BILLINGS — The Rubber Duck Open swimming meet has grown exponentially since its inception, registering nearly 300 swimmers this year, which is more than double the inaugural event.
“Part of it is because of the weather and part of it is the way the holidays fell this year. It was really difficult to schedule meets," YMCA Seahawks coach Kristen Wyatt said. "Competition water is very difficult to come by in our region, so when folks have an opportunity to come and compete they're going to come."
The meet features youngsters all the way up to high school, and team members of the YMCA have adopted the meet’s name to track their progress throughout the day.
“We do heat prizes. The first year that we did it we thought let's do something that's not candy, so we started with little rubber ducks," Wyatt said. "The kids were in love with it and thought it was the coolest thing ever. It's just built from there so now we ran with the theme and it's the Rubber Duck Open."
Wyatt said the one of the only things keeping the Rubber Duck Open from growing even bigger is having a facility to host.
