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The Plains Piranhas want to make a bigger splash this season, but they need more swimmers to do so. The swim team will be having a sign-up session at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Plains School cafeteria.

“We’d like to have as many as possible,” said Dan Helterline, president of the swim team. “Our numbers have been dwindling over the last couple years and we need more,” added Helterline. About a dozen kids have already committed, including his 14-year-old daughter, Alexis, who’s been a Piranha for six years.

There is no minimum age restriction, but swimmers have to swim at least the length of the pool, which is about 25 meters, said Helterline. The maximum age is 18. Practice will likely begin in mid June. There are nine meets, starting with Shelby June 8-9, followed by Columbia Falls the next weekend, and finishing with the state finals Aug. 3-4. Helterline said the Plains team doesn’t normally attend the Shelby meet because the Plains pool is not usually open soon enough. Plains will host a meet July 6-7.

The president said there’s a misconception that swimmers must go to every meet, but he said that’s not so. In order to qualify to compete at divisionals, a swimmer must participate in at least two meets. Youth from anywhere in Sanders County can join the team, but they must sign up prior to the first practice.

The team is also looking for a coach. Jack Couch coached the Piranhas last year, but can’t this year due to school and work. The position pays $3,000 for the season. Anyone interested in the position can contact Dan Helterline at 241-1467. In the past, parents and volunteers have helped the hired coach with practices. The team usually trains for about two hours in the evenings from Monday to Thursday.

Because the swim team is self-sustained and self-funded, it conducts fundraisers throughout the year to pay for the coach’s salary, meet fees and equipment. The team travels to the meets in parents’ vehicles, although they carpool most of the time. Helterline said it’s a good family get together because they usually camp at the meet site for the weekend and eat their meals together.

The swim team recently donated $5,000 to the Committee For Safe Swimming (CSS), a nonprofit organization that was established to help keep the pool operating when the town doesn’t have funds in the normal budget for repairs. The 40-plus-year-old E.L. Johnson Memorial Pool in Plains developed serious leaks last year and there isn’t money in the town budget for repairs. Plains Mayor Dan Rowan said the town has received bids for the plumbing and concrete work. He felt it would cost over $30,000 to get the pool fixed, unless they discover additional problems. However, he believed they’d have it fixed before the summer swim season.

The CSS went into a fundraising mode a couple of months ago and as of Friday had reached its goal of $50,000, which included a $5,000 donation from Blackfoot Telephone and a $10,000 grant from the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation in conjunction with Montana Rail Link, according to Janice Hanson, CSS president. The group also launched a “Fill the Pool Easter Truffles” campaign and have made about 100 dozens of truffles and raised around $2,500, so far.

Helterline said joining the swim team enables kids to make new friends on the Plains team, as well as on other teams around the state. He said swimming is great exercise for youth and can help them get in shape for fall school sports. “It’s one of the best aerobic exercises and good for injury rehabilitation because it’s low impact,” he said.