Yuma Heat Swim Club aims for long course pools to better future of local swimming

The local swim club calls for community support in aiding Olympic size pools for athletes

YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - The Yuma Heat Swim Club is coming off of a monumental trip to the big sectionals meet in Texas back in late March - where a record number of swimmers qualified.

That moment alone acted as a reminder of how much swimming talent there is in the area.

Yet there's something crucial missing in the training: long-course swimming pools.

Despite competitive swimming surviving the entire year, this portion of the summer accounts for long course season - and for all Yuma swimmers, there are no pools of that distance anywhere to train in.

The measured distance for an Olympic-size long course swimming pool sits at 50 meters, which equals 54.68 yards - but in Yuma, there are only 25 yard short-course pool which is less than half the distance of the pools they travel to to compete in.

This of course, making it hard for coach Myriah Vanbuskirk and the Yuma Heat program to provide the best possible results.

“They go into these competitions and it’s a whole different atmosphere, let alone ‘okay now I have to swim this pool that I don’t even train in," said VanBuskirk. "Aerobically they just can’t compete. And unfortunately, we can’t simulate that in a 25 yard pool. I wish we could, but we can’t.”

This is not a new topic for any of the swim clubs in Yuma either. In fact, it was brought to the attention of the City of Yuma several years ago to no avail.

“Back in 2020 we had a long course proposal that was brought up by the board of Yuma Heat - and that went through City Council and it got denied due to pricing and budget," said City of Yuma Pool Manager and Yuma Heat coach, Ryan Carroll.

But in order for the Heat to fulfill their wishes, they look to the community and the City Council once again for assistance.

"It takes the community," added Carroll. "We would have to have outside proposals and figure out if there’s enough budget for it whether it be one, what they’re doing right now trying to rebuild a pool, or make a brand new pool.”

For young stars like Ella Hauck, this lack of proper training quota can be a little frustrating given the fact that she and the rest of her teammates and other Yuma swimmers have to work twice as hard to equal the opportunities afforded to the teams they compete against.

“We're not at the level the other competitors are at because they are training long course every day," said Hauck. "Plus, having to travel three hours to Phoenix every single time we want to swim long-course, it’s kind of hard because we’re not as prepared as the other teams, which puts us at a disadvantage.”

And this is coming from a young athlete who has crushed competition so far this summer. Hauck has scorched her way to two sectional cuts, on top of three first place finishes in three separate events. Just last weekend, she took home the top overall spot in the 200 meter backstroke for the 13-14 age group, while also setting a new team record.

But no matter the accolades or great training days in the pool, Hauck and the rest of her fellow swimmers are held back by not getting the proper training to keep up.

Not to mention the extra travel and extra expenses put on the program and families just to swim competitively.

“The biggest challenge is just having to travel to all these out of town meets," said VanBuskirk. "They spend an average per family of $800 to $1,000 just going to one meet and if you have two meets, you’re looking at close to $2,000 a month."

The Yuma Heat and others working with twice the length of their own pool - and twice the dedication and hard work needed to flourish.

"We work really hard here and we don't have as much as the bigger teams so we have to work so much harder," added Hauck. "I think just having that extra boos would be amazing."

So for now, all they can do is hope and wait - looking forward to a better future in the pool.

“This isn’t something we need to take lightly, it’s something that we need to do as a team and we need everybody’s help in doing it," said VanBuskirk. "Hopefully the City and Yuma, we can get together and figure out how we can better provide for our swimmers and our families here in Yuma.”