PHOTOS BY MELISSA WRIGHT
like a pro
Have you been for a swim lately?
Whether you are floating weightless
in a pool or being energized by a few
laps, swimming is an activity that releases
endorphins, which in turn makes you happy
and boosts your immune system. Professional
swimmers are well aware of the health benefits
offered by their sport, as well as its penchant
for competition.
Swimming for recreation has been around
for thousands of years according to writings
and cave paintings, but competitive swimming
owes its popularity to 1830s England. When
the first indoor swimming pool, St George’s
Baths, became open to the public, the National
Swimming Society began holding competitions.
By 1869, swimming was introduced as an
Olympic sport in Athens and thus began a
long history of record-breaking performance
times and world rankings. Most swimmers
have their own ideas for shaving milliseconds
off their personal time, but learning technique
The Vidalia Swm Team
prepares for the future
by hosting a clinic with
Olympian Santiago Grassi.
is universal. In competitive swimming,
four major styles have emerged: Butterfly,
Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle.
When the newly updated Vidalia Aquatics
Center opened for its first season in 2018,
the Vidalia Swim Team (VST) was ready to
jump in. Established in the 1980s, VST has
swimmers from five to eighteen who compete
in GRPA and USS events. The program,
which is a division of the Vidalia Recreation
Department, has been volunteer-coached by
Rob Hilton for over 30 years. Rob and his wife
Karen have devoted many morning, nights and
weekends to building the swim program. While
Rob worked on training the older children,
Karen taught the younger ones and worked
behind the scenes making sure swimmers were
registered for meets and ensuring the annual
Vidalia Swim Meet was successful every year.
In 2000, Rob created the Vidalia High
School swim team to support one of his
daughters and her teammates. He has
100 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE