Mercerwood and Midlakes Swim League

MSC Philosophy
Our focus at Mercerwood is to ensure that every swimmer feels a sense of accomplishment and achievement, win or lose. We encourage a team atmosphere by developing stroke techniques, emphasizing a spirit of good sportsmanship and fostering a competitive attitude that comes from within. We want each swimmer to have a good time, to learn to swim the strokes well, to win and lose graciously and to be a good team member. Mercerwood has a league wide reputation for providing positive reinforcement for all our swimmers. Midlakes Summer Swim League, which we are a member, promotes similar goals for every team in the league.

History of Midlakes
In the late 1930s various public beaches in the greater Seattle area first began competitive swimming on a recreational level. Most of these competitions were restricted to males only, with girls only allowed to compete in the sidestroke races. The first race of the Midlakes Swim League occurred in 1954 when the Mercer Island Beach Club entered the King County Beach League. The annual championships were held at Pete's Pool (more like a small lake than a pool) in Enumclaw. Things changed rapidly in the 1950s as Eastside communities began to grow and build pools.

After two years in the Seattle Swim League, the Eastside teams (Samena, Phantom Lake, Newport Hills, Mercerwood, Mercer Island Beach Club, Edgebrook, Triangle and Norwood) formed the Midlakes Swim League. We are proud to note that MSC won the first Midlakes Swim League Championship in 1961, again in 1997, and 4 years running in 2004-2007!

1961	Mercerwood Shore Club		1990-1991	Mercer Island Country Club
1962-1972	Edgebrook		1992-1996	Newport Hills
1973-1974	Newport Hills		1997	Mercerwood Shore Club
1975-1979	Samena		1998-2000	Newport Hills
1980-1984	Newport Hills		2001	Fairwood Country Club
1985-1987	Phantom Lake		2002-2003	Newport Hills
1988-1989	Samena		2004-2007	Mercerwood Shore Club

Organization of Midlakes
The Midlakes Summer Swim League is made up of 26 teams. Each team is placed in a division with other teams who are ranked closely, based on the results of the previous year's dual meets and the League Championship. Dual meets (two clubs compete) are swum with other clubs from our division. At the end of the season each division holds a championship meet (Division Champs); all Midlakes teams compete for final placement at League Championships.