Hatboro Storm Swim Team Loses Close Match

The Hatboro Storm swim team dropped to 1-1 following a 239-191 defeat against Flourtown Country Club at  on Wednesday night.

Despite the loss, Hatboro saw victories in 18 of events, plus three relays.

For the boys eight and under 25-yard backstroke, Torrin Eimer won by a full 2.6 seconds, with a time of 22.40 seconds.

For 13 to 14 year old girls, Haley Sutton and Molly Riemenschneider finished first and second in the 50-yard backstroke with times of 32.40 and 33.15.

And the most impressive individual performance of the meet was by Bill Riemenschneider, who won the 25-yard backstroke in the 9-10 year old age group, finishing with a time of 18.22, a full three and a half seconds faster than the next closest swimmer.

The Storm are coached by Jess Healy, Melanie Rowland, and Emily Watkins. Healy, a first year coach, said the league is a fantastic way for young swimmers to improve their abilities in a relaxing atmosphere.

"Every day I get to come to work with over 100 kids who are just ready to have a great time and work on their swimming and improve their time," Healy said. "We're just a really fun recreational summer league. We're not like high school. We just want to get the kids in the water and have them get some exercise."

The league is open to swimmers of virtually any age. The age groups specifically include 8 and 9 year olds, 10 and 11 year olds, 12 and 13 year olds, and anyone over 14 years old. In fact, some of the parents still swim in the league, said Mary Wheeler, president of the parents association for the swim team.

Swimmer Chandler Mumper, 13, has been swimming for two years and agrees with his coach about the relaxing atmosphere.

"I like swimming because I enjoy making new friends," Chandler said. "Everybody is really nice too."

Wheeler said the league receives a tremendous amount of borough support.

"We have a really good working relationship with the community. They don't charge us to use the pool even though we practice for three hours every day and hold meets twice a week," Wheeler said. "The parents are incredibly supportive too. Our fans are the best. They always come out to all the meets. You don't have to make phone calls to them. They're there."

The Storm have four more meets left in the Liberty Swim League season, which lasts for a total of six weeks. Meets take place on Wednesday nights at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. Following the conclusion of the regular season, two additional meets will occur. The meet will involve the A champs, which will consist of the 12 fastest swimmers per age group per gender, and the B champs, which consists of the rest of the swimmers.

Healy said the number of kids in the league has doubled over the past five years, which she credits to renovations made to the pool and a changed attitude for the team.

"We really just made the league more fun for everybody," Healy said. "We just want the kids to have fun and learn through hard work and dedication. These are things that will help them later in life."

The team also has a number of special events, including a tie-dye party, a pancake day, and an end of the year pool party in which the kids race against the parents. The season concludes on July 30.