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STEVE STEIN STAFF WRITER

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PHOTOS BY BILL GEMMELL

Youngsters on the new Center swim
team got their feet wet at
demonstration meets.

Top: Alexander
Letvin hits the
water to begin
his backstroke
event.

Bottom right:
Wendi Schmidt
and timer Lori
Burkow offer
post-race
encouragement
to a JCC
swimmer.

meet that they tend to forget
what they've learned."
Because the meets were de-
signed as learning experi-
ences, no individual places or
team scores were kept. Swim-
mers received an event ribbon
for correctly swimming their
stroke, and a participation
ribbon if they were incorrect.
So, how did the JCC swim-
mers do in their first meets?
"They were terrific," Ms.
Schmidt said. "We'll compete
in our first 'real' meet in Jan-
uary, and I think the kids will
be ready.
"Sarah Schreiber did a
great job in the meet at the
JCC. I realize we weren't sup-

coached the JCC swimmers in the ab-
sence of Coach Dawn Hewitt, who had
a baby boy four days before the meet.
The 18 JCC swimmers who took
part in the meet, along with their
hometowns and their events, were:
• Loni Burkow (Farmington): 25
back.
• James Clancy (West Bloomfield):
200 free relay, 100 free, 100 breast, 50
fly, 50 free, 50 breast, 100 back.
• Meghan Clancy (West Bloomfield):
200 free relay, 50 breast, 50 fly, 50 free,
100 free, 100 breast, 100 back.
• Elizabeth Gordon (West Bloom-
field): 50 back, 50 fly, 50 breast, 50 free.
• Hillary Hayman (West Bloom-
field): 25 back, 25 breast, 25 fly, 25 free.
• David Kurzman (Farmington
Hills): 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free.
• Stacy Indig (Farmington
Hills): 25 fly, 25 back, 100 back,
25 free.

No individual
places or team
scores were kept.

t doesn't have a name yet, but the new
Maple/Drake Jewish Community
Center youth swimming team is off
the blocks and into the water.
The squad, made up of 33 young-
sters ages 6-14, participated in its first
home meet Dec. 18, hosting swimmers
from the neighboring Sports Club of
West Bloomfield. On Nov. 27, the two
teams swam at the Sports Club.
"Those were both demonstration
meets to give the kids an introduction
to what it's like to compete in a meet,"
said JCC aquatics director Wendi
Schmidt, who oversees the team.
"The most difficult thing for inex-
perienced young swimmers to do at a
meet is swim their stroke legally," she
said. "You can go over techniques 100
times in practice, but kids get so ex-
cited, pumped up and nervous at a

posed to keep track, but I know she
won all five of her events."
About 20 people, mostly JCC staff
and parents of JCC swimmers, worked
at the home meet, which lasted about
two hours.
JCC staff members Danielle and Di-
ana Brown were stroke judges and
Herb Bernstein, coach of the Detroit
Maccabi swim team, announced the
events and acted as the starter.
Assistant coach David Surath

• liana Lapides (Farmington
Hills): 50 back, 50 breast, 50 free.
• Andrea Lederman (West
Bloomfield): 50 back, 100 breast,
100 free, 200 free relay.
• Alexander Letvin (West
Bloomfield): 200 free relay, 50
back, 50 breast, 50 free.
• Amelia Letvin (Farming-
ton): 50 back, 50 breast, 50 free.
• Wesley Marks (West Bloom-
field): 200 free relay, 100 free, 50
back, 50 free, 50 breast.
• Lindsey Martinik (Farm-
ington): 50 free, 50 fly, 50 back,
200 free relay.
• Sara Megge (West Bloomfield): 50
free, 50 breast, 50 fly, 200 free relay.
• Erica Nedelman (West Bloom-
field): 25 fly, 25 breast, 25 back, 25 free.
• David Samlin (West Bloomfield):
25 back, 25 breast, 25 free.
• Sarah Schreiber (West Bloom-
field): 100 back, 100 breast, 100 free,
200 IM, 200 free relay.
• Stephanie Tower (West Bloom-
field): 25 fly, 25 back, 25 breast, 100
Di, 200 free relay.

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