After a strong start to the season, the girls swim team is rounding the corner and about to embark on the final leg of their season’s journey- the taper.

The taper consists of three parts: the first is to eat healthy, the second is to ban physical activity outside of swimming, and the third is to get mentally prepared for the meet. “We do [taper] so that we swim faster at sections because our muscles will have the time to recover and our bodies will be healthier after eating healthier,” senior captain Joelle Destache said.

“Tapering makes a huge difference in sections because in the regular season meets we are usually sore and tired from our hard workouts, but tapering allows us to rest up so we are in peak shape for sections,” freshman Cait Gibbons said.

“We decrease the workload,”  assistant swim coach Anna Voltmer said. “We still practice everyday, the frequency that we do stuff is still the same, and the intensity is still the same, but we’re just practicing less yardage.”

“[Taper] helps them not only from a physical standpoint when they feel more energized but also from a mental standpoint because they feel like they’re recovered and ready to go and it helps overall with their performances, Voltmer said. “We’ve seen some really good swims from it.”

This year, the Varsity taper will begin on Oct. 27 and end when sections occur in mid-November.  “For the most part, taper is actually easier than the regular season, but it’s difficult because we have to be more careful about everything we do,” Gibbons said.

Tapering is not exclusive to swimming; it is a traditional practice in many long endurance sports just before a big race occurs. Within swimming, the length of tapering depends on what type of swimmer one is. “I taper for about 2-2 1/2 weeks and I am a distance swimmer,” Gibbons said. “I taper for longer than a [sprinter swimmer], who would only taper for about 1-1 1/2 weeks.

The team has high hopes for their postseason results. “We have such a great team this year,” Destache said. “We’re doing better than we ever have and I believe sections is going to be great this year. I think more people are going to make it to finals and possibly even state.”

Conference swimming began on Oct. 15, culminating with Section Finals through Nov 9.  State competition is held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center Nov. 15-17.