MOSES LAKE — The District 5 Swim tournament was put on hold Thursday after the HVAC system at the Moses Lake High School Pool went out of commission earlier in the day. The tournament has been rescheduled to Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Wenatchee High School Pool. 

“There’s multiple systems up there that not only heat the air but also help ventilate (the pool house) and one of our fan motors gave up the ghost,” said Moses Lake Athletic Director Loren Sandhop. 

The incident happened during a fire drill Thursday afternoon at the start of the diving portion of the district meet in Moses Lake. Sandhop said everyone had to step out due to a fire alarm at the school and when they returned to the pool house, there was an electrical smell and one of the airsocks that fill when the HVAC system is working was deflated.  

Maintenance came in soon after and confirmed the issue with the fan and that it would need to be replaced, but it would take time to replace it. He said the system is what removes the chlorine chemicals from the air and helps dehumidify the pool area and with that down, nobody is allowed inside the pool house, causing the district tournament to be postponed.  

Districts still needed to be held ahead of the state tournament, so Sandhop said he had to contact every athletic director in the league, as six buses were in route to Moses Lake, and let them know that the Thursday tournament was cancelled and the schools had to work together to decide a new location for the event.  

“We needed to act fast,” he said. “There’s not a lot of time when it’s postseason to do make ups so we tried to push it long enough that we could get transportation and meet officials, but also understanding that the athletes were ready to go and swimming much like running, they would taper their training so that they are ready to perform the best they possibly can this time of the season.” 

By the end of the weekend, it was decided that the tournament was to be held in Wenatchee on Wednesday afternoon and what is normally a two-day event has been shortened to just one day due to time constraints. 

“The kids need to qualify for state through a district event, so that’s what’s going to happen Wednesday,” said Sandhop.  

The second issue was then finding a place for the Mavericks athletes to practice for the district event. Mavs head coach Tony Preston said Wenatchee has allowed MLHS to use their pool for practices Saturday and Monday, leading up to the tournament, with the team taking Tuesday to stay in Moses Lake and do dryland training. 

“Thankfully, Diane Ford, one of our co-directors at transportation, has been awesome to help me and coach Preston to get transportation for the kids so they can continue to practice,” said Sandhop. 

Preston said it was important to find a location to practice, so the Mavs didn’t spend too much time out of the water and is grateful for Wenatchee for stepping up to help out Moses Lake.  

The MLHS team is preparing for districts, which will now have one race per event and be a timed finals to decide who goes to state. The coach said that while it’s been tough for a few of the athletes, the team has overall done a great job putting their best foot forward. 

“We’re always used to that home field advantage, but this time the stars didn’t align for us so we will go there and do our best and see what we look like coming out on the other side,” he said. 

Overall, the Mavs are feeling good as they head into districts, and the coach said this will be a good opportunity for the team to swim in a different pool ahead of the state tournament. Spirits were high as they travelled to Wenatchee on Saturday and Monday as the team got to bond through their trip. 

“Just the team coming together in good spirits, working on the little things that keep us going and concentrating on the races, knowing that we get one shot at it so we put our best foot forward,” said Preston. 

While the timeframe for when the pool will be back in working order is still unknown, Sandhop said he appreciates how everyone stepped up to allow the athletes to still compete in a timely manner. 

“It’s been a collaborative effort from not only our maintenance department and our construction manager, but our transportation department, plus our coaches also working to make this happen,” he said.