Portland Oregon newspaper 2003 archives



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		Opportunities abound for Mid-County swimmers

		Good things happen to those who venture in

		City plans zone changes and rules in Gateway

		Wired gets new owner, name

		City begins I-205 MAX planning

		Jordan “arrested” at Senn’s Dairy Park naming ceremony

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Swim clubs: Families benefit from time spent together (continued)

The David Douglas Swim Club also boasts a long history, coming into existence at the time of the pool construction in the early 1960’s. The pool is located on the High School campus at Southeast 130th Avenue and Taylor Court. Like Billings of Parkrose, DDSC Head Age Group Coach Jim Bowe began competitive swimming as a youth and views coaching as a natural progression. In fact, he so values coaching he daily travels between his teaching job in the Evergreen School District in Vancouver to his Portland coaching duties.

A family affair. Swimmers Yui (left) and Mizu (right) take time out for refreshments with their Mom, Michie Yamada at the East Metro Championship swim meet hosted by the Parkrose Swim Club in March.

David Douglas Swim Club members, (from top to bottom) Lily Donohue, Leigh Overton and Hilary Wilcox, all 12, encourage a teammate during a relay event at the East Metro meet.

Mid-county Memo photos by Tim Curran

Coach Bowe credits distribution of fliers to the elementary schools and recruitment through swim classes for the current membership of 102 swimmers. While anyone is eligible to join the club and there are currently a handful of out-of-district members, Bowe takes pride in the fact that they pull heavily from the David Douglas School District and says, “Swimming is the vehicle we use to steer kids toward responsibility and a healthy lifestyle.” Generally, swimmers are 18 years old and under. Their youngest member now is six, with the average ages being 12-14. To try-out, call the pool office at 503-261-8378 to make an appointment. Swimmers who can swim one lap using any stroke will make the team.

According to Bowe, he and the other coaches seek to train their swimmers to compete at the highest levels and because they are a grassroots organization, this translates into accomplished swimmers moving on to the David Douglas High School Swim Team. As a result, both the boys and girls teams won the Mt. Hood Conference District Meets this year. In fact, the girls have won their Conference title nine out of the last 10 years. The boys are Conference Champs for the second consecutive year. Additionally, the girls’ team placed second at the OSAA High School State Championships, counting among their number the State Champion in the 200 and 500 meter freestyle events.

DDSC will host their annual Sixtathalon Meet on May 17 and 18. This meet utilizes a unique format, in that each swimmer participates in six events with all times being added together. The twelve swimmers with the lowest combined times win awards.

Both club coaches encourage new members. For more information about the Parkrose Swim Club, contact John Billings at 503-252-7546 or 503-869-9141. For information about the David Douglas Swim Club, contact Dennis Baker or Jim Bowe at 503-261-8378.

If you are involved in a club or group that promotes family activities, the MEMO would like to hear about it. Contact Darlene Vinson via e-mail at editor@midcountymemo.com or at 503-287-8904.