It’s cool to be in the pool. Hats (or rather swimming caps) off to North Kitsap’s contingent of strokers who will represent the area in the state meet. So far, 11 will be taking a dip to go for further glory.

They did us all proud at the Southwest Regional Meet in Kelso, bringing home not only a boatload of gold medals but a slew of personal bests. These kids have been making waves for a while and it seems that their perseverance in the water is only matched by their support of one another.

Whether in relay or individual swims, members of North Kitsap Special Olympics Aquatics showed their collective stuff once again, proving their athleticism.

Even though the tide is against them in certain aspects of life, these swimmers power through it all with the poise and determination that makes them champions, both in and out of the pool.

Behind every great team are coaches.

Darla Smith, Judy Chase and a host of student mentors are to be applauded for diving right in with these kids and helping guide them onto greatness.

However they fare at state, we hope they all do so with the knowledge that their talents are truly awesome and their accomplishments thus far, stellar.

Best of luck to them and all North Kitsap teams that are working toward state berths this season.