DC Wave Swim Team Hosts Juneteenth Swim Meet
Photo courtesy of DC Wave Swim Team.
Kisha Clark serves as president of the DC Wave Booster Club and as an official, but more than that, she sees herself as a mom who wants to see more persons of color involved in the sport she and her family love.
She describes DC Wave Swim Team as a community where parents want to stay involved.
“We have the most amazing officials on our team,” said Clark. “The parents have been great over the years, and we have parents who are still officiating, and their kids have long graduated and so I think that’s a testament to the family that we build on our team. People still want to come back and spend their entire day or weekend at the pool.”
The DC Wave Swim Team is looking to grow their family and help initiate more representation in the sport on June 19th as they host their inaugural Juneteenth Tri-Meet. This long course meet will allow more opportunities for inclusivity and community for swimmers in the Washington D.C. area.
Clark hopes this meet will help build community and connect swimmers across Potomac Valley Swimming (PVS). This year, they are starting out small with three teams competing but are hoping to grow into an invitational to spark more interest. The three teams competing this year, DC Wave, Bayside Aquatics and NCAP, were invited pertaining to the interest of minority swimmers. It is a priority for DC Wave and the Juneteenth meet to create a positive and inclusive environment for all those present at the event. In order to create a wonderful experience for participant’s families, they are planning to livestream the event.
“During COVID-19, we didn’t have any spectators and so we actually got a grant from USA Swimming to buy a laptop and a camera so that we can livestream it to everybody,” said Clark.
Clark wants to promote not only competitive swimming, but making sure kids are learning the correct technique to give them a good foundation in the sport.
DC Wave hopes that parents will see that the team is supplying unique experiences, like the Juneteenth meet, which will persuade them to get their kids involved in swimming lessons or joining a team. With the summer approaching, this could be a chance to get those who are fearful of the water to see how learning to swim can not only save lives but provide a sense of community.
“One of the things I would like to do is get more persons of color into swimming,” Clark said. “There are certainly pockets in the city where children don’t know how to swim, so I am really concerned about swim safety there.”
Co-founded by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the United Black Fund, Inc. (UBF), the Black History Invitational Swim Meet had its 35-year anniversary this past February. During the event’s legacy, notable swimmers such as Cullen Jones and Sabir Muhammad have been able to speak to the swimmers competing. This widely successful February meet has been a priceless opportunity for swimmers of color from across the country to feel a sense of community and inclusiveness.
While the Black History Invitational swim meet will continue to be a tradition swimmers look forward to each year, according to Clark, the Juneteenth meet serves as another opportunity to get more persons of color participate in the meet and still get that experience of having a great meet and have a lot of fun.
Clark saw a need to create the Juneteenth meet as a chance to not only provide more representation so swimmers can see other people like them taking part, but to create an environment that is less focused on times and more about having fun doing the sport that they love.
Clark & DC Wave chose to host the meet on Juneteenth because of what the day represents – a day of celebration, culture and history.
Already creating representation, inclusion, and a passion for swim safety, Washington D.C. once again finds themselves in a position to offer swimmers a chance to compete in an environment that promotes belonging.
Clark concluded, “I'm excited that we will celebrate Juneteenth with our swimming community and offer an opportunity to some swimmers to participate in a long course meet.”
To learn more about USA Swimming’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program, please visit our website at: www.usaswimming.org/diversity-equity-inclusion