Making A Splash

By Moira Kellaher

        One afternoon in early December, many NWR students and teachers were puzzled by an announcement letting the swim team know when their bus would be arriving. The question “We have a swim team?” floated around many classrooms, and for good reason. North Warren’s athletic department has many options for students, but swimming is one sport the school hasn’t offered—until this year. North Warren Regional High School and Belvidere High School have signed a cooperative agreement allowing NWR students to swim on Belvidere’s team. Nine North Warren students have joined the team and have already participated in several meets.

        The co-op agreement states that because North Warren has no swim team of its own, its students are able to swim with Belvidere High School. The co-op will last for two years, possibly longer if the agreement is renewed. This type of agreement isn’t uncommon. The Belvidere team actually began as a co-op with Warren Hills in the early 2000s. In 2008, Belvidere formed its own team of ten swimmers, known as the County Seaters.

The idea for a North Warren-Belvidere co-op team came about four years ago, when coach Nick Cosimano was looking for a way to boost the size of the Belvidere team. “Belvidere is a small school, especially compared to the other teams in our conference,” Cosimano told the Patriot Press. “I knew it would always be tough to field a team big enough to compete. I also met a girl from NWR that wanted to be a part of a high school team.” Cosimano said that it took a few years for the two schools to find support for the team and work out an agreement.

The team, now 35 swimmers strong, practices at night and divides its practice time between Blair Academy and East Stroudsburg University. The schedule depends on when pool time is available, so it changes week to week. There are a total of ten meets, with the season ending February 1. Swimmers can make varsity by earning 10 points for the team in their meet races, and North Warren swimmers who accomplish this will receive North Warren varsity letters—not Belvidere letters.

According to Cosimano, the new co-op is an amazing opportunity for both schools. “BHS has benefited from it because the co-op provides stability in numbers for the program. Also, I hope out of this co-op, NWR can form its own team years from now,” he said.  

It is not too late for interested swimmers to dive in. “The team can always take on people who have experience swimming or anyone who wants to learn,” Cosimano said. The team is especially short on male swimmers. If anyone is interested in joining the team for this year or next year, they can contact the NWR athletic department for more information.