 Swimming on a competitive team as a military child often means you must work twice as hard as your competitors. Moving every few years and starting over in a new place can hinder your training. However, it gives you the opportunity to compete in some amazing locations against some unusual competitors. The Ciginello Swarfish hosted the Altair Nuoto Swim Club for the first friendship meet. Altair Nuoto Swim Coach Mauro Prosperi embraced the opportunity for his team to take part in the meet. It's a very unique experience for us. We've looked forward to this for some time for the children and for the support in general. We as Italians are very warm people and we like the opportunity to welcome the Americans. You're a wonderful people and we appreciate the opportunity to participate with you. In the water it was pure competition. But on the pool deck the kids had the opportunity to get to know each other and share training techniques. It's a bond both teams would like to see maintained. My hope is that this is not a point of arrival but a point of departure for future events between the American and Italian swimmers. The teams hope to make the friendship meet an annual event. Reporting from Naval Air Station Ciginello, I'm Petty Officer Rebecca Sunderland.