I was moved and subsequently intellectually curious upon reading Mr. Bolesh's recent Letter to the Editor in which he pointed out the lack of local sports coverage over the admirable feat of his son's Swim Team at CLP winning a Section X Championship.

So I did a little research.

I believe Mr. Bolesh when he stated in his letter that his was laughed at and told "gay" because swimming is not a boy’s sport. This is, of course, the North Country.

Here's some information I came across.

In part, "Competitive swimming, from the inception in 1896, has greatly evolved to the sport it is today. It includes four strokes which are; Front stroke, Back stroke, Breast stroke, and Butterfly. Swimming is one of the hardest sports in the world because of the mental and physical attributions. Muscle gains of swimmers differ from those of general competitors on dry land. Swimmers have a high respiratory capacity mainly related to elevated living volumes and enhanced pulmonary diffusion capacity compared with non-athletic peers from any other sport. This basically means swimming over any other sport, trains your lungs harder, stronger, and more often. Although most people have been swimming, some people know competitive swimming is much different than just taking a dip in a pool. Because of the mental and physical attributions, swimming is one of the hardest sports in the world."

Source: https://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/The-Challenges-Of-Swimming/204826

Coincidentally, I think that the same argument Bolesh is making about Competitive Swimming can be also be applied to boys in gymnastics. I played basketball and football back in the day, and would be hard-pressed to see the average Point-Guard or Quarterback be able to perform the iron cross.

Bolesh, congratulations to you and your son and the entire CLP Swim Team for their hard work and achievement.

Leland Farnsworth

Massena