On November 14th, 2025, the St. Mary’s Buccaneers Swim Team departed from school for Narita in order to embark on their first overseas trip since 2019. While the Buccaneers host and attend more than 10 meets a season, almost every meet the team swam at was within a 50 km radius of the school.
The swim meet in Korea was a major adjustment for the Buccaneers, as the host school, Chadwick International, used a meet format starkly different from what they were accustomed to. The format included prelims in a morning session and A and B finals in an afternoon session. This meant the Buccaneers had to swim almost every event more than once, which was extremely taxing.
“I found that although the format was different from what I was used to, I enjoyed having two opportunities to improve my times instead of just one. I believe that going to this meet in Korea was an extremely valuable experience for the Buccaneers to learn about how meets are run internationally,” said Derek, a swimmer for the Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers dominated over the two days of competition, especially in the relay events. In the middle school division, the Buccaneers’ A team narrowly edged out Western Academy Beijing to take first place. Their true strength, however, was on full display in the high school relays, where the A relay team finished first and the B relay team secured second. This result highlights the exceptional depth of the squad, as the Buccaneers’ top eight swimmers outperformed the top four swimmers from every other school, beating out major competitors like Seoul Foreign School and Chadwick International.
Following the successful meet, where the team won all of the awards they would win, they celebrated with a big Korean BBQ dinner. The following day was a free day, during which swimmers and coaches explored parks and shopping malls throughout the electrifying city of Incheon. According to one swimmer, the highlight of the day was the high school bowling competition, where everyone’s competitive side came out.
In conclusion, the St. Mary’s Buccaneer swim team once again proved why they are the most decorated athletic program in the school’s history. This historic team, which once held the national high school relay record and has produced five Olympians, is hoping to return to its peak form. Although that is a massive task, with this dominant performance in Korea, they are undoubtedly one step closer.
