Silliness is serious tradition for seniors taking final River Parish swim lap
Published 12:02 am Wednesday, July 13, 2016
- The River Parish Swim League’s senior swimmers showed their creativity during their Senior Swim Out Sunday at Hill Heights Country Club in Destrehan. Pictured, from left, Emily Rigby rides a flip flop; Patrick Dupuy was carried in a canoe; Brianne Perry rode a white swan; Reagan Pfister floated with balloons; Cody Shafer brought a friend; Jeanne Roussel, Will East, Paige Williams and Madeline Murphy floated on a pair of snakes; Hanna Ditcharo brought an Orca; Daniel Jaubert (obscured) rode a big yellow duck; Elizabeth Gilmore swam with a pink swan; Adelyne Labat and Hannah Landry were mermaids; Taylor Wester snorkeled and Jadob Palmature floated on a surf board. (Lori Lyons/L’OBSERVATEUR)
DESTREHAN — The annual River Parish Swim League Invitational Meet ended with inflatables.
There was a big yellow duck, a black whale, a pink swan, a white swan and some snakes.
Then a pair of lovely mermaids arrived on a seashell covered wagon.
Even they were no match for the “Big Kahuna” though, who had his buddies carry him in his green canoe to the pool, with a couple of young ladies fanning him with palm fronds along the way.
The senior swimmers are serious about their silliness.
The senior members of the Larayo Barracuda’s Swim Team, Jeanne Roussel, left, Paige Williams, Will East and Madeline Murphy, took their final swim lap as a team Sunday, using a pair of giant inflatable snakes to float across the pool.
It is the tradition for those swimmers who have reached the age of 18, which means they are aging out of the league, to do something special for their final lap of the season-ending Invitational Meet. This year’s event was held throughout the weekend at Hill Heights Country Club in Destrehan.
While swimmers of all ages from Hill Heights, Sun Villa, Ellington, Larayo and Riverlands were competing against each other for three days, the seniors were planning their exits.
The four Barracuda kids from Larayo went out as a team, with Jeanne Roussel, Will East, Paige Williams and Madeline Murphy using a giant pair of inflatable snakes to float across the pool.
The Riverlands swimmers flew solo — Natalie St. Martin on a homemade stingray, Jacob Palmature on a surfboard and Daniel Jaubert on a giant yellow duck.
“My mom told me I had to do something,” said Jaubert, a 12-year veteran swimmer and a 2016 graduate of St. Charles Catholic. “I just started thinking about it the last couple of weeks. It’s been going on for a long time. I’ve been seeing it since I was a little kid.”
It’s a bittersweet moment for those swimmers (and their parents), who are highlighted in the meet program with all of their accomplishments and future plans. Each one also is presented with a ceremonial towel.
“I’m a little sad,” said Jaubert, who will attend LSU in the fall to pursue a degree in accounting. “I’m definitely going to miss it.”
Jaubert and the others can always come back to swim in the annual alumni relay race, another highlight of the event. A total of seven teams competed Sunday, all made up of former swimmers from the league.
Yes, there was wagering.
Fans were encouraged to pay a dollar to bet on a team, then a winning ticket is drawn from the winning team’s pot.
The “All in the Family” team even had a ringer — former Destrehan High and LSU swimmer Kevin Braud, who swam in two Olympic trials.
Alas, it was some lucky fan of the Sun Villa team “Shrimp Fried Rice” who went home $42 richer.
