Barracudas ask ‘who is the masked swimmer?’
A CLEVER play on words in the TV show ‘The Masked Singer’ has seen hundreds of competitive swimmers trying to guess the ‘Masked Swimmer’.
Barracudas coach Sara Parfitt wanted to come up with a bit of half-term entertainment for the swimmers who did not have school work to keep them occupied in lockdown.
A closed Facebook group has been going for some years now and is normally used to post competition results and pictures, as well as to update swimmers on training sessions and events.
But Sara took inspiration from the ITV show and asked a couple of swimmers to send a photo of themselves in their cap, goggles and face mask for their team mates to try and guess who it is.
‘Depending on their level of training, these guys can spend anywhere between three and 12 hours in the pool together a week. I thought this would be a silly little bit of fun for them, but it’s really taken off,’ she said.
The group has about 270 members, made up of current swimmers, family members who like to be in the know about what the Barracudas are up to, and former swimmers for the club.
More than 80 masked swimmers were posted in the group during half term – and it became a great way to do something that all age groups could engage with, despite lockdown restrictions.
But as the students get ready to settle back into their remote schooling routines, Sara wanted them to concentrate on that.
‘Everyone has really engaged with the masked swimmer game, and I hope it lets them know that us coaches haven’t forgotten about them and we hope, for their own mental wellbeing, they’re keeping in touch with one another and having fun in the ways they can.’
