When we moved to Oregon from Northern California 9 years
ago, we did not make it a priority to vacation in Oregon. Thanks to my daughter the swimmer and USA
Swimming we have had the pleasure of visiting many towns in Oregon. We have had quite the wild ride for the 2
years of 10& Under swim parents. As
my daughter has just recently aged up to 1the 1 year old competitions I have
had time to reminisce about our journey.
Oh the places you'll go....
Lake Oswego, Oregon.
The first USA Swimming sanctioned meet that our daughter participated in
was Lake Oswego an affluent suburb of Portland, Oregon. The meet was named Dan Perz Memorial
Open. Who was Dan Perz anyway and why
was this swim meet named after him? I
found an article written in The Oregonian by Amy Martinez Stark on February 17,
2003. "Dan Perz would not have
missed watching his kids swim at the state championships for anything. The Lake
Oswego Swim Club swimmers were improving their race times, but he didn't dare
get his hopes up. Another top club had won the title for most of the past 20
years. Perz, though, was hospitalized Feb. 7 and had to miss the weekend swim
meet in Springfield. Throughout Feb. 8 and 9, the head coach kept in constant
touch with him at the hospital. Then coaches and kids showed up with a huge
Tshirt from the meet for the big man -- 6-foot-5, 300 pounds and shaped like a
beer keg -- and told him his team had won the 10-and-younger state
championship. Perz beamed. And the next day, he was gone. Dan Perz died Feb. 10
at age 50 of unknown causes." Coach
Perz must have been special.
Beaverton, Oregon home to Nike. Our team hosts several meets in the very
familiar scenery at THPRD in Beaverton Oregon.
The Tualatin Hills Swim Club is fortunate to call this 50-meter pool
home in THPRD recreational complex. (Named for visionary Howard M. Terpenning
(the district's GM from 1959-1992), this complex includes a 50-meter pool, 15
tennis courts, five multipurpose fields for soccer, football and lacrosse, five
softball fields, two baseball fields, a roller hockey rink, two skate parks,
four outdoor and six indoor basketball courts, two covered play areas and a
10-acre natural area with walking trails.)
McMinnville, Oregon.
We Portlander's are lucky to live less than an hour from hundreds of
top-notch wineries in the Willamette Valley.
The next stop was Oregon's Willamette Valley - home to America's best
Pinot Noir. The Wine Country
Invitational in McMinville Oregon was in a beautiful setting. The small downtown within walking distance
had coffee and good eats.
Gresham, Oregon. We
were no strangers to Mt. Hood Community College. CYO swimming where our daughter first started
to really enjoy swimming held many meets at MHCC Aquatic Center. Mt. Hood Community College is a public
community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount
Hood. We often drive through Gresham and
by MHCC on the Mt. Hood Highway to get to Mt. Hood for skiing and
snowmobiling. The Aquatic Center
consists of an indoor natatorium which includes a 25yd. 6 lane competitive
pool, an instructional pool, and a hydrotherapy pool. The outdoor swimming pool
is an Olympic size 50 meter pool with depths ranging from 6ft to 17ft. Championship meets are often held here. This is a great meet for spectators. In the winter the outdoor pool is covered by
a tent and is very warm even during the freezing temperatures. In the summer this pool has seating for over
2,500 people with space for tents.
Newport, Oregon is lucky enough to have two
picturesque lighthouses, Yaquina Head and Yaquina Bay, which were historically
used to guide and warn ships at sea.
This meet was a lot of fun as the team had a bonfire by the beach,
roasted marshmallows and watched the sunset.
Portland, Oregon The Portland Aquatic Club hosted a great
meet at the Matt Dishman Community Center after it's recent upgrade. A fast 25 yard pool with new starting blocks
proved a great meet for the 10 & Under group. The PAC will be celebrating 30 years this
fall. It's always nice to attend a meet
in your own city.
Corvallis, Oregon is named one of the top 5 most beautiful
college towns in America - the home of the Beavers and Oregon State
University. Corvallis Aquatic Team
hosts a Spring Invite that we attended and is the home of Olympian Jacob
Pebley. Osborn Aquatic Center has four
pools, one is an Olympic 50 meter pool.
Springfield, Oregon is the home of the Oregon Ducks and
often hosts swimming championships meets in its 50 meter pool. Springfield is also known for Pre's Trail
that runs along McKenzie's river and named after Steve Prefontaine who was a
middle and long distance runner who competed in the 1972 Olympics.
Forest Grove, Oregon is a short drive for us. The Forest Grove Aquatic Center is next to
Pacific University and the Forest Grove Swim Club and Forest Grove High School
share the pool with the Pacific University Swim Team. The name Forest Grove refers to the grove of
Oak trees around and on Pacific University and has the world's tallest barber
pole.
Astoria, Oregon is on the Columbia River near the Pacific
Ocean. Named #5 best small towns to
visit by Smithsonian Magazine and is known for the movie "the
Goonies". Other films made in
Astoria include Short Circuit, the Black Stallion, Kindergarten Cop, Free
Willy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, the Ring and Into the Wild. I had a great time at the meet in Astoria and
also visiting the sights including: riding on the trolley, taking a leisure
walk on the riverwalk, eating at the seafood restaurants and enjoying the view
from our riverfront hotel room.
Canby, Oregon is 21 miles south of Portland and is known as
the garden spot and has the largest Dahlia fields in the United States. The meet was the first time that my daughter
had ever received swim swag for winning first.
She really enjoyed that meet for that reason, however the building that
houses the pool is small and the pool was not as spectator friendly as other
venues.
Bend, Oregon was a travel meet for the team. We lived in Bend for a year when my daughter
was one and the pool at the Juniper Community Center was where she first
started to swim a few times a week. They
have an outdoor 50 meter pool with a tent that kept everybody warm while the
snowflakes were falling outside. We were
able to snowmobile near Mt. Bachelor.
The Deschutes River and the Cascade Lakes areas are points of interest
in this area that has over 70 parks and 40 lakes and breathtaking mountain
ranges.
Federal Way, Washington was the first time that I had been
to the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center.
The facility seats 2,500 people and has been the site of the Olympic
Trials and top national and international competitions such as the Speedo
Junior Nationals, NCAA championships and
PAC-10 Conferences. Over 200 world
records have been set here. The
Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center was the first in the country to feature
horns under each starting block. The equipment ensures all swimmers hear the start
signal at the same time during competition. The water flow in the competition
pool is also unique. It enters from the pool floor, causing less interference
with swimmers’ speed. The Aquatic Center
is named after Weyerhaeuser because they donated the land that the center is
built on.
Victoria, Canada was a great end to the 10 & Under age
group and my daughter's first international meet. It is a beautiful city to visit and the pool
is amazing. The pool was originally
constructed for the 1993 Commonwealth Games and has a 50 meter competition
pool and a nice 4.5 meter deep dive tank. The construction of the building is
interesting as there is a red dome over the main pool area and makes for a
great view for backstrokers. This was
the first experience for my daughter swimming prelims in the morning and finals
in the afternoon.
