The summer season begins on Saturday for the Golden Belt Swim Squad with a meet at Kirkman Activity Center on the Barton Community College campus.
The meet begins at 9 a.m. with the eight-and-under and nine- and 10-year-olds divisions. The upper age divisions will begin after the morning session at around 12:30 p.m.
“We always host the first meet of the year,” Golden Belt head coach Steve Beaumont said. “I think it’s good for our kids. With the new swimmers, it is easier not to have to travel to the first meet. They are more comfortable in their own pool. It definitely benefits the team.”
Golden Belt has around 90 kids competing, according to Beaumont.
“We’re right around 90,” Beaumont said. “We’ve been around there for the last 10 years or so. I think 90 kids is about average for us.”
What separates this group from years past is the even mix of age groups.
“I think we’ll be competitive this year,” Beaumont said. “We returned a good number of kids from last summer. We have a good mix of experience on the team.
“We have more upper-aged kids, which will help us be more competitive in the afternoon divisions. We’re pretty well balanced this year.”
The meet will feature six teams — Golden Belt; Hays; Guymon, Okla.; Dumas, Texas; Liberal and Dodge City.