Joint C-Falls, Whitefish swim team won't happen

A joint Columbia Falls-Whitefish high school swim team won’t happen this year. Organizer Courtney Babcock learned late last month that The Wave in Whitefish can’t accommodate the new team.

Apparently there were time conflicts with the Wave Ryders, a youth club swim team that already swims at the facility. Montana High School Association rules prohibit the high school team and the Wave Ryders from practicing together to save pool time, Babcock said.

Organizers will try to get a team going in 2013 if they can work out an agreement with The Wave, Babcock said. The team will have to start the process all over again and get the necessary school board approvals, she said.

Both school boards gave the idea the green light this spring, but the team needed to raise all its own funding, about $13,000. Neither school said it had money in their budget to fund another sports program.

Babcock said the team recently donated $250 back to the Columbia Falls school district to reimburse staff for all the work done to help the team get off the ground.