March Newsletter: OLP Athletics

Swim & Dive
It feels a little hard to believe, but high school swim season is here! It is time for the team to jump in the water (feet first), and get this season started and on the way to the Academy of Our Lady of Peace Swim and Dive’s most successful and physically-distanced season yet!

The team was on deck at their new home pool, the Kroc Center, in February for some time trials and showing the pool staff the team’s infamous enthusiasm! For the question on everyone’s mind – no, we do not wear masks while we swim. Masks go in ziplock bags on the side of the pool as you enter the water and are put back on when you exit the water.

The team got their final roster all set and are looking forward to competing in meets soon. They have a great feeling about this season and this team. God is so good, and so are all of you.

Dance
When the Dance Team Nationals were canceled last March due to COVID-19, the OLP Dance Team mourned the abrupt end to an amazing season cut short like so many others. However, the Dance Team’s spirits were lifted in May with the incredible opportunity to participate in the Dance Team Virtual Nationals, a completely new concept to the sport. Thus, a whole new world of competitive dance was born.

Dance Team competitions have now found a new way to allow dancers to continue to do what they love with virtual competitions. As the season started this year, they began to prepare video recordings of their routines to be submitted to virtual competitions to be evaluated by judges. While the competition airs via Livestream, the team jumps on a Zoom and watches the competition and awards live together. In just their second virtual competition this year, they took home the title of Grand Champions! The amount of excitement that filled that Zoom room, with dancers & parents cheering in the background, was incredible.

The team then headed into their first in-person competition held by West Coast Elite Dance, which is also a completely new territory for the team this year with the changes in safety protocols due to COVID-19. Instead of a packed school gym with a roaring live audience, they performed at an outdoor athletic club in front of three judges with no audience, except for friends and family cheering them on virtually. Each school arrives for their own designated time slot, to assure no contact with any other school. Once they perform their routines, they leave the competition only to gather on Zoom again for the Livestreamed awards later that night. Masks are worn at all times, thorough sanitization occurs between each school, and the team performs in their Blue & Silver cohorts separately. Coming off of our big win in their virtual competition, the Dance Team took home 1st Runner-Up Grand Champions! With five more competitions to go, the Pilots are off to a great start this year.

When the 2020-2021 school year began, they weren’t quite sure what the season would look like, but they knew that whatever it did look like, they were never going to take the opportunity to perform together and do what they love for granted again. The team feels so blessed to be able to dance and share it with the OLP community. You can watch the OLP Dance Team perform live again on March 7 and March 13. Details will be in the weekly bulletins.

Golf
The golf season that no one was sure would even happen is finally here, and the Pilot golfers are so excited to get out on the course and compete. Both the Varsity and JV teams are full of talented players and we are looking forward to a very successful season. We kick the season off with two matches at Riverwalk Golf Club on Monday, February 22 versus Point Loma, and on Wednesday, February 24 versus University City.

Tennis
Tennis is back! While this has been a crazy time, so many OLP students came out this week to try out for the tennis team. It made us so happy to see all of our returning players and some new faces. Every student that tried out this week gave it their all, and we saw so much talent on the tennis courts. While this definitely will be a different season than the ones before, we can tell that it will still be full of energy! Final rosters will be out very soon, and practices will start right after that. We are ecstatic to start playing and to have a safe and fun season!

Cross Country
Cross Country participated in and won their first dual meet on Thursday versus San Diego High School. Congratulations go to all of our runners! Frosh Winter Moritz was interviewed about her first high school race. Winter was among the top finishers of the race.

Go Pilots!