The Daily Sentinel, Andy Clendennen

Hawaii Swim Page~back to results

Why wear a Hawaiian shirt, when you can ride in one?

By ANDY CLENDENNEN
The Daily Sentinel

They came to swim - and do some decorating. Earlier in the week, before the heavier-than -ordinary rains washed away half of the paint Wednesday, the Hawaiian team rode around Grand Junction in a brightly colored bus.
Ken Kesey's Band of Merry Pranksters it wasn't. but a group of swimmers having fun during a big meet it was.
Neon pinks, yellows, greens, blues and Other- hues covered the Coach USA bus - even down to the tires. Hula dancers, palm trees, sea creatures and rainbows adorned the vehicle.
"Our bus is colorful." swimmer China Cho, 12, said. "It says 'Aloha' to everybody and it is the most awesome bus.
"We always paint the bus, but we usually paint it with soap and stuff. This time we painted it with paint that scrubs off."Sort of. When the rains washed away most of the paint, driver Mary Jeffs took her bus to get washed and promptly found that some of the paints left their mark.
Specifically, the pinks and yellows left traces.
But that's not a problem, thanks to another driver's magic potion. "They painted it with neon poster paint," Jeffs said, "and I said it was OK as long as it doesn't stain the paint, which it has to an extent.
"But one of the other bus drivers has some type of cleaning/polishing compound that should take it off."
Painting the bus is just another in a long line of activities that the Hawaiian team has embarked on during its visit to Grand Junction.
The activities in Colorado differ slightly from Hawaiian endeavors like surfing, volcano climbing and the like. but the swimmers haven't been too terribly bored.
"Not really, because we like seeing the museums here and we drive around the town and see what's here," Cho said. "It isn't really all that boring.
"And we do cheers, because our bus has speakers on the outside. So we do cheers from inside the bus wherever we go.

Which could be enough to drive any driver nuts, especially a driver from Salt Lake City who isn't familiar with the Grand Junction method of naming streets.
But Jeffs takes it all in stride. In fact, she is enjoying herself immensely.

"They are wonderful kids, just wonderful kids," Jeffs said. "For the most part they keep the bus clean and they don't have any trouble at the hotel. I've had the hotel management tell me how well-behaved they are - there is another team at the hotel that isn't as quiet as they are.
"They are good kids, they are nice to have around. We have a little language program once in awhile when they mix Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese and who knows what else. But it's been a piece of cake, it's wonderful."
While the Hawaiian contingent is here to compete in the Western Zones, the coaches and staff are also making an earnest effort to secure the 2001 Zones, which they hope will be held in Maui.
They will know following the convention in September whether they get to host. The other city in the running is Salt Lake.
Everyone thinks that cost will be prohibitive - except for the Hawaiians, who travel every year to swim in Zones and nationals. They are hoping that the lure of a new facility and numerous attractions will be enough to land the 2001 Zones.

*Why wear a Hawaiian shirt, when you can ride in one?*
By ANDY CLENDENNEN The Daily Sentinel
They came to swim - and do some decorating. Earlier in the week, before the heavier-than -ordinary rains washed away half of the paint Wednesday, the Hawaiian team rode around Grand Junction in a brightly colored bus. Ken Kesey's Band of Merry Pranksters it wasn't. but a group of swimmers having fun during a big meet it was. Neon pinks, yellows, greens, blues and Other- hues covered the Coach USA bus - even down to the tires. Hula dancers, palm trees, sea creatures and rainbows adorned the vehicle. "Our bus is colorful." swimmer China Cho, 12, said. "It says 'Aloha' to everybody and it is the most awesome bus. "We always paint the bus, but we usually paint it with soap and stuff. This time we painted it with paint that scrubs off."Sort of. When the rains washed away most of the paint, driver Mary Jeffs took her bus to get washed and promptly found that some of the paints left their mark. Specifically, the pinks and yellows left traces. But that's not a problem, thanks to another driver's magic potion. "They painted it with neon poster paint," Jeffs said, "and I said it was OK as long as it doesn't stain the paint, which it has to an extent. "But one of the other bus drivers has some type of cleaning/polishing compound that should take it off." Painting the bus is just another in a long line of activities that the Hawaiian team has embarked on during its visit to Grand Junction. The activities in Colorado differ slightly from Hawaiian endeavors like surfing, volcano climbing and the like. but the swimmers haven't been too terribly bored.	"Not really, because we like seeing the museums here and we drive around the town and see what's here," Cho said. "It isn't really all that boring. "And we do cheers, because our bus has speakers on the outside. So we do cheers from inside the bus wherever we go. Which could be enough to drive any driver nuts, especially a driver from Salt Lake City who isn't familiar with the Grand Junction method of naming streets. But Jeffs takes it all in stride. In fact, she is enjoying herself immensely. "They are wonderful kids, just wonderful kids," Jeffs said. "For the most part they keep the bus clean and they don't have any trouble at the hotel. I've had the hotel management tell me how well-behaved they are - there is another team at the hotel that isn't as quiet as they are. "They are good kids, they are nice to have around. We have a little language program once in awhile when they mix Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese and who knows what else. But it's been a piece of cake, it's wonderful." While the Hawaiian contingent is here to compete in the Western Zones, the coaches and staff are also making an earnest effort to secure the 2001 Zones, which they hope will be held in Maui. They will know following the convention in September whether they get to host. The other city in the running is Salt Lake. Everyone thinks that cost will be prohibitive - except for the Hawaiians, who travel every year to swim in Zones and nationals. They are hoping that the lure of a new facility and numerous attractions will be enough to land the 2001 Zones.