By Natalie Alcoba
The flu bug has an appetite for Ryerson swimmers.
Due to less than ideal pool conditions, various members of the swim team were sick for their first meet last month. Some of them still haven’t recovered.
Coach Victor Delac said the intensity of a swimmer’s schedule has a big impact on their health.
“Swimming isn’t like some sports like basketball where you can take small breaks to catch your breath,” he said. “It’s continuous and draining so it’s hard to recover.”
The bug hit during mid-terms, which is a bad time.
“You’re not getting as much sleep and not eating properly [during mid-terms],” said women’s captain Judy Ditner.
Ditner said her body has become used to being sick so it doesn’t affect her as much. She prefers not to take any days off unless absolutely necessary.
Clayton Reynolds, a second-year swimmer, said he never recovers from illnesses.
“I’m sick in September until December,” he said.
Dr. David Lowe, medical director at the Health Centre, said respiratory problems that affect swimmers seem to spread more in the winter.
“It’s cold and the windows are closed,” he said. “Air doesn’t circulate as well.”
Environmental conditions of the pool are important in a swimmer’s performance and Delac said it’s important to keep the temperature of the pool and the air around the pool the same.
“It’s hard to balance, especially in a closed room that is usually hot in the morning but cold in the evening,” he said. “In swimming you want the constant [temperatures].”
The swimmers say it would be ideal for the water to be colder and the air around the pool deck warmer, but now it’s the opposite.
However, they say those conditions would be too cold for the recreational swimmers who use the pool at the RAC.
The 17 swimmers practice Monday through Saturday and ,eet about every other week. Their next meet is Nov. 20 at the University of Toronto. Their season runs until the Ontario and Canadian Championships in February.
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