VOL. XVI, NO. 9
FEBRUARY 28, 1975
Equal Time
By LORRIE SWANSON
Have you ever marveled at the efficiency of the way the swim and wrestling meets were handled? Who those polite girls were sitting on the starting blocks for the swimmers? Or the people responsible for keeping the statistics at the wrestling meets? If you haven't, then perhaps the recognition these two organizations deserve is long overdue.
Warrior timers are a branch of 10 girls who are also members of the Maine West Swim Guard. Aside from sitting on the starting blocks for the swimmers, the timers perform other tasks which help make the meets run more smoothly, according to Jeanne Zemittis '77.
One of the jobs the timers perform is a thing called a "false start rope." Said Jeanne, "Two girls take hold of the rope, about 10 yards from the starting blocks. If a swimmer should jump the gun, we drop the rope, which will stop the time and prevent the swimmer from completing the length. Then the girls holding the starting blocks time each swimmer in the specific lanes. If something should happen to the automatic score, the officials will use our time from our stopwatches."
President of this year's Swim Guard is George Ericksen '75, and the head guards are Kathy Dueball '75 and Tony Ayala '76. The Swim, Guard teaches swimming every Saturday morning during the winter for the park district and works the family swim night each Thursday.
Have you ever marveled at the efficiency of the way the swim and wrestling meets were handled? Who those polite girls were sitting on the starting blocks for the swimmers? Or the people responsible for keeping the statistics at the wrestling meets? If you haven't, then perhaps the recognition these two organizations deserve is long overdue.
Warrior timers are a branch of 10 girls who are also members of the Maine West Swim Guard. Aside from sitting on the starting blocks for the swimmers, the timers perform other tasks which help make the meets run more smoothly, according to Jeanne Zemittis '77.
One of the jobs the timers perform is a thing called a "false start rope." Said Jeanne, "Two girls take hold of the rope, about 10 yards from the starting blocks. If a swimmer should jump the gun, we drop the rope, which will stop the time and prevent the swimmer from completing the length. Then the girls holding the starting blocks time each swimmer in the specific lanes. If something should happen to the automatic score, the officials will use our time from our stopwatches."
President of this year's Swim Guard is George Ericksen '75, and the head guards are Kathy Dueball '75 and Tony Ayala '76. The Swim, Guard teaches swimming every Saturday morning during the winter for the park district and works the family swim night each Thursday.
"To be in Swim Guard, you have to have an interest in swimming and the ability to swim well," finished Jeanne.
This year there are 20 Mat Maids, and there are plenty of jobs for all at each meet, as Lisa Gallucci '77, can well tell you. The girls' tasks are those of statisticians which they perform with the utmost charm. They control the score board, run a small concession stand, and aid the coaches and officials by doing time‑consuming jobs in order to allow the coaches to give the wrestlers their full attention.
"The hardest job is working the books," explained Lisa. "You have to know the wrestling moves and rules in order to do this properly. You have to write all the things the guys get points for, how they do it, and any warnings that might have taken place while they were wrestling."
Write‑ups of the wrestlers' weights, their opponents, and their scores must also be kept; and the blocks, a big stand that holds blocks of wood with the same statistics as in the writeups, are also important in informing the spectators and coaches as to what's going on in the meet.
If you are a girl and being a pom-pon girl or a cheerleader isn't your thing but the thrill of sports excites you, then perhaps being a Mat Maid or Warrior Timer is your free ticket to the pleasure these organizations offer.
This year there are 20 Mat Maids, and there are plenty of jobs for all at each meet, as Lisa Gallucci '77, can well tell you. The girls' tasks are those of statisticians which they perform with the utmost charm. They control the score board, run a small concession stand, and aid the coaches and officials by doing time‑consuming jobs in order to allow the coaches to give the wrestlers their full attention.
"The hardest job is working the books," explained Lisa. "You have to know the wrestling moves and rules in order to do this properly. You have to write all the things the guys get points for, how they do it, and any warnings that might have taken place while they were wrestling."
Write‑ups of the wrestlers' weights, their opponents, and their scores must also be kept; and the blocks, a big stand that holds blocks of wood with the same statistics as in the writeups, are also important in informing the spectators and coaches as to what's going on in the meet.
If you are a girl and being a pom-pon girl or a cheerleader isn't your thing but the thrill of sports excites you, then perhaps being a Mat Maid or Warrior Timer is your free ticket to the pleasure these organizations offer.
