We failed to use the shutters on our sliding glass door, so the light came in early. Still, we managed to sleep in until almost 8am. At breakfast, we coincidentally met two couples whose daughters were swimming at the meet. The meet is structured as six sessions over three days (mornings and afternoon) for the girls, and then six sessions over the subsequent three days for the boys. Today was day two for the girls.
Charlotte had travelled with her team-mates on Thursday, and while she didn’t have any races on Friday, she warmed-up for both sessions with the entire team. This morning, as we were leaving the hotel for the pool, Charlotte called to say she was very nervous. She had already warmed-up and was at the pool, the meet was just getting started. When Josh and I first arrived at the pool, I wondered how we would see the races -- there were so many spectators crowding the bleachers. I found a spot in a stairwell, and then as some parents made there way out, I slid in to a bench and saved a space for Josh. As promised, at Nationals, there was a large scoreboard. In fact there were two: one served as a large screen TV for those who didn’t have a clear view of the pool. There was also a tunnel for the athletes (a sort of ready of room) located behind the blocks and covered with sponsor advertising. The blocks were of the “new” variety with the angled piece at the back – better for pushing off from. It was an exciting format since there were only three or four heats of each event, so the swimmers were all fast. We spotted Charlotte on deck talking to her coach. The look on her face was one of total fear – she looked like she was going to vomit. Josh hoped her coach would crack a joke to loosen her up a bit. Just then, he pinched her cheek and gave her a “high-five.”
Charlotte was one of three swimmers in the first heat of the 200 Breaststroke. She looked strong and immediately lept into the lead. She completed the first half of the race in a time faster than her fastest to date in the 100. Now the test; would she die? She hung in for the back half and handily won her heat by five seconds, swimming a 2:44. 45. She had dropped her time by seven seconds – she looked tired. As we watched the subsequent heats of her event, only a few swimmers beat her time. She was fifth going into the last heat of 10 swimmers. Six of these beat her, so she finished in 11th place - just a hair off of a top 10 finish in Italy. She was very happy…as were we.
Josh and I decided we wanted to have a look around Rimini, just 12km up the coast from Riccione, so we left Charlotte at the pool to change and cheer for her team-mates in the 4 x 100 Free relay. But first, I snapped a photo of Josh with Italian champion Alessia Fillipi and he got her to sign an autograph for Charlotte. We stopped at our hotel, and took a brief walk along the beach. It was such a beautiful and sunny day. I picked up a few souvenirs – perfectly formed shells – for the kids at home.
While several remnants of renasaince architecture remain, Rimini is a more modern town -- another beach town with a very charming old town center. It also seems to be a cycling town; everyone was on bikes. Today was the the day of the outdoor market in Piazza Cavour . It was a productive visit as Josh finally picked up a belt (or two) that he needed, and I was able to find undergarments for me and for Charlotte. We drove back to Riccione and picked Charlotte up at her hotel. She had already had lunch with the team. We were looking for her coach as we were leaving, but instead ran into an Aniene director. We had a nice and enlightening chat with him. We discovered that this was the only National meet to date, where they had used the top 30 or top 40 format – the reason being that they didn’t know which qualification times to use as a result of the swimsuit fiasco. With all the polyeurathane fast swim suits used prior to January 1st, the Federation didn’t know which times to use for qualifying. This summer, the qualification for Nationals will return to a qualifying time and will not be based on place. The summer Nationals will be held in Rome at the Foro Olympico – the very pool that hosted the World Championships last summer.
We drove back to Gher for lunch. We had the same waiter who served us another outstanding seafood meal. Today, apart from grilled calamari, and sardine spiedini, we ordered the Rombo fish. It was made in the oven with tomatoes, potatoes and olives. Yum. Charlotte enjoyed the free desserts they served with our coffee. She regaled us with team stories from the past couple of days. As a first timer to the National meet, she was a “matricola.” This was written in black marker up her arm. As a matricola, they have to do several things for the older swimmers – a light hazing process, if you will. For instance, Charlotte had to wear her bathing suit, over her clothes to dinner the prior night. She also had to wear a scarf around her head – whatever outfit the older swimmers chose for her. She and the other “matricola” had to dance to Old MacDonald had a Farm during dinner. Sound like a good time was had by all. The meet was a great experience for Charlotte both from a swimming and from a social perspective.
We really liked Riccione, and even apart from the swim meet, were happy we came here. It felt like a mix between Manhattan Beach and Marina del Rey, but, as Josh pointed out, with much better food. There were bike paths everywhere… and many people out on their bikes using them.
It was time to drive home to Rome. As I had difficulty breathing, I was reminded of our drive to Chamonix when Charlotte farted, because she was at it again. Then she alerted us that she’d had to go to the bathroom since before her race that morning. Needless to say, we made an immediate pit stop.
Again we had the opportunity to marvel at the beauty of the Italian countryside. As we left Le Marche and entered Abruzzo, we were afforded a vista of the Adriatic to one side, rolling hills planted with olive trees ahead, and the snow covered mountains in the distance. What a sight! Despite the dark clouds – it was about to pour – the light eery and magnificent all at the same time.
We landed back in Rome around 7pm. Avery had been to the zoo with his Uncle Larry in the morning; and Maria took him to a birthday party at the Children’s Museum in the afternoon. Olivia had gone to her friend Gaia’s house for the day. It seems a good time was had by all. And, everyone was tired. So for the second weekend in a row, Josh brought pizza in. I made a salad and some veggies for the kids along with some pasta and voila we had ourselves a quick family dinner. Then, Larry reminded us that the clocks will need to be changed and we will lose an hour tonight. That accelerated bedtime for everyone.
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