PURSUIT OF HEALTH AND FITNESS (mainly for
health related benefits.)
— "I swim purely for fitness. Swimming is the only
activity I really enjoy, and I stick with it because it gives
me a better body and I look better in my clothes." (Female;
age 45).
— "I swim mostly for stress reduction. I am new to
Austin and recently lost my job. This is what keeps me sane, and
continues to give me an identity..." (Male).
— "At this point, I am mostly into longevity. I hope
I will accrue that as a consequence of my participation."
(Male; approx. 60 years of age).
— "… I have had cancer… I view my swimming
as part of a cleansing property… I feel like it keeps me
clean, from my blood, throughout my entire body… I envision
myself suspended in the water, without time, without my body,
just kind of purely there… it is like a re-birth for me…
and in those moments, I picture myself hanging there in the sun…with
it slanting all around me… I feel like an angel… and
I preserve those moments, like photographs… if I ever get
sick again, I will envision it… when other swimmers don't
look my way… I always wonder… What have they been through
today? What have they lost today? What are they celebrating in
this moment… or are they?" (Female; cancer survivor,
age 42.)
— "I am a recovering cocaine addict, though no one knows
that… this is a part a new beginning on a daily basis for
me…I think the water kinda washes away a lot of pain, and
old thinking…it is part of my own self-renewal…you aren't
going to use my name in this are you?" (female; age 40).
