Northview, Southview tickled pink at swim meet

The Northview swimming pool was dyed for the Pink-Out in the Pool event on Tuesday.

Northview High School students were able to scratch one item off of their bucket list Tuesday night: Dying the pool pink.

For the first time, the school hosted a Pink-Out in the Pool for the Southview versus Northview varsity swim meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

PHOTO GALLERY: Pink-Out in the pool

The idea came from a homeroom bucket list, where the students set goals for the school to achieve in the next year, Northview principal Steve Swaggerty said.

At 4:40 p.m., Mr. Swaggerty, Northview athletic director Chris Irwin, and Southview High School athletic director Susie Felver poured in coloring into the Northview pool.

Soon, the pool swirled with candy-colored pink clouds and the teammates placed pink caps on their heads for the event that raised funds and awareness for the Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio, a breast cancer awareness program.

Northview senior Evan Sample, 18, already had a taste of swimming laps in colored waters.

“We had a test run a couple of days ago, and dyed it purple,” he said. “It was really cool to swim in and it’s fun cause you can’t really see anything. It’s easier with the back stroke. But the coloring makes the water dense, so it was good for training.”

Alex Wainstein, 17, a Southview senior, was pleased to be a part of a first-time experience that was for a good cause, because “a lot of people have passed away from cancer.”

Of the $5 entry fee for students and $6 for adults, $1 will go to the Komen organization, as well as funds raised from people putting money into a donation jar. The Mark S. Feldstein Foundation has pledged to match the donations, Mr. Swaggerty said.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.