(Photo from Swim Out’s Facebook)
ORLANDO | Members of Central Florida’s LGBTQ swim club, Swim Out Orlando are in Palm Springs, California this week competing in the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics games.
The annual LGBTQ aquatic competition includes events in swimming, water polo, exhibition artistic swimming and The Pink Flamingo team performances.
“There are five of us going this year and we will be competing in a variety of events,” says Rob Curry, Swim Out member and the team captain for the IGLA competition, which ends its events April 10.
Swim Out began in 2019 and is a swimming and social club that is now 25 members strong. The club welcomes all swimmers 18 and over regardless of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race or ability.
“The only requirement is to have an interest in swimming,” Curry says. “Someone would have to be able to swim two lengths of the pool without stopping to really be comfortable with the workout we do but we really have all skill levels on the team.”
Swim Out is a member of U.S. Masters Swimming, a nationwide nonprofit organization for adult swimmers founded in 1970. The organization is open to anyone dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming. While they are an open and accepting group, Curry says it is good to have an LGBTQ-specific group as well.
“It’s that sense of comfort and community,” he says. “Many of our team members moved from other places and didn’t have a social circle here. Swim Out allowed us to come together with shared interests in a shared community.”
Swim Out meets for practice Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:45-9 p.m. at Cady Way Park in Winter Park and on Saturday mornings at National Training Center in Clermont from 10-11:15 a.m. Go to SwimOut.org to sign up.
