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EPICC Swim Stadium Provides Home to City's Competitive LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium The Pacific region’s Junior Olympics-Max swim championship drew almost 3,000 swimmers and spectators to EPICC’s LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium, a hub for competitive youth swimming in Southern California. It’s a fast pool because the gutters are big and it’s deep,” said 12-year-old swimmer Molly Jubas, representing the San Pedro & Peninsula YMCA team. The late-August meet offered the last long-course swims of the season to the City of Los Angeles (COLA) swim team, who won first place. These swim champions, who hosted the event, have established a home at EPICC, whose facilities they utilize for training as well as hosting meets. While Southern California’s official Junior Olympics were held a week earlier in Fullerton, California, local youth registered under USA Swimming were invited to the season finale in EPICC’s historic swim stadium. The three-day meet marked the second time EPICC has hosted a USA Swim event, according to Marcellus Baird, directing coach for the COLA team based at EPICC. "(Swimming) teaches you to believe in yourself and to try to do your best even if you didn’t get a good time or place,” said COLA teammate Jody Singleton, 12, of Mission Hills. The newly renovated EPICC pools are managed and operated by the Department of Recreation. EPICC is one of five “satellites” for COLA teams throughout Los Angeles County. The community center is home to 84 Cola teammates who like all USA Swimming members, age from 6 to 17. About 30 from the EPICC-based team qualified this year for the Southern California’s Junior Olympic championship in Fullerton. COLA recently won second place at Atlanta’s Chris Silva Swim Championship, a nationally recognized invitational for young minority swimmers. Due to their performance in Atlanta, the team invited to a meet at Washington D.C.’s Howard University, where college recruiters will be observing. “They are champion swimmers,” said COLA parent Joanne Jordan, serving as COLA’s head parent volunteer as well the EPICC Board of Directors’ only parent member. Most of them starting swimming around 8 and, after childhoods spent in devoted practice, several are inching close to Olympic-contending times, according to Jordan. “Over the past year, a lot of them have been setting their sights on national times,” said Beaird, who brought a record-breaking number of teammates to this season’s regional championships. Beaird’s goal is to send at least three swimmers to next year’s National Junior Olympics. Marketing Contact: Raquel Romero |
