Joining a competitive swim team at 7-years-old was not her idea; it was her parents’. Now, senior Kayla Hammer is prepping for her fourth state swim competition.

The first time Hammer competed in a state swim competition was in the eighth grade for relays. When she joined the swim team in ninth grade, she knew she needed to put in the same effort on the team as she had when she went to state competitions the year before.

“All of the upperclassmen were really nice and excepting. I felt that I had to prove things at that point,” Hammer said. “It didn’t feel like a free pass cause there were still some really good people on the team. I needed to earn my position.”

Despite having made it to state competitions in eighth grade, Hammer did not reach state competitions in the ninth grade. The only competing categories available were individual ones, which she was not quite ready for at the time. But in both tenth and eleventh grade, she competed at the state level. However, the experience with competing did not reassure Hammer that she would qualify for state competitions this year.

“It’s kind of funny [because] I did my best time cause I was feeling lazy and I didn’t feel like coming out of the water too much. I dropped almost two seconds,” Hammer said. “State time to make it was 106.99 and my final time for sectionals was 103.9.”

Although Hammer is confident going into state, she is still nervous about things possibly going wrong. One thing that could tamper with a swimmer’s performance is the flip-turn they make during a lap. Misjudgment of proximity to the wall used to help make the flip-turn could alter a swimmer’s performance and affect how they place in the competition as a result.

“You could misjudge how close you are to the wall and flip-turn too early. In a 50 [meter], which is one of the events I’m doing, if you mess up the flip-turn you destroy your entire event,” Hammer said. “I do mine in 26 seconds and if you mess up the flip-turn you’re almost definitely going to get a 27 … and you never know when you’ll do it. It just might not be your day. So I still get nervous over that.”

Aside from possible misjudgments, the pressure of all the people in the audience watching can spark some nervousness in Hammer as well. But before she shatters the glassy surface of the pool water, she has a ritual she uses to help combat the nerves.

“I kind of have a weird thing [that] I do; I constantly tighten my goggle straps. It’s kind of a nervous thing, but I just constantly tighten them,” Hammer said. “Knowing that they won’t fall off cause I’ve tightened them so much kind of calms me and gets me ready.”

The events Hammer will be competing in is the 100 meter butterfly and the 50 meter freestyle on Dec. 9 and 10. Out of the two, she is most excited about competing on the state level in the 100 meter butterfly event which is the individual stroke she does best. In her final state swim competition as a high school student, she hopes for more than just placing or winning.

“I obviously hope to do good. I hope in my butterfly that I possibly place or get close to placing in the top 25,” Hammer said. “I just kind of hope to have more fun and be more relaxed.”