WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University swimming & diving team is currently in Puerto Rico for its annual winter training trip. Throughout the Hoyas' week-long stay, GUHoyas.com will receive updates from members of the team. Today's first update is from sophomore diver Riley Fujioka (Los Altos, Calif. / Los Altos).
 
We are now about halfway done with our training trip on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and I could not be prouder of my team. On both sides of the water, in the diving well and in the swimming pool, my teammates have been pushing themselves and training hard.
 
Not only have we been training and gearing up to finish out our season, but we have also made time to bond with our teammates. We have managed to find the joy again in our favorite childhood games from elementary school like duck, duck, goose, tag and sharks and minnows. This was such a great way to ring in the New Year, being around each other again, smiling, laughing and singing along to music. We also just had our first afternoon off where we were able to work on our tans on the beach and our volleyball, tennis, golf and basketball skills on the courts. Having an afternoon off allowed us to relax and recharge, ready to get after it again tomorrow.
 
On the diving side, we have been working hard trying to get our dives clean as well as working on new ones to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. Not only have we been working on the springboards, but we have also been utilizing the opportunity of having a tower by working on our line ups. Also, this past practice we played a "couples" game where we paired into and split up some fun dives we had to try like an inward dive with a half twist as well as our dives we compete with. This was a fun way to get our dives in, but also kept it light and exciting for people trying these crazy dives.
 
Capping off the end of our free afternoon, we watched the sunset on the beach and then our team split up into our grades to go explore the island with a class dinner. The dinner was a nice way to catch up and hear stories about everyone's winter break and trip. Branching out of the resort with our grade was a great way to explore more of the island and try Puerto Rican food. We have been having such a great time here and I am looking forward to the rest of the trip!
 
- Riley