IN Pine-Richland Spring 2019 | Page 41

P ine-Richland Aquatics, Inc. was founded in 1994, and the group’s first season began in September that year. At the time, Pine-Richland School District had just completed a brand-new high school campus with many athletic sports venues. The organization was started by a group of parents who had kids swimming at neighboring swim clubs. “They wanted to swim for Pine- Richland as a varsity team,” says Pete Barry, the group’s head coach. “Prior to the pool being built, Pine-Richland students trained with other year-round teams, but had to swim at the high school level as independent athletes.” As part of Pine-Richland’s new high school building, a six-lane, 25-yard pool was installed for gym classes, varsity competition and community programming. In order to support swimming as a varsity sport, parents organized a nonprofit 501(c)(3) swim club now known as Pine-Richland Aquatics, Inc. “Its focus was competitive swimming—year-round,” says Barry. The organization is structured as a nonprofit, coach-directed, board- supported team, and is a community- based aquatics organization not affiliated with Pine-Richland School District. Pine- Richland Aquatics, Inc. rents the PRSD swimming pool and uses it as the primary base of operations. The organization’s board consists of five volunteer members with several committee chairs. The club’s mission is to offer and support programs that allow all its swimmers to strive to be the best athletes they can be in the sport of competitive swimming. “The team started out with five board members, two coaches and 32 swimmers,” says Barry. “Today, Pine-Richland Aquatics, Inc. has 200 swimmers, over 300 swim lesson and pre-team members annually. We have a staff of seven coaches and 15 learn-to-swim instructors.” Pine-Richland Aquatics’ coaching staff has more than 100 years of combined experience. Several staff members sit on the board of directors for the local governing swimming body, Allegheny Mountain Swimming, Inc., which is in charge of competitive age group swimming for the western half of Pennsylvania. The organization offers programs for kids age 5 through college age, including learn-to-swim, pre-competitive swim instruction, a competitive team and Red Cross certifications for an aquatic environment. “Our swimmers have gone on to many D1, D2 and D3 programs,” says Barry. “We have had swimmers reach the podium as high up as senior nationals.” Throughout the year, Pine-Richland Aquatics, Inc. participates in many events to give back to the community and help out local nonprofits. “Our biggest is the Project Bundle-Up relay swim, and we’ve been committed to raising money for the local charity for some time now,” says Barry. “The relay swim is held each November, and we present a check to the organization during their TV telethon.” Pine-Richland Aquatics’ athletes have also organized several food drives for North Hills Community Outreach during locally hosted swim meets. Pine-Richland Aquatics, Inc. consistently ranks in the top 500 USA Swim teams in the country, according to USA Swimming Virtual Club Championships. The organization has open enrollment for the competitive team and periodic registration for all other programs. For more information, visit praswim.org or Pine-Richland Aquatics on Facebook. n PINE-RICHLAND ❘ SPRING 2019 39