The Westford Academy Swim and Dive team will move their practices and meets this season from UMass Lowell to Westfit and The Beede Center after UMass Lowell drained their pool to save money after the pandemic. WA Swim and Dive will use Westfit for practices and use The Beede Center in Concord for home meets. 

WA Swim and Dive will have a shorter commute for practices, with Westfit being much closer to Westford Academy than UMass Lowell. This will result in practice ending earlier, as it will now last from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., allowing students to get home sooner to do homework and any other extracurricular activities. 

The team is also moving their Tuesday practices to Saturday’s to give team members the option to stay for extra help or participate in a club once a week. 

“The Beede Center for meets is also wonderful, as it is a brand new facility, but we only have access Saturday nights at 7 p.m. due to availability,” WA Girls’ Varsity Swim and Dive Coach Caitlin Klick-McHugh said. 

Westford Academy will be forced to constantly move its equipment between the two locations, due to not having just one home facility. This move also means that divers will have to practice separately from the swimmers, which can have an effect on team chemistry. 

“It is very hard to find a local pool that has a separate dive pool so that the team can practice concurrently,” Klick-McHugh said. “That being said, we will make up for it with team bonding outside of the pool.”

WA Swim and Dive will face many challenges throughout this season, but Klick-McHugh is confident that it will all work out.

“We feel so fortunate to have a season with in-person meets this year, so I know our swimmers and divers will make anything work!” Klick-McHugh said.