Swim teams hopeful for summer meets

RICHMOND, KY (WTVQ)- They’re not open yet, but in two weeks excercise and training pools will be allowed to reopen in Kentucky.

Many swim meets have already been cancelled because of the pandemic, but there is hope in the water.

The KHSAA season may have ended in March, but swimming is a year-round sport.

With pools closed, there’s certainly an empty feeling right now for swimmers and coaches.

“This is something that i’ve never dealt with. We usually only take about a two or three-week break between short course and long course season,” said Kevin Knezevich, Lexington Dolphins swim coach.

That break is now past the two month mark. Knezevich has been able to keep in touch with his athletes via Zoom, giving them land exercises like running and push-ups, but admits a workout in the pool is something entirely different.

“When they’re swimming, they feel like they’re actually grabbing a hold of something and pulling it when they’re swimming,” said Knezevich. “If they’re out of the water. They kind of lose that feel, so when they get back into it, it might feel like they’re slipping. I call it spinning their wheels.”

With the state expected to reopen excercise and training pools June 1, Knezevich said the Central Kentucky Swim and Dive Conference will have a meeting next Tuesday to determine if there’s a way to still have the meets, whether it’s without fans or even virtually.

“I’m hopeful we’ll get a couple of weeks of competition before summer is over,” said Knezevich. “It’s one of those things where we’ll just have to wait and see.”