Diving right in | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

It was perfect swimming weather for the two dozen or so youngsters splashing in the pool at the Old Mill Swim Club in a tree-lined neighborhood in Millersville.

The members of the Old Mill Swim Team tore across the water to see how fast they could make it to the other side as coaches and parents cheered them on. The swimmers were preparing for one of their last meets of the summer.

They take their sport seriously, but it was clear from the laughs that pierced the air that team members also were enjoying themselves.

"I've learned how to loosen up here. I'm usually pretty uptight," joked Jake Butcher, 17, a six-year member of the team. "I feel comfortable here."

Every year, young swimmers like Mr. Butcher join neighborhood swim teams to keep in shape and have a little fun, too.

The Old Mill team began among members of the swim club in 1978 and has been thriving ever since, with 77 members ages 4 to 18 signed up this year.

The swim team at the Country Club Estates community pool in Glen Burnie is another neighborhood fixture, one that's been around since the 1960s.

Swimmers there were shocked and saddened Saturday after fire ripped through the pump room and destroyed all of the team's equipment.

The Country Club Cruisers were supposed to host a meet at the pool, but a team from neighboring Baltimore County stepped in and offered to host it for them.

The swimmers, 59 in all, are practicing at the pool in the Big Vanilla gym in Pasadena until the season wraps up at the end of the month.

"The community has really come togetherand offered help," said Dawn Norfolk, a volunteer whose four children swim on the team.

She's hopeful the team will still be around for years.

"The kids love their team," she said.

Members of other area teams express the same dedication.

Sally Bouchard, former Old Mill team representative, said there are members whose parents swam on the team 30 years ago.

One is Christopher Allen, another former representative who was on the original Old Mill swim team from 1978 through 1982. All four of his children have also swum on the team.

"Summer swim teams are unique in that you have a wide variety of ages, abilities and both boys and girls all mixed together to form a team. I can't think of another sport where you have that," Mr. Allen said. "Families become a big part of the team and the team a part of their lives. Vacations are even planned around meets for many families."

Now called the Old Mill Torpedos, the swimmers practice five days a week and compete in six meets from mid-June through the end of July. The team will host its division championships at the club Saturday.

But "our biggest emphasis is having fun," Ms. Bouchard said.

The team's Big Buddy program pairs young swimmers with more seasoned ones, which boosts the team's camaraderie, head coach and former swimmer Hilary Radolec said.

"They all cheer for each other," said the University of Maryland student, who oversees the practices with assistant coach Lauren Boelker.

She laughed that the team's teenage swimmers, however, sometimes need a little prodding to wake up for the 8 a.m. practices. Aside from perfecting their strokes and other techniques, "they learn how to get up early," Ms. Radolec said.

Being on the team is a good motivator, said Simone Gauthier, 17, who joined the team when she was in seventh grade.

"You try to get just a half second off your time in meets," she said.

Carolyn Meesuk, whose three children swim on the Glen Burnie Park team, said swim teams that grow out of neighborhood pools foster a sense of community.

"It gives us a place where we can all meet together, and parents will talk and support each other through different life happenings," Ms. Meesuk said. "Kids on the team are from 6 to 18 years old, so you see a lot of big kids and little kids working together, with the older kids teaching the younger ones new strokes."

Swim teams aren't just for children and teens, and not all swimmers are on neighborhood teams.

Chuck Eremchuk, 82, of Glen Burnie started swimming in 1936 and hasn't stopped since. In fact, he swims all year round.

"If I make it to 100, I expect to swim until I'm 100," said Mr. Eremchuk, a sprinter with Maryland Masters group, a swimming organization with teams across the country.

He swims for the same reason his younger counterparts do.

"I'm a competitive person, and swimming is competitive," he said.