Name: Tilda Bupp
Grade: Sophomore
Sport: Girls’ swim and dive
How long have you been doing swim and dive?
“I have been swimming since I was 12 through the Rays swim club, and I have swam for this school both my freshman and sophomore years.”
What other sports do you play at FHC?
“Last spring, I ran track, but I didn’t enjoy it very much and ended up hurting myself, so I unfortunately will not be continuing on. However, I am hoping to join the school gymnastics team this winter, while continuing to swim for the Rays in the spring and summer.”
What is your best memory from your time doing swim and dive?
“A lot of my best memories from swim and dive are the moments that the team gets to spend together outside of practice. Obviously, we bond a lot over particularly hard sets and early morning practices, but cheering each other on at meets and the bus rides to and from are always really fun. I think my favorite memory from swim is probably our cottage weekend freshman year. Traditionally, the weekend before the swim season starts, the whole team will travel to someone’s cottage on the lake to spend a weekend together. We spend a lot of time on the lake and playing games. Then, at midnight on the first day of practice, we all jump in and play games together to start the season off with fun.”
What are the strengths of this year’s team?
“I think that the team’s strengths this year are our increased size and our variety of swimmers. Our team went from about 20 people last year to almost 30, so we’re starting to match the numbers of other teams in our conference. We also have a really good variety of swimmers, so we have people swimming every stroke and distance events as well as sprints. Overall, we’re doing very well this year. I think we’re 2-1 in our conference, and we’re aiming to be top four in our conference this year.”
What are your individual goals for this season?
“Personally, this season I’m hoping to make a Michigan Interscholastic Coaches Association (MISCA) cut. My times for the 200 free and 100 back are probably the closest, and I think it’s a bit of a challenge, but definitely not unattainable this season!”
What music do you listen to to get fired up for meets?
“To get fired up for meets, the team will typically play some music on the bus ride there. Particularly this year, Rihanna and Charli XCX have been very popular for hype-up music.”
Who is your favorite professional athlete?
“One of my favorite professional athletes is Lando Norris, who drives for McLaren in Formula 1. I love to watch F1 on the weekends while I get my homework done or do other things, and Lando has been my favorite since I started watching. He is very good at what he does, but he’s also very open about mental health and pressures put on athletes, which I think is very important.”
What is your favorite class this year and why?
“My favorite class so far this year has been Writing for Publication. I’ve always loved to write and been interested in journalism, so I’m excited to see how it goes!”
