Marine Hills swim club plunges into the Puget Sound

Published 3:27 pm Friday, April 3, 2015

The Marine Hills Swim and Tennis club is preparing to open up once again and to celebrate, they began their year with the polar bear plunge on Saturday.

The club braved the frigid waters of the Puget Sound at an event meant to raise awareness about the club and their impending season in the Seattle Summer Swim League.

The event started off at the Marine Hills Recreation Center, nestled in the Marine Hills neighborhood. The participants warmed up by jogging to Redondo Beach in order to prepare to take the plunge.

“We’re like a big family, we get to know each other pretty well,” said Darren McDonald, president of the organization. “It’s mainly our swim team members, but it’s an event that’s open to the public every year. We had  more people here than last year.”

The next event they will be holding is a parade through the Marine Hills neighborhood on May 9. The pool will open that week as well.

The Marine Hill Swim Club is one of eight members in the southern division of the Seattle Summer Swim League. They will swim against the other seven members throughout the summer season. It will culminate in a playoff consisting of all 16 members of the league.

“The fastest swimmers from the south swim off against the fastest kids in the north for bragging rights of the fastest kid in the city,” McDonald said.

All children from ages 3 to seniors graduating from high school prior to the summer are eligible to participate in the club as long as they can swim 25 yards without touching the bottom of the pool or stopping.

For more information, visit marinehillspool.org

Members of the Marine Hills Swim and Tennis Club take the plunge into the waters of the Puget Sound on March 28. Terrence Hill, the Mirror