Claudia Hein, the Swim Team Coordinator emphasized this, stating "we didn’t time or score the meet. It wasn’t about competition, but about building the love of swimming and empowering the children to be successful."

The Oakland summer league reaches out to many communities that aren’t traditionally exposed to the sport of swimming, and the swimmers in attendance on Saturday truly represented the diversity of the city of Oakland.

The meet brought together youth of various backgrounds, from Cambodian and Egyptian to African American, Latino and Chinese in an environment that both honored the individual athletes and cultivated a sense of collaboration and community. Hein said that one of highlights of the meet was the amount of cheering and support each swimmer received.

The meet was co-sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Aquatics Department, and a local non-profit swim organization, the Oakland Community Pools Project (OCPP). OCPP was founded five years ago with a mission to provide affordable, community-driven programs that engage the local youth and empower them to achieve success through the sport of swimming. OCPP runs the USA Swimming-affiliated Undercurrent Swim Team and Swim School and works in collaboration with Oakland Parks and Recreation to help organize events like Saturday’s Relay Meet.

Ben Sheppard, co-founder of OCPP and Undercurrent Head Coach emphasized that his goal was to promote the sport within Oakland and introduce the largest possible number of young children to the joys of swimming.

"We aim to nurture the athletes and increase their enjoyment from their first meet through to the high school and collegiate levels," Sheppard said.

This was certainly the case at the meet, where first time swimmer Kayla, an 8-year-old from Castlemont Swim team said enthusiastically after her butterfly relay, "I could race all day."

The summer league also fosters leadership and collaboration among swimmers as Junior National level swimmers and college-bound seniors race together with and teach first-timers.

Another goal of the meet was to show the children the opportunities swimming could provide. Through the help of OCPP, University of California assistant coach Mike Bottom and several Cal swimmers and Olympians, including Alex Lim, Bart Kizierowski and Rolandas Gimbutis came to the meet to give a small exhibition and talk to the swimmers.

It was inspirational for the children to see them swim and hear stories about the challenges they faced and the opportunities opened to them through the sport.

Among the guests was Cal swimmer Dominic Cathey, who first started as a swimmer for the Oakland Rec League and went on to swim for the Oakland Undercurrent. The swimmers were excited to see someone they knew, from their own community, who now attends and swims for a top NCAA Division I university.

Mike Bottom reached out to the swimmers with the small piece of advice. "It’s the size of your heart that matters," Bottom said.

This sentiment was felt throughout the event where parents, coaches and swimmers from each team worked with and cheered for all the participants, urging them to pursue a high level of achievement both as athletes and as members of the Oakland community.

The relay meet was a great success and a clear demonstration of what swimming is about in Oakland: celebrating diversity, creating community and providing all children the skills and support they need to succeed as competitive swimmers.

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