From Spain with love

Swimming World and Junior Swimmer, Aug 2000 by Weir, Amanda, Cashion, Courtney

Two 14-year-old swimmers share what it's like to be a member of the USA Junior National Team on their first international trip to Spain.

Amanda Weir

Amanda, 14, is from lawrenceville, Ga., and swims for SwimAtlanta. Her coach is Chris Davis.

Last September, I was waiting for a letter from USA Swimming because my coach sent in an application for me to attend a select camp at the Olympic Training Center. When we opened the letter, it said I was selected as a member of the National Junior Team!

By November, I was on my way to the Olympic Training Center (Wow!) for the camp. It was so cool to meet kids from all over the country. We learned a lot about how to represent the United States as a member of the National Junior Team in an international competition in Barcelona, Spain!

May 17: We all met at the Atlanta airport for the flight to Spain. I couldn't believe that I left Atlanta at 4 in the afternoon and arrived in Barcelona at 6 the next morning.

May 18 thru May 22: I wish I knew Spanish! It is weird not to know what people around you are saying. My roommate is Carlie Dykehouse. The hotel is an old building, and the rooms are not at all like the Comfort Inn!

May 23 thru May 25: Most of us came into this meet in middle-of-season-- training shape, but we were anxious to get in the pool and swim. The first day, I just swam the 50 and back. I hadn't swam this event since I was 12. On Wednesday, I swam the 200 free and 50 free.

I think this has been a very interesting experience for all of us. I was hoping we'd get to see more of the city or go shopping for souvenirs for friends and family. I was told that most international team trips are a little more fun, which makes me even more determined to be on the national team again very soon.

Courtney Cashion

Courtney is 14 years old and swims for Irvine Novas in Southern California. She is coached by Dave Salo and Brent lorenzen.

In May, I traveled overseas to Barcelona, Spain where I competed in my first international meet. I represented the USA on the National Junior Team.

Spring nationals ended with less than six weeks until we would be leaving for Barcelona. Those of us who had attended the select camp together the previous November gathered together at senior nationals to share and remember the good times we had at the Olympic Training Center.

Everyone flew into Atlanta first, then we flew to Spain as a team. We were told to drink a lot of water, and that sleep was an important part of the nine-hour flight.

When we finally got to Spain, we were overwhelmed by how small the hotel was. The girls in my room made the sleeping space bigger by sliding the tiny beds together, and then slept on them crossways. We went over to the Olympic pool that overlooked the city. The view was beautiful, and so was the outdoor pool.

Unfortunately, I injured myself when I slipped on the marble floor in the locker area at the Olympic pool. This happened on our first day in Barcelona, and for the rest of the trip, I was getting treated with Advil, ice and three massages a day!

The next few days were spent getting to know the Metro (subway) so we wouldn't get lost. We went shopping a little and walked around. We went on a doubledecker bus and took a lot of pictures of the city. I think we could have done more shopping, but most of the time was spent in the team room. The team room was filled with food that had been sent from Colorado Springs.

When it was time to swim, we were all ready to race! The first day of the meet, we sat next to the team from Denmark. They had these really annoying horns, which they wouldn't stop blowing. But by the end of the meet, we were doing cheers with them so it, wasn't so bad.

I think having Courtney Allen and Ugur Taner with us helped tremendously. They were great role models and experienced team leaders. We also discovered how easy it is to become teammates with swimmers who at other times may be rivals. Yelling for everyone and for my teammates was the best part of the trip.