On Monday morning, Woodland swimmers were not looking forward to what was supposed to be the hardest practice yet: 8,000 yards.
Rolling out of their beds, they soon arrived and found Coach Magas angry, staring at his phone.
Some of the swimmers thought Coach was angry about their loss against Naugy, but that was not the reason Magas was burning up.
The pool temperature had risen to 101 degrees, and steam was radiating off of it. But, no one was sure what was going on; all they knew was that this temperature was not suited for swimming.

The epidemic had originally started off with a freezing pool. Girls were neglected to jump in, but on Thursday they had noticed the start of the increasing temperature.
“We had to spend our rest time standing outside. It was warmer than usual,” said Angela Vallilo, senior swimmer.

The girls hadn’t been at their pool for four days, not thinking about the temperature that occurred on Thursday. Little did they know, Woodland’s pool turned into a giant jaccuzi. Coach Magas was waiting for answers and finally he got one.
“There was a faulty part in one of the boilers that made the boiler produce hot steam non- stop over the weekend,” said Magas.
While Magas was looking for solutions to his problem, some of the girls decided to take a dip in the giant Jacuzzi.
Though the pool provided a relaxing environment, the girls knew the water would be impossible to swim in.
“You feel sleepy, and you feel like you aren’t going anywhere. It makes you feel like you can’t breathe,” said freshman Katie Porter.

Even the divers, who like the warm water, stayed for the practice. They thought they would be able to survive.
“The farther you went down, the more it burnt your feet. We had to go outside after every dive so we wouldn’t pass out. It was bad,” said sophomore diver, Kim Thrasher.
In the official swimming rulebook, it states that a pool must be between 77 degrees and 82 degrees, which was something Woodland pool was not.
The girls needed somewhere to practice for their meets which included Seymour and the competitive Sacred Heart, that week.
Coach was calling every pool in the NVL but none of them were available, so the girls were sent home; some excited, some angry.
“I was disappointed we couldn’t practice. We already skipped Saturday practice,” stated junior swimmer Katie- Jean Hinckley.
The next day the pool was expected to decrease in temperature, but it actually increased to 102 degrees. The swim team, later in the day, received an announcement over the intercom that said. they were being dismissed at 1:45 to practice at Watertown High School, and they continued to practice at Watertown for the rest of the week while they hoped their pool would decrease in temperature.
But, unfortunately, the pool wasn’t cool enough for their home meet against the Hearts.
At 88 degrees, the swim teams meet was pushed from 4 to 6 at Watertown High School, which would become their home pool for the night.
Although Woodland defeated the Hearts, the girls were exhausted. “ We were tired from sitting on the buses for more than an hour all together every day and we didn’t have time to take showers at school which messed up our schedules,” said Thrasher.
Woodland was finally able to get back in their home pool on Saturday morning. It was not quite the right temperature, but it was acceptable for easy swimming.
The girls were able to finish off their long and tiring week with a game of water polo. Woodland Swimmers were able to participate in their home meet on Tuesday.