Coach Ends Long Tenure in Swim League

This year's Fairfield County Swimming League championships weren't much different for Gael Carter than the previous 16 in which she took part. The only difference was that when the Weston Field Club coach boarded the plane for Florida this time, she wasn't coming back.

The 22-year-old, who swam for the Wilton-based Lake Club since she was 6, is the granddaughter of one of the league's most influential organizers, Hope Carter of New Canaan.

When Gael aged out of the league, the former Holy Cross swimmer took over as coach of the Weston Field Club team. The squad had one of its best seasons ever this year under Carter, including two victories by Charlie Palsho in Saturday's season-ending meet at Roxbury Swim Club.

After every season, Carter would return to her parents' home in Florida. "There would be times when we would skip the first week of school so we could swim in the counties,'' Carter said. "Other times we'd pick up our ribbons and then go right to the airport. We'd be in Connecticut one day and in school the next."

Finished with college and eager to start a career, Carter bid farewell to the league for the final time after Saturday's races. She is one of the last generation of Carters to be affiliated with the league. Her grandmother ran the league championship meet for many years, and her sister, Kate, still holds the record in the 10-and-under butterfly. Her cousins–Ben, Freddie and James Tamarkian–are still members of the Lake Club team.

"The county championships will always be a part of me,'' said Gael, who lived with her grandmother in New Canaan each summer. "I remember in the days before computers she would put together the heat sheets all night. She even went to the county meet when two of her daughters were getting married. She was very devoted to the league."

Gael maintained her dedication to the league by coming back to coach. She has contributed to the progress of the Weston team, which had 11 swimmers in 15 races in Saturday's meet. Her first year, she had just three swimmers qualify. Weston is one of the smallest teams in the league, especially compared to the larger programs in Greenwich and Stamford.

"It's been a lot of fun,'' Carter said. "I really enjoyed the atmosphere. It's fun to watch the progress some of these swimmers have made. I've had some of them since they were 8, 9 and 10 years old, and now they're teenagers."

In April, Carter was named most improved swimmer at Holy Cross, where she broke three school records and missed a fourth by three one-hundreths of a second. She also swam on four relay teams. She turns the Weston Field Club swimming program over to Brian Power of Southport, her assistant this year and also a swimmer at Holy Cross. He was the MVP on the men's team last year. Carter will return to Tampa and look back with fondness at her long association with the Lake Club and the FCSL.

"It's overwhelming,'' she said. "I hope to come back some day. I'll definitely be watching. I'm going to miss the kids. They're a great team and a lot of fun to be around."

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