For 24 hours between the afternoons of Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21, Sedona’s community pool resembled a campground. Tents and hammocks were out, food was spread out and video game consoles were even set up.
This was all done as part of the annual 24 hour relay, a long-standing fundraiser for the Sedona Red Rock High School swim team. From start to finish, at least one of the SRRHS swimmers was always in the water. The Scorpions swam for 1,000 yards (20 full laps of the pool) at a time before handing over to a teammate.
“I look forward to this every single year,” said junior RJ Edwards, who participated in his third 24 hour relay this year. “My friends and I on the swim team are all talking about it throughout the school year. It’s definitely a highlight… It’s plenty of exercise and I generally think it’s a fun time.”
One of the highlights of the night came from fellow junior, Andrew Tate, who participated in the “sushi challenge.” The challenge consisted of swimming a 25-yard butterfly, eating a piece of sushi, and repeating the process 17 more times. Buckets were set up in case Tate had to throw up. When he got through without throwing up, he moved on to the next challenge.
“I ate about 18 pieces of sushi and didn’t throw up … so I was feeling pretty proud of myself. And I was going. I was moving,” Tate said. “Then Eric [Schrader] called me over with a soda, the sixth one I drank that day. I could barely get through the soda because I was laughing so much. But I managed to chug it then sprint another 50 fly. I wasn’t feeling sick enough so I decided to start doing corkscrew.”
Not all of Tate’s teammates shared his sense of adventure throughout the relay. For others, the jumping in the water was actually a way to warm up. After the sun went down on Friday evening, the heated pool was actually one of the warmest places to be. Others, like senior Mackenzie Tibbs, noted that a highlight for her was “getting better and the chance to practice” in the pool.
With three of the top Scorpions swimmers home sick and others unavailable, there were plenty of chances for Tibbs and her teammates to swim. In total, only nine swimmers (eight members of the SRRHS team and coach Dan Morse) were swimming,
“We have a much smaller team this year than we’ve had in the past,” Edwards said. “So it means everyone gets to swim a bit more.”
Finally, the 24 hour relay is a fundraiser where sponsors pledge money to the swimmers in either a flat sum or based on how many laps they swim. That money helps the Scorpions pay for suits, caps and hotels on road trips.
On Thursday, Sept. 26, the Scorpions will return to swimming in more traditional intervals when they take on Seton Catholic and Gilbert Christian. The next home meet for SRRRS will be held on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. when the Scorpions host Paradise Honors and Horizon Honors.
Michael Dixon can be reached at 282-7795 ext 131 or email to mdixon@larsonnewspapers.com
