Cara Dominici ’27

While studying abroad in Madrid, I was awarded an Intercultural Enrichment Stipend that made it possible to compete at a national swimming championship in Valencia, Spain. I met extraordinary friends, and was able to learn so much more about myself and the sport of swimming when put into different cultural contexts.

Spanish National Championship Competition

While studying abroad, I trained with a local swim team in Madrid named Club Natación Chiboi. I had a unique and unforgettable experience when I qualified to compete at a national championship in Castellón, Valencia, called El Trofeo Internacional Castalia Castellón. Hundreds of swimmers from across the country came together to compete for their club teams.

Separation Between Sports Life and School Life

Throughout my whole career as a swimmer in the U.S., my identity in school has also been tied to my identity as a swimmer. In Spain, this is not necessarily the case. There are no major sports clubs through the university; instead, the most serious athletes train outside their universities with a local club. I was surprised to see people of all ages competing. 

This separation between sports and other parts of life was something I did not expect, and I grew to greatly enjoy this separation between my life as a student and my life as an athlete. It allowed me to leave behind the events of the school day when I enter the pool deck, and vice versa. 

At this national meet, I even had the opportunity to meet a Spanish Olympian who was also competing, which was an incredibly unique experience that I would have otherwise never had the opportunity to do. His name was Alex Castejón, and it was super exciting to see his methods of training.

Different Training Philosophies

This swim meet gave me a unique window on the different training approaches implemented by different teams, which was in many ways reflective of other parts of Spanish culture.

Throughout the meet, I noticed that each coach seemed to have their own coaching philosophies. For example, my coach wanted me to score points for the team, but there was far less pressure put on me to perform. Surprisingly, my coach did not give me as much advice on how to swim the race or how to mentally prepare, but he gave me advice on how to be a good teammate and how to make the most of my experience here.

Of course, like any coach, he wanted me to swim fast. But he also knew that was secondary. Because if I was not happy, I would not swim fast. My coach also did not over-enter me in events, solely for the purpose of scoring points. He prioritized my rest, even when I could have swum more events and scored my points for the team. Although the team’s placing in the competition was important to him, the well-being of his swimmers took precedence.

I noticed similar patterns on other teams, too, since many of the fastest swimmers were only entered in 1-3 events throughout the whole weekend (for reference at the Centennial Conference Championships I normally swim a total of 5-6 events). 

Familiar Traditions of the Sport

Despite these differences, there were many beautiful similarities to the sport of swimming in Spain and the United States. For instance, the meet was split into prelims and finals, where finals were considered a big deal (finals is a part of the competition in which you need to swim very fast in the morning in order to return to swim again at night).

The race strategies of my teammates here in Spain were also similar to the race strategies of my teammates from the US, and pre-race rituals also were largely the same (ex: carbo-loading the night before a swim meet, listening to music, stretching, journaling, etc). 

The ‘Venga’ Spirit

The clearest differences that I experienced related to the communal nature and community of swim team life.

Throughout the competition, the team stayed in a villa as a big group, where 4-6 people shared one room. This brought the team very close together, which is a lot different than what I am used to in the US, where the team typically stays in hotel rooms for swim meets.

Additionally, in between sessions of the meet, meals were never eaten alone. In the US, I am used to eating some meals alone in my room or eating in silence during high-stakes swim meets, but this was never the case. In this way, recovery took on a whole new form – instead of simply stretching, swimming, and eating, recovery included long stays at the lunch table, lots of laughing with teammates, and napping underneath the sun in between sessions of the swim meet. 

Even warming up was done with a group and was a very social experience — which is NOT the case on many American teams. In fact, growing up and even throughout my time as a collegiate athlete, warming up has been something done alone. 

During meets, my experience was that competitors not only wanted to compete with me, but also wanted to get to know me on a more personal level. Many swimmers from different teams wanted to know where I was from and what my training was like in the US. Many of my teammates watched all my events and put their needs beneath those of the team. Competing in this way made the sport feel less lonely, less intimidating, and more like a community effort. 

What I’m Bringing Back from this Experience

I hope to maintain this more human-based approach to the sport I love. I want to bring back the inclusiveness I saw from my team and others during the meet. Through this incredibly unique experience, I was able to learn so much more about both myself and the sport of swimming when put into different cultural contexts.

This sport has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I am grateful to have experienced a national competition outside of the US and to have formed new connections with teammates from Spain who share my same passions.