Derby High needs a pool, and you might say, “But you have the DRC.” No, you don’t understand how trashy that pool is.

The DRC pool water is just super disgusting. The lane lines are always broken somehow, and the air outside of the water is yucky. We have five lanes to share amongst 20-plus girls, and I absolutely hate sharing a lane with a lot of people because it gets very claustrophobic.

Having to wake up at 4:30 a.m. every day, even on Mondays, during swim season is hard. It gets very physically and mentally exhausting. I’m always sleeping in class and missing out on lessons. I would much rather stay at school until six rather than wake up early.

The Derby swim team is the best in this area. Both boys and girls have won our Class 6A league meet six years in a row. Our relays will place high at state, and we have multiple individual swimmers who’ll place in the top eight, which is hard to do.

We also have the divers, who will take up two lanes of space during afternoon practice at the DRC. So, the afternoon swimmers have less room than the morning swimmers. I can’t say anything about the diving boards, but I talked to one of the divers.

“The one diving board that we use is good, but it’s not the best. The one we don’t use is bad,” sophomore Abby Welk said.

The only benefit that comes from morning practices is being able to double up on practices, but I don’t even do that because I’m lazy.

Some swimmers may see a benefit and growth in going to two practices a day, but it honestly doesn’t make any difference for me. It makes me more exhausted and takes up time when I could be doing my homework.

Derby is the only 6A school without a pool. I know there are reasons for this, such as a lack of room, but it’s still frustrating. Derby deserves a pool.