Getting their feet wet: Whitecaps summer swim team has fun, learns, competes

Published 9:13 am Saturday, June 14, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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On one side of the pool at the Hildred T. Moore Aquatic & Fitness Center in Washington, children who are in the water have just completed a lap across. On the other side, boys and girls are practicing jumping and diving into the pool.

Off to the side, coaches Tamra Tipton and Neal Craven are giving instructions and offering advice to some other young swimmers who are eager to jump back into the water. They are all wearing their swimsuits, goggles and their swim caps.

It’s a busy Monday morning for the Washington Whitecaps summer swim team. The children are soaking up the knowledge and having fun in and out of the pool. It’s all part of a long-standing swim team program that helps those interested learn more about, compete in, and advance in the sport.

“I’ve worked with, for private swim lessons, I’ve worked with well over probably 200 kids in the past year and a half,” Tipton said. “So it’s been a great opportunity, and it’s slowly just grown. I hope to make this a competitive location.

“I mean, it’s great that kids are here and they’re swimming, but I slowly want us to actually bring more kids to compete and stuff. I think it’d be great swimming, especially in this area, living around the water and stuff. I think it could be great.”

The Whitecaps are part of the Greenville Area Summer Swim League. The children have been competing against themselves lately as they gear up for the season. This Tuesday, the team will compete in its first event against other members of the GASSL.

Competition continues through Aug. 2, when the overall championship will be held. Shortly after that, swimmers will be able to continue their season through the East Carolina Acquatics program. It’s part of an all-year program that has produced successful swimmers in the past, like Tipton.

Tipton does a lot of the managing of the Whitecaps. She’s in her second year in the role and leads a very active lifestyle as the coach, private instructor and college student. The 20-year-old lives in Plymouth, gets up around 4 a.m. to coach the team on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with competitions on Tuesdays. She’s also a lifeguard, gives private lessons and takes online classes through UNC Pembroke. She’s majoring in business management.

It seems like she’s got the management aspect almost down pat with the busy schedule she leads and enjoys.

“I just … I’m working really hard to, you know, build up the team and stuff so eventually like I could just focus on lessons and coaching and not have to really work like lifeguarding,” Tipton said. “But for now, it’s a lot, but I love it, I love it.”

She’s originally from South Carolina and made it to this area because her parents are in real estate. They eventually moved their work to this area, which gave her a chance to do something after she finished competitive swimming for the Braves.

The Whitecaps will compete in places like Greensboro and Raleigh, in addition to Greenville and other locations. Since there are not as many indoor pools like the one in Washington, travel is a big part of the program. It’s something parents and children accept. Working with a lot of the children through lessons, being a lifeguard and the Whitecaps helps make it all a rewarding experience for all involved.

“I’ve taught in private lessons, so I already have like a great relationship with them, and there’s already that like trust there,” Tipton said. “So it just makes it so much easier to like build them up as swimmers.

“That just makes it so much more fun for me, it makes me feel so privileged and appreciative of like what I do because I’ve seen them from the beginning, kind of learning the swim and now they’re on the swim team. So that just makes me love it ten times more.”

 

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