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Fire on the Water at FUMA
Article courtesy of Jim Bocci, Head Swim Coach & Aquatics Director
In a locale painted with pristine pastures, soft flowing brooks and quaint villages a new buzz is swirling. Fork Union Military Academy has long been one of the leading college preparatory boarding schools in the United States. Renowned for its challenging academic environment and nationally recognized sports programs, FUMA has now taken on the role of a premier aquatics program in Central Virginia. Since opening the doors to its new state-of-the-art, $4 million dollar aquatics facility last year, Fork Union Swimming and Diving, Fork Union Aquatic Club (FUAC) and the various aquatic services offered to the community have taken off.
FUMA Blue Devils
For the second year in a row, the FUMA high school team finished as one of the top teams in the state, placing 15 swimmers and divers in finals at the Independent High School State Championship. The team was lead by a strong veteran squad including Charlottesville native Jason Abel (Sr. Team Captain), and Blake McAfee (Sr. Team Captain, VA Beach).
FUAC - Fork Union Aquatic Club
Also, this past August, FUMA established the Fork Union Aquatic Club (FUAC), a USA-Swimming club team opened to the community. Since its inception the team has more than tripled in size, making it the fastest growing USA-Swimming club team in Virginia. Being centrally located, FUAC primarily draws its membership from Fluvanna, Albemarle, Louisa and Goochland counties, but has athletes on the team from as far away as the Richmond area.
This year FUAC established itself as a swimming powerhouse within the region. In late February at the USA-Swimming Blue Ridge Region Championship (Lynchburg, VA) the team registered impressive results culminating in over 60 personal best times and numerous individual wins and top eight finishes. FUAC stand-outs from the meet included Sito Arroyo who dominated his age group while showing his versatility by winning two individual events (200 Yard Freestyle and 50 Yard Breaststroke), placing second in the 100 Yard Butterfly and third in the 100 Yard Freestyle. Earlier in the season he claimed four individual wins at the Gator Achiever Meet in December (Charlottesville), and a first and third place finish (50 Yard Breaststroke and 100 Yard Individual Medley) at the USA-Swimming Thanksgiving Invitational held at Virginia Tech. George Brumbaugh also registered a superior performance on his way to a first place finish and lifetime best in the 100 Yard freestyle, and second place finish in the 50 Yard Freestyle. Tommy Calhoun continued with his impressive season by having great swims in the 50 Yard Free and 100 Yard Breaststroke events, 4th place in each, while Jason Abel, Josh Brown, Ryan Hedges, Dillon Hatch, Jeremy Gencavage and Blake McAfee all had top eight finishes. On the girls' side, high school freshman, Michelle Caron, made finals in four events after coming off an extremely successful high school season in which she competed at the public high school state championship in February (UVA). Maria Arroyo also clocked three personal best times and anchored the point scoring 4X100 freestyle relay, breaking a team record. In all 25 FUAC swimmers qualified for and competed in the championship meet, including 14 athletes new to USA-Swimming.
FUMA and the Community
In keeping with its rich tradition of community involvement, FUMA has also established a learn-to-swim program for children, and has become an authorized provider for the American Red Cross. To support these programs the aquatic club has brought on Brett Balhoff, Head Age-Group Swim Coach and FUMA Assistant Coach. Brett brings with him 22 years of swimming experience. In addition to Coach Balhoff, FUAC hired Beth Eldridge, an expert water instructor of more then 20 years and teacher in the Fluvanna County School System, and Valerie Huff, an energetic and experienced instructor who specializes in novice skill development.
In addition to these services, the Aquatics Center has opened the pool to local organizations including the Lake Monticello Swim Team (LMST), a summer swim club available to Fluvanna County residents, and Fluvanna Area Swim Team (FAST), another local summer swim team supported by community involvement. Both community teams will use the pool this year to either run spring swim practices or host swim meets. Coach Bocci, FUMA Aquatics Director and Head Swimming and Diving Coach, pulls triple duty as the Head Coach of FUAC and LMST.
Besides the diverse community programs offered and supported by the Aquatics Center, FUMA also co-hosted the 2007 Jefferson District Swimming and Diving Championship and 2007 Public School Region II Swimming and Diving Championship. The Region II Championship was one of the largest high school competitions in the State, and represented some of the fastest high school meter swimming in the country this year (10 pool records were broken). Male standouts from the Region II Championship included two time champions N. Montes de Oca from Orange County High School (200 Meter Individual Medley and 100 Meter Backstroke), A. Mears from Potomac Falls High School (50 and 500 Meter Freestyle), and A. Morres from Brentsville District High School (200 Meter Freestyle and 100 Meter Breast). On the female side C. Tate from Potomac Falls High School, and K. Nicholson and C. Shelly from Western Albemarle High School took home double wins in the 200 and 500 Meter Freestyle, 50 and 100 Meter Freestyle, and 200 Meter IM and 100 Meter Breaststroke events respectively. In addition to hosting big time competitions, the Fluvanna County High School Swimming and Diving Team is slated to train at the Aquatics Facility during the 2007-08 season.
For More Information...
Moving forward the future is bright for FUMA Swimming and Diving, the Aquatics Program and Fork Union Aquatic Club. To find out more about the club team, swim lessons and the American Red Cross Lifeguard program, please contact Jim Bocci, Aquatics Director and Head Swim Coach, 434.842.4210 or email: boccij@fuma.org. Jump in and take the challenge!
Posted by Elizabeth Liles, Tuesday, March 13, 2007 02:07 PM
Athletics
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