A mile in their suits

POLSON —“The distance is exactly from here to there,” Matt Seeley said as he introduced the 1.1-mile swim course spanning from the KwaTaqNuk resort to Boettcher Park on Saturday, Aug. 3.

He was surrounded by dozens of men and women, wearing swim caps and wetsuits, eager to get into Flathead Lake and begin the annual Water Daze swim race.

The event, which encompasses both the 1.1-mile adult race and two shorter races for children, marked its eleventh year on Saturday. The anniversary was met with new local fervor and exciting new steps for Mission Valley Aquatics (MVA), the organization that spearheads the event.

 This was the first year MVA has held the event since the completion of the aquatic center on Polson Hill. MVA project director Tana Seeley said the pool’s existence had an impact on local turnout at Water Daze.

“We have a lot more locals here this year,” Seeley said. “Usually we get a lot of competitive swimmers who have traveled for the event. I think the pool has allowed a lot more local people to get comfortable with swimming and practising their strokes, which is good for the event.”

 However, the pre-race excitement was not exactly met with opportune swimming conditions. As the race began at 1 p.m., the wind began to pick up on the lake.

“It’s always a challenge,” said MVA Aquatic Director and first-place finisher Ali Bronsdon, “but I think it’s important that we have this chance to come out and enjoy the lake.”

Dan Novinski, a Nebraska native who was in Polson simply to enjoy the lake, joined Bronsdon as the first-place finisher on the men’s side.

Novinski was the first overall finisher with a time of 26:16. He was closely followed by second and third-place finishers Matt Seeley of Polson and Luke Johnson of Kalispell, who battled it out for respective times of 26:31 and 26:33.

 Bronsdon finished with a time of 29:47. She was followed in the female division by Michelle Botner of Whitefish with a time of 29:59 and Kyle Watson of Missoula who finished in 30:35.

 As the events came to a close, Tana Seeley shared her vision for the future of Water Daze.

 “For the past ten years this event has been about raising money for construction,” said  Seeley, “this year it’s different, because we’ve already built the pool. Now we’re finding the new vision, and I think it will have to do with raising money for the youth swim team.”

 Youth swim coach and first-time Water Daze competitor Mark Johnston added to Seeley’s prospects for the event.

“I think anytime you can involve the kids, it’s good, because it becomes exciting for communities. In the future, I would like to see more events added for kids as well as for adults. We could really make Flathead Lake a destination for open-water swimmers by adding longer  distance races,” Johnston commented.

Although the future of Water Daze is certainly expanding, the focus on the swim team will be constant. This year’s record number of local competitors and wide age span of 12 to 66 certainly shows that that goal is within reach.