By Delaney Jackson
Reporter

The swim and dive team has had an unusual season, having practices and meets cancelled because of people getting cryptosporidium, including one of their own swimmers.
The outbreak started when 20 of the 24 Park Hill South swimmers were sick, throwing up and having diarrhea. The pool was tested, and the results came back clean. But as a precaution, they super shocked every pool in the Kansas City area, including the pool that the Blue Springs South swim and dive team practices at. Super shocking is when additional chlorine is added to the pool with the hopes that it would kill any bacteria in the pool. As a result, they had to move a meet to a different day, and could not practice that day.  The swim and dive team was also supposed to compete at the Independence Invite at Henley Aquatics Center on September 11h, but the meet was rescheduled due to the bacteria. South will not be attending the meet, as it was scheduled the day after JV conference.
Crypto is a parasite that is most commonly transferred through drinking water and pool water. In the summer, it isn’t uncommon for people to get it, because the pools are much more public. But it is much less common during the high school season, because the pool isn’t as public. However, there are always some people who get it during the high school season. But this year, more people are getting it than usual.
South sophomore swimmer Ross Floyd got the bacteria, but he is not sure where he got it. The swim team had a meet at the Lee’s Summit Aquatics Center the week that Ross tested positive, but it is doubtful that he got it from either pool, because more people would be sick if it had been in the pool. But, as a precautionary measure, they shocked the YMCA again, and another practice was cancelled.
Floyd showed five of the six symptoms of crypto. The symptoms include watery diarrhea, dehydration, lack of appetite, weight loss, stomach cramps or pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. With the recent outbreak, his parents decided to go get him tested. His test came back positive, and as a result, he has to sit out for three weeks.
“It sucks with the timing of when I got it, because I will miss getting to swim at conference this year,” said Floyd.
Coach Errich Oberlander says that this is the worst that he has seen it.
“Every year people get it, especially during the summer when the pools are more public. But it has never hit the high school season this hard. It’s hitting our side of the state the hardest though. But as both a swimmer and a coach, this is the worst I’ve ever seen it before,” said Oberlander.
He says that it hasn’t affected this season that much, other than having to miss one  meet and cancelling some practices.
“It has affected one person a lot, but as a team, it hasn’t affected us that much,” said Oberlander.