BARRHEAD - Round one goes to the youngsters.
A relay team of four of the Barrhead Swim Club's senior swimmers defeated one of their coaches, Chad Thomsen, in the 100-metre individual medley relay race.
The race was part of a "fun swim meet" hosted by the club on Monday, Dec. 18.
Head coach Kylee Meunier said they typically hold a fun meet biannually.
"It is a chance to get the kids into the pool in a swim meet setting but in the comfort of our own pool," she said.
About 25 of the club's 35 members participated in the hour-and-a-half event swim meet in front of friends and family, competing in the 25 and 50-metre freestyle, 25 and 50-metre breast and back strokes, and several relays.
Unfortunately, Meunier noted their participation rate was down due to losing more than half a dozen swimmers to illness.
Although the kids were excited about competing in the fun meet, one event, in particular, had them buzzing.
The event was a handicapped grudge match against Barrhead Swim Club assistant coach Chad Thomsen.
Thomsen is a retired competitive swimmer who swam for the University of Hawaii and the University of South Dakota. He also competed for Canada at the international level. Thomsen also coached for the University of South Dakota after his competitive career.
Thomsen returned to Barrhead a few years ago and joined the club's coaching staff two years ago to help mentor his sons, who are both promising swimmers.
"The kids have been on him to do this for quite a while," Meunier said. "He is very nervous about taking on the kids. He hasn't been in the pool for some time but wanted to do something to help excite our kids."
To make things more difficult on himself and help level the playing field, Meunier said Thomsen would be the full 100-metre length while the senior swimmers would only swim 25 metres.
"So it will be a quarter of the distance for the swimmers so that it will be quite a challenge," she said.
Coaches and swim club alums joined the senior swimmers to fill out the relay teams due to the illnesses and the relatively few senior swimmers aged 12 to 16 to fill out the heat.
In the end, Thomsen gave himself too many obstacles and finished second to the quartet of senior swimmers who edged out their coach at the wall.
"The kids were really nervous going into it and are ecstatic," Meunier said, adding that when it comes time for the rematch, they may have to make it a more even competition.
