Rich Tradition In Competitive Swimming In Northern California

Northern California could put its rich tradition in competitive swimming up against just about any other region in the country.

NorCal features two national-championship caliber collegiate swimming programs at Cal and Stanford, routinely has produced some of the top high school swimming talent in the country and is home to nationally renowned clubs for both racing and synchro.

The area is also home to some of the most decorated Olympic swimmers of all time. That includes Moraga native Matt Biondi, an 11-time medalist (including five golds in 1988), and Vallejo/Concord darling Natalie Coughlin, arguably the nation’s greatest female swimmer ever.

Coughlin was a 12-time medalist who became the first U.S. female athlete to win six medals in one Olympiad (2008).

Coughlin went to high school at Carondelet-Concord and trained with the Concord-based Terrapins Swim Club. And the Terrapins have been on the map ever since.

Terrapins Program:

The Terrapins program has consistently trained some of NorCal’s finest competitive swimmers. While also being home to hundreds of lower level swimmers aiming for greater heights — and faster times.

The most recent North Coast Section high school swimming championships featured 24 Terrapin-trained swimmers. Northgate-Walnut Creek senior Alexei Sancov, pictured at top, won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle and set a pair of meet records in the process.

Terrapins – Chelsea Chenault

Niklas Weigelt (Clayton Valley-Concord) was also a champion, winning the 100-yard freestyle. UCLA-bound Emily Lo (Acalanes-Lafayette) took second in the 100-yard butterfly.

The Terrapins are constantly looking for new members. They offer their summer Orange Group program for swimmers who have completed learn-to-swim lessons and are interested in beginning team swimming.

That program runs from June 11-Aug. 9 with two time options for practices that run Monday-Thursday.

Stroke And Racing Skills Clinics:

For those who are already competitive rec swimmers looking to raise their game, the Terrapins are offering four Stroke And Racing Skills Clinics from June 11 through July. Each session is two weeks long, meeting three days a week for 45 minutes each day.

Ages 8-under through 10-years old will go from  6-6:45 p.m., and the 11-12/13-over swimmers work out from 6:45-7:30 p.m. Sessions start on June 11, June 25, July 9 and July 23.

Don’t have a young swimmer in the house, but want to see some Terrapins in action? Well, there are various levels of Terrapin swimmers will be competing this summer throughout the Bay Area.

They will host their own Long Course Last Chance Meet at Heritage High in Brentwood on June 23-24. The 14 & Under Long Course Junior Olympic Championships take place from July 6-8 at Independence High in San Jose, and the Long Course Far Western Championships will occur at the Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga from July 26-29.

Learn more about the Terrapins, or sign up for some of their summer programs, by visiting TerrapinSwim.com.