Petersburg’s youth swimming team took their last laps of the season late last month. Their coach, Scott Burt, said they ended on a high note at the Alaska Swimming State Championship in Anchorage.
The Viking Swim Club sent 13 qualified swimmers to the state meet. Six Petersburg swimmers took state titles in 12 individual events. The Viking Swim Club also scored the highest ratio of points-per-swimmer for the entire state. Burt calls that a “remarkable accomplishment” for his team.
The team did really well there. I mean, that’s an understatement,” said Burt. “To be honest, they did incredibly well. Petersburg, is a fairly small community. As a team that went toe-to-toe with teams from large metropolitan centers: Juneau, Fairbanks, Anchorage… Words sometimes fail me in trying to describe how proud I am of these kids and the accomplishments that they have [made] this season.”
Participation was up this season as well, with about 60 kids on the Viking Swim Club roster. However, Burt said the team’s “secret to success” is multifaceted. He said at least one aspect of it is: tradition.
“There has been a tradition of a strong swimming program here,” said Burt. “When I came on board four years ago, I mean, it was already an incredibly strong program, swimmers and coaches and traditions with families that continue. A lot of our swimmers that are currently on the team now, their parents swam, or their grandparents swam. So there’s personal history and, and pride in that.”
Burt also thanks the club’s board members and volunteers for their tireless efforts to support the team. The Viking Swim Club’s next season will start in late August.
