The Intergenerational Smackdown

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Added: Tue Oct 9th 12:44pm
Posted in: Sports

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In this corner … we have the men and women in the 55+ age category, representing the Villages Aquatic Swim Team. Wearing dark swim suits and yellow swim caps, the swimmers weigh in between 100 and 300 pounds, and come ready to rock. They cheer: "this is about revenge!" They taunt: "you ready to take on the geezers?" And they show off their stuff: "check out these muscles!"

In this corner … a slightly younger set. The students from The Villages High School are between 14 and 18 years old. They wear matching green swim suits and swim caps, and also weigh in between 100 and 300 pounds. Ready to rock? That's a slightly different story. They cheer: "go Brittany! Go Matt!" But they don't taunt, and instead of showing off their stuff, these kids seem more interested in other pursuits, like braiding each other's hair or talking about teachers.

But still, two tough teams - both ready to take each other on in what we've dubbed "The Intergenerational Smackdown." The VAST team (from here on out, the "grownups") seems to love that name. They're here for revenge. As one swimmer, Nate Leech tells us, last year the "kids" ran away with the meet, and the "grownups" have been stewing all summer.

"Swimmers, take your blocks." That order comes from Jacqui Mitchell, the head coach of the "kids." The next words out of the loudspeaker - "take your marks," followed by the gun. Or in this case, the horn. And they're off! This scene repeated itself over and over, until it became clear - the "grownups" were swimming away with a victory!

There were some close heats, but the VAST team brought some ringers this year - people who hold national records, like Nate Leech. They also brought a crowd of unofficial cheerleaders - people sitting on the side of the pool checking split times and yelling encouragement every time the swimmers' ears came above the water line. Who really won? Both teams. The "grownups" told us they loved the competition, and getting a chance to show off their skills. The "kids" told us they were stunned by how good their competitors were, and that it pushed them to do better.

We'll never know who actually scored more points, because no one kept score.
It was an event that I won't forget for a long time. We met some great people, and really had a lot of fun.

Make sure you check out the story we did at the event, and let me know what you think! Just send me a private message and I'll get back to you. And remember, if you know of a great story like this, let me know.