Where the waves are big and the sun is bright. The Drury swimming and diving team will be heading to Honolulu, Hawaii, for some intense training and a little bit of fun.

“This trip is a great way to bond with the team and get some great training done,” Reynolds remarks. “The whole environment is great for training. The swimmers and divers are able to train hard and enjoy themselves all at the same time.”

Starting back in the early 1980s, Drury swimmers and divers began to bring training to a different level. “We have been going on training trips at least a dozen times,” Head Coach Brian Reynolds says. One of their very first training trips was in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. There they stayed at a swim team member’s home and trained in a nearby pool. Since then the team has trained in places like Orlando, Florida, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

While in Hawaii, the swimmers and divers will begin their intense training. They will begin in the morning with a two-hour hard swim which involves laps after laps of swimming. Then they will break for lunch; immediately after lunch they are right back in the water. This time the water is at the beach, where the swimmers and divers are able to relax and ride some waves at the same time. Then right after that its back to the training. They will train for two more hours and then they are done for the day. Then their strenuous workout starts all over the next day. Their training will consist of 14 days in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The training is very intense and the teams are prepared for the obstacles they will have to over come. “Hawaii is a huge contributor for our success at nationals,” says Topher Rowenhorst, the men’s team captain. It is the biggest team building thing that we do all year. It really helps our team to come together as one unit.”

Even though the training trip is meant to be intense and to get everyone ready for nationals, there is some time for sightseeing. Some will see the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Some head out to the North Shore, where waves have reached more than 25 feet. Some just hang out and do some shopping downtown.

“I think that the training program not only gets us in tip-top shape, but it brings us all together as a team,” states Mary Beth Owen, captain of the women’s team. “We get sore and tired together and this creates a great bond that last for the rest of the season until our National Meet. I think the rigorous workouts prepare us for the national meet, where we have to have our best performances over and over for four days of the competition!”

This will be Owen’s fourth trip she is excited to head on back to Hawaii.

“My favorite part of the trip is of course, going to the beach and getting beat into the sand by the waves!” Owen says, enthusiastically. “There is nothing better than going straight from morning practice, to the beach, and then back to practice for another session! I also enjoy the one day we get off where we get to sleep in!!!” Owen said. “My freshman year we went to Florida where it ended up being very cold and rainy. Ever since then, we have gone to Hawaii and had perfect weather.”

The trip will begin January 1, 2005, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Drury swimming and diving Panthers will ring in the New Year with a swim meet on January 1 and 2. The Panthers will go against teams such as the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Hawaii.