a letter to the editor last week, Nancy Wargo, swim team parent, asked why the swim team was less deserving than other groups. “Why is tennis, track, football or volleyball more important than swimming?” she asked. According to Wargo, 100 percent of swim team members attend college, 81 percent go on to swim on college teams, 86 percent receive college scholarships and 81 percent were recruited by colleges due to their sport and have a 3.5 grade point average.

Wargo and other swim team parents have suggested Norwalk schools adopt a pay to play fee to participate in sports and all other activities, such as music and theater. She suggests an annual fee of $50 per student, which would be reduced based on need. “This proposed pay-to-play solution expands the 'bank account,' allowing programs to be reintroduced/maintained and not result in additional cuts,” she writes.

According to the BOE, cutting the swim team will save the district $38,000. At Thursday’s meeting, BOE finance committee chair Steve Colarossi asked school administrators if there was a separate line item for pool maintenance costs, which he said should be separate from swim team costs. He has requested a breakdown of the coach’s salary and insurance and transportation costs.

Would you pay a Pay to Play fee to participate in sports?