Rockport Masons, Lake Warden help out with practice course

Hodding Carter builds 50-meter swim course in Megunticook Lake

Tue, 08/26/2014 - 11:15am

    "Are you guys having fun yet?" Hodding Carter shouts from his kayak at his swimmers as they climb out of the water in Megunticook Lake. Usually on a Friday morning, the Penobscot Bay YMCA Sailfish swim team would be practicing in the heated, eight-lane 25-yard pool, but not on this sunny summer day. Over the past two months, the swim team has been training in a 50-meter, outdoor swim course Carter created as an alternative to spending the summer training indoors.

    Swim coach Carter stood at Barrett's Cove, where he created a course for the swim team to train in.

    "Everyone comes to Maine to be here in the summer, and practicing inside is the worst place to be in the summer," he said.

    Carter came up with the idea of building a 50-meter course in the lake not only to be outside, but also to provide his swimmers with a stronger training program.

    "Everyone just kept jumping aboard and helping out,” he said. “It's a little ridiculous we have kids who are dedicated to the sport and working hard year-round but they don't have the right length course to swim in."

    Carter explained how Maine is the only state in the country that does not have a 50-meter length swim course.

    "Making the outdoor course in the lake really has to do with the fact that Maine is the only state in the country that does not have a 50-meter Olympic-size pool," said Carter, 51, who has been involved with competitive swimming for 35 years, seven of which as a coach.

    "In the summer, people in other states train 50-meter long course, but we can't do that here. I kept wondering what could we do to make a 50-meter race course."

    As a young swimmer growing up in Mississippi, Carter said swimming was an outdoor sport, and he believes this is the best way to make it a year-round sport in Maine.

    "This brings swimming to where it should be. This makes our sport a more viable alternative to all of the other great outdoor activities Maine has to offer."

    Sailfish swim team members dive off the docks into the course.

    Carter contacted Steve Pixley, Camden’s harbor master, who provided him with the docks necessary to create walls for the pool. The YMCA gave Carter old lane lines, which he stretched out and added the 50-meter length.

    Pixley said he had four old docks, which he was willing to donate to the team. With the help of Keryn Annis, foreman for the highway department, Carter was able to get the docks moved to Barrett's Cove.

    "Annis and I are both masons at the Rockport Masonic Lodge, and it's always great to help the community become stronger and better," said Pixley. "This will benefit the community in the long run."

    Carter also reached out to Megunticook Lake warden Justin Twitchell and asked about the possibilities for setting up the pool. Twitchell contacted code enforcement officers to plan a location for the pool based on accessibility, lack of boat traffic, and parking. Carter and Twitchell together picked a location in Barrett's Cove.

    "I think it's great," said Twitchell. "Given it's general purpose, I think it will benefit everyone in the community."

    After attaching plywood walls to the sides of the docks, connecting lane lines donated by the YMCA, and adding 800 pounds of moorings, the pool was complete.

    "I am so proud of the town,” said Carter. “People in the community wanted to help out, and everyone worked together to make this happen."

    Carter emphasized the significant impact the outdoor training course will have on the team. As a competitive swimmer at Kenyon College, Carter was a Division III NCAA Champion in two relays, and runner-up in the 200-yard-freestyle event. He missed qualifying for the 1984 Olympic trials by .5 of a second.

    "This course opens up all kinds of chances and opportunities so we can actually produce more elite level, Olympic caliber swimmers. I believe that's how you start."

    Julian Abaldo, who swims for Carter, can attest to the improvements the pool has brought him.

    "It's fun to get outdoors instead of being in a building five days per week," said Abaldo. "It's not a real pool, so it kind of has a more relaxed vibe to it."

    Abaldo, 15, has had significant success competing in the pool. Most notably, this past March he broke the Maine State 13-14 age group record in the 100-yard and 200-yard Freestyle events. He also broke the YMCA 13-14-year old Men's New England Record in the 200-yard Freestyle.

    This summer, after training for five weeks, one of which was in the outdoor swim course, Abaldo qualified for the YMCA Long Course Summer National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana while competing at the Maine Swimming International Invitational meet, held in St. John, New Brunswick.

    Although swimming for a short time in the course, Carter believes it has helped his swimmers improve more rapidly.

    "I truly believe that would not have happened [for Abaldo] without this pool, not that he had a lot of time in it, but it was just enough to get used to it and allowed him to realize he could do it," said Carter.

    Teresa Curtis, whose daughters Gail, 10, and Greta, 12, are on the swim team, praised Carter and described the effect the outdoor training has had on her children.

    "It's been a wonderful experience for them, and he is definitely dedicated to the sport,” she said. “It's easy going yet competitive, which is what makes it fun."

    Carter stressed the importance of having a 50-meter pool built in Maine someday.

    "This is a great beginning. Until that happens we will continue to use this as a place to train in the summer time."