CARY -- Angela Robinson said she's still afraid of the water. Her three kids are a different story.
Brandon, 14, and BreBre, 13, are competitive swimmers, and Bailee is coming right along. She's 3.
"Sooner the better," Robinson said. "They love it so much."
So much that they came from Detroit to Cary to be part of the National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet. They are among 738 swimmers, plus parents, siblings and friends, thronging the Triangle Aquatic Center this weekend.
"Look at all the people," said Kenny Cross of Raleigh. "This is where champions are born."
Cross and his wife, Lisa Booker, were among five Raleigh-area families who established the N.C. Aquablazers Swim Team and its annual Black Heritage meet. Being held for the eighth time this weekend, the meet started with 104 swimmers in 2003 and has grown to the point that it draws competitors, preschool-age to college, from as far away as southern Florida, Boston and Chicago.
"The teams from all over" are an attraction, said Cassy Evans, who swims on the Howard University team but came to Cary with a hometown team from New Jersey. "It's nice to get out there."
The Black Heritage meet is open to all, but the intention all along has been to promote swimming among minority youngsters - as a competitive sport, as a healthy pastime and as a skill that can save their lives, Cross said.
According to a study commissioned by USA Swimming, the sport's governing body in the U.S., nearly 70 percent of black children and 58 percent of Hispanic children have little or no ability to swim.
"African-Americans have been drowning at an alarming rate," Cross said. "Hispanics have been drowning at an alarming rate. ... Blacks go fishing with granddaddy and drown in three feet of water.
"That's a shame."
According to the study, conducted by the University of Memphis and released last week, the main reason minority children don't learn to swim is that their parents can't and fear the water. Meets and teams for minorities can help dispel the fear, as well as instill good habits in youngsters.
"It's great," said Juana Wheeler, who brought her son Anthony, 9, down from Detroit. "All these kids, you don't have to worry about the streets. They're busy practicing.
"And studying," she added, because kids have to keep up their grades to stay on their swim teams.
It's also encouraging for minority kids to compete with each other, said Lisa Webb, vice president of the N.C. Aquablazers and one of the Black Heritage meet founders.
"There's a whole different mindset," Webb said.
It's also encouraging to have black celebrities of the sport on hand during the weekend. They include Bill Goines, the first black U.S. Navy SEAL; Olympic gold medalist Maritza Correia, the first black woman on a U.S. Olympic swim team; and Cullen Jones, an Olympic gold medalist and a former N.C. State University swimmer.
Jones was originally scheduled to appear today, but showed up Saturday instead. He now swims for a Charlotte team, and his coach wanted him back for practice, he said.
On Saturday, he swam an exhibition against several youngsters who put their names in a hat for a chance to race him in a 50-yard freestyle - the event for which he holds the U.S. record. He finished second.
"Someone knocked me off," he said.
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The Eighth Annual National Black Heritage Championship Swim Meet continues today at the Triangle Aquatic Center, 275 Convention Drive, Cary.
The meet is open to spectators at no charge.
The 25-event morning session begins at 8:30 a.m., the 34-event afternoon session at 1:30 p.m. Men and women compete simultaneously in separate pools.
Refreshments and souvenirs are available at the Aquatic Center.
Information: www.blackheritageswimming.org
