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The Dana Hills Swim Team -
The Otters
The Dana Hills Swim Team is a
recreational and competitive swim program designed to provide
swimmers of all levels with the opportunity to learn stroke
technique under the age group format and to apply what they have
learned in competitive situations.
The team’s goal is to
develop and maintain a high quality swim program with an emphasis
on building self esteem, camaraderie, good sportsmanship, and team
spirit. The team includes swimmers from ages four to 18 years,
teaching the physical and mental skills necessary to participate
and compete as a member of a recreational swim team. At the same
time, the team strives to provide a fun, social environment where
children and their parents can enjoy the sport of swimming on a
competitive level, and where families can interact to promote a
sense of community that will endure beyond the swim season.
The Dana Hills Swim Team was
formed in 1977 as the "Aquaducks." This inaugural swim team
consisted of only 50 or so swimmers and practiced in a four-lane,
17-yard pool. Despite the limitations this facility put on
training and the lack of home meets, the team grew, and the
swimmers’ performances improved. Over the past
thirty-two years, the Dana Hills Swim Team has grown to become the
premier recreational swim team in the Clayton / Concord
community.
During the 1986 season, the team
sought a name change to convey a more competitive spirit. The
new nickname was put up to a vote by the swimmers to replace
"Aquaducks." The initial vote ended in a dead heat with
"Otters" tying with "Sea Slugs" as the new nickname. Head
coach Chuck Edmonston had to lobby parents to have their children
vote for Otters in the runoff, as the majority of the older age
group swimmers wanted Sea Slugs. Luckily, Otters prevailed in
the runoff.
By 1989, the team’s roster
had swelled to over 100 swimmers, but because of the pool’s
small size, DHST could not host any home meets. At the end of
the 1989 season, a decision was made to build a new pool for the
1990 season. Under the leadership of Co-presidents Matt
Mazzei and Steve Sutton, board members Keith Stothers, Ray Vignola
and Nancy Scott, many DHST families and Dana Hills Homeowners
contributed to make this dream come true. The team opened its
1990 season in a fabulous new 25-yard, 8-lane pool complete with
coaches’ office and snack shack. This large pool in a
gorgeous setting in the shadows of Mt. Diablo immediately
transformed Dana Hills into one of the finest private swimming
facilities in the county.
One of the most exciting meets the
team participates in every year is the Concord City Swim Meet, held
in early August each year. Parents and swimmers alike look
forward to this three-day meet every year due to the competitive
nature of the meet and the fun of swimming against friends from
other teams in the area. In 1985, DHST was invited by the
City of Concord to participate in their City Swim Meet for the
first time. With 54 swimmers competing, the team finished in
third place in the 1985 meet. In 1989 the Otter swimmers,
coaches, and parents were honored at City Meet with the annual
Sportsmanship Award. In 1990, the Otters celebrated their
first City Meet championship by winning the City Meet B
Division.
With the addition of the new swim
facility at Dana Hills in 1990, the team quickly grew and, by 1993,
boasted a roster of 250 swimmers. That growth helped lead to
further successes at City Meet, with the team winning the A
Division for the first time in 1992, and capturing 10 A Division
championships in the next 11 years. During that same period,
the team captured five additional B Division titles, giving the
team a total of 17 City Meet Championships in the 15 years from
1990 through 2004!
In 1996, DHST was invited to join
the highly-competitive Contra Costa Swim League (CCSL) along with
traditional powers Walnut Creek Swim Club, LMYA and Pleasant Hill
Dolfins. The East County Stingrays joined in 2002, further
strengthening the competition. In addition to swimming dual
meets against each of these teams during the year, the CCSL holds a
league meet the week before the Concord City Meet each year.
All five league teams participate in this two-day meet, with the
swimmers allowed to swim all five strokes. This is a great
opportunity for swimmers to swim and achieve personal best times in
their “off strokes” which they do not have the
opportunity to swim during dual meets.
The biggest meet of the year is
the Contra Costa County Swim Meet, held in mid-August, the week
after the Concord City Swim Meet. Swimmers who achieve county
qualifying times in any of the 5 swim events are invited to this
meet to compete against the best swimmers in the County. DHST
sends many swimmers to this meet every year, both individually and
in relays. The team’s best showings were winning the
Contra Costa County Division II championship in 1998 and 1999, and
placing second in Division I in 1995.
The team’s main fundraiser
every year is the Devil Mountain Pentathlon. Started in 1995
by Mike and Toni Biel, the Pentathlon continues to be a huge
success for the team. Held in mid-July, more than 500
swimmers trek from all over the county to compete with Dana Hills
swimmers to see who can achieve the best overall time in the five
swim strokes.
The DHST board,
led by presidents Matt Mazzei (1990-1997), Cecilia Zefeldt and Judy
Pousard (1998), Jim Zewan (1999), Carolyn Langford (1999-2000),
Doug Dwyre (2001-2002), Alice Murray (2003), Jim Boessenecker
(2004-2005), and Rob Schussman (2006-2007), along with a group of
tireless and talented coaches have provided the leadership and
impetus for the team’s success – a run that we look
forward to extending into the future.
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