Merging rival high school programs?… Today marked what could be the last dual meet between Maine rivals Waterville and Winslow High Schools, but not the last meet featuring both squads. How? A recent school board meeting floated the idea of merging the two programs into one single team for next season. CentralMaine.com quotes both coaches (Bob Johnston at Waterville and Matt Reed at Winslow) as coming out in favor of a merger. Enrollment at both schools is dropping, as is the number of students joining the swim teams – Waterville has just 7 boys on its team this year, according to the CentralMaine.com piece.
Unnecessary pool demolition?… A swimming pool in the English city of Pitsea was demolished to make room for a supermarket in the large Morrisons chain. But now, Morrisons has backed out of its deal well after the pool was demolished, and local councillors aren’t happy, per the Echo News. Echo-News.co.uk reports that 5000 local residents signed a petition in 2012 seeking to save the pool from demolition, but Morrisons’ involvement kept the demolition moving forward. Now, though, the supermarket chain won’t be taking the space. “We could have built a store three-quarters of the size and kept Pitsea swimming pool,” said local councillor Gavin Callaghan. “People in Pitsea have made enormous sacrifices for Morrisons and now we don’t have Morrisons.”
James Guy ready for repeat clash with idol Lochte… Before James Guy won the 2015 World Championships gold medal for Great Britain, he had a brief moment of fandom while noticing that his longtime swimming idol Ryan Lochte was in a lane next to him. The 20-year-old Guy told The Telegraph about his experience, also throwing out Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe as heroes of his. With Lochte still competing past the age of 30, it’s becoming more and more often for the American superstar to be competing against swimmers who watched his early-career exploits on television sets. For his part, Guy is looking forward to Rio – especially if it means another matchup with Lochte.