ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150033
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
The world is coming to Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Olympiad. For those in the New River Valley who can't wait four months for the start of the Atlanta games, this weekend's state swimming competition in Radford could quench the Olympic thirst.
Radford will play host to the 1996 Virginia Shortcourse Age Group Junior Olympics swimming championships Friday-Sunday at Radford University's Dedmon Center pool. Daily preliminaries begin at 9:15 a.m., with Friday and Saturday's finals beginning at 6 p.m. and Sunday's finals at 5 p.m. Admission is free for all rounds.
The championships feature 547 of the state's top swimmers age 14 and under, from Virginia's United States Swimming club teams. This year's competition marks the first time Southwest Virginia has hosted the state championships, which normally take place in either Charlottesville, Norfolk or Richmond.
Junior Olympics organizers decided to move the meet to the New River Valley because of the proximity of the swimming facilities at the Dedmon Center and Virginia Tech's War Memorial Hall. Because of a smaller field than expected, the meet will be held solely at Radford.
Bill Beecher, aquatics and pool director for Radford University and coach of the Southwest Aquatic Team, said there is the possibility that fans could see the birth of the next great American swimmer at the Junior Olympics.
"Whitney Hedgepeth and Jeff Rouse both competed in the state Junior Olympic meets, and now each of them are going to be competing in at least their second Olympics," Beecher said. "Who knows, maybe people can see a future Olympian this weekend."
Competitors in this weekend's meet will not only be vying for the state title, but will also be trying to post times fast enough to qualify them for the Virginia Zone Team. The team will compete in New Jersey in April against other zone teams from the Northeast.
"The members of the team will be selected based on the times they have posted during the year," Beecher said. "Some of swimmers will be trying to post those times here at the Junior Olympics. The fastest two times per event qualify for the zone team."
Beecher said two area swimmers, both members of SWAT, Betsy Garratt (13-14 age group) and David Rhinesmith (11-12), have an excellent chance of qualifying for the zone team.
Beecher said SWAT will have 22 swimmers competing in the meet, with 17 of those competing in individual events.
"The competition this weekend is going to be very, very good," Beecher said. "There should be a lot of fast times because the qualifying times have been made tougher this year. Fans should see some really competitive swimming."
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB