Coach Howie Schein demonstrates the correct way to perform the butterfly. Gargoyle photos by Deborah Ladd. (Click to create a slideshow)

Students watch a video of a classmate swimming. (Click to create a slideshow)

New swimmers race to display their form. (Click to create a slideshow)

FOR AGORA DAYS, my first-hour class is Competitive Swimming, taught by Uni girls swim coach Howie Schein.

A first-period class of any kind is not a popular choice, since most students try to keep the period free so they can sleep in.

Still, I decide that I should be a dedicated member of the Uni High girls swim team, so I sign up.

The first day's class will take place at Campus Recreation Center East's swimming pool. Using both underwater and above-water cameras, we will videotape ourselves swimming.

Then the rest of the week we will critique our performances and also watch tapes of some of the sport's top athletes.

Or at least that's the plan.

Day 1: In front of the camera

I start my Agora Week by leaving my house late. Then I walk into the CRCE Pool. In the middle of winter.

Familiar sensations come over me: restricted breathing from a racing suit that was made to be too tight, the smell of chlorine, the sight of barely awake people milling around in suits and goggles, and the splashing sound of chlorinated water.

Fortunately, I don’t have to get in the water quite yet. The purpose of a painstaking 45 minutes at the pool is mainly so that our coach can get videotapes of us swimming to help us improve our form, and I am chosen as a camerawoman.

After bickering with my camera crew about the proper way to get my camera to work, I tape a couple of swimmers.

Most of the people who signed up for the class are hopeful subbies who want to get off to a good start next year, and they are pretty decent swimmers.

It's interesting how much of a preview you can get by watching your future teammates, and based on what I see I think that we are going to have a very strong season next year.

Then comes the eventful moment: getting in the water myself.

I hold my breath and jump in. I swim four lengths, a grueling 80 meters that due to my offseason out-of-shape condition leaves me breathless. Not only that, but it is an individual medley, which means that I have to do every stroke, including butterfly.

After swimming a little longer I am even more tired, but for some reason I'm still interested in pursuing swimming next year. I resignedly head off to the showers to try in vain to wash the chlorine smell out of my hair.

Day 2: Watching ourselves

A different setting greets me on the second day: a classroom with a few students and one adult, Howie, who for the week is classified not just as my coach but also my teacher.

We go over the less interactive side of swimming, watching the tapes that we had filmed the day before and talking about how to improve our technique.

Someone says something about center of gravity and torpedoes. Unusual drawings appear on a chalkboard.

After trying in vain to set up a projector, we switch to a TV, and I watch everyone in turn cringe as they see what their form actually looks like.

Very few people enjoy watching videos of themselves, and I think watching a video of yourself swimming just takes that cruelty to another level. You realize that no matter how wonderful or fast you think you are, you almost always do something wrong.

As the class period winds down, we vote on whether or not to go back to the pool the next day. As the bell rings, the vast majority of students vote to go back to redeem their form.

Day 3: Another chance

Upon returning to the pool, I reflect on how much I am glad that swim season lasts only the few months that it does.

I love swimming, but it’s hard to do it for more than one part of the year. Granted, I would probably become a lot faster if I swam in the offseason, and I do appreciate all the help this class is giving me, but for me swimming is not the same without the entire team practicing with you — especially when the practices take place so early in the morning that the sun isn't even up yet.

On this day, our third, we work on pushing off the wall, undulations, and flip turns.

There are some unfortunate incidents when we are told to get with a partner to practice flip turns.

The idea is that your partner will curl into a ball and you will spin them to give them an idea of how their turn will feel. The class finds out that this is easier said than done when people get pushed sideways, forward, or straight to the bottom.

Still, we all seem to have improved our form at least marginally by the end of the 45 minutes, and we think we have redeemed ourselves after our first-day performance.

Day 4: Bring on the new season

On the final day of Agora Week, we are back in the classroom.

We talk for a little while about the unique characteristics of Uni swimming, such as how we choose a different mascot every year.

We do some planning for next season, and the future members seem a bit relieved when we mention that we are going to have fewer preseason meetings than in 2007. I think they may have been a little scared when they learned about how long the season was going to be, but hopefully they will get used to the idea and maybe recruit their friends to the team.

We wrap up the class by watching the above-water videos. Watching what is considered a "normal view" of swimming is actually a lot less shocking than seeing yourself underwater, so most of the people feel a bit relieved that they are not actually terrible swimmers.

As the class ends, everyone leaves with slightly better form and — especially among the newcomers — a clearer idea of what high school swimming is actually like.

Since I have been on the team for three years now, I think that the class really works to help with recruiting for the fall, and I hope that it will be offered again next year and even more people will join.