GREENSBORO, N.C. — On December 15, 2009, a 9-year-old diver spoke in front of the Greensboro City Council.
His mission? Getting them to approve a state-of-the-art Aquatic Center in his hometown of Greensboro.
According to Swimming World Magazine, Greensboro citizens had voted on the investment in a bond referendum in 2008 for $12 million even though the cost was then estimated to be nearly $19 million.
The other $7 million had to be approved by City Council members, which wasn’t an easy thing to vote on.
That’s where coaches, swimmers and parents from across the city came in.
“Just seeing all the kids, and parents and coaches, they were very compassionate and really wanted this pool, I just feel like that swayed the city council members’ decision,” Zawadzki said in an interview with WFMY News 2’s Laura Brache.
Back then, Zawadzki was a member of the Ultimate Air-Diving team at Tumblebees, a kid’s fitness and gymnastics training center in Greensboro.
“I feel like that day that I spoke was the beginning of the rest of my career as a diver,” he said.
And it was.
Fast-forward to this week, the 2019 ACC Swimming and Diving Championship is underway at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, the same facility he once fought for.
Zawadzki returns as a freshman diver for the Virginia Tech team and says it’s definitely great feeling knowing he played a role, one way or another, in getting “the GAC” approved.
“It’s an amazing feeling walking in here knowing that I had a part in all of this in this wonderful facility,” he said. “I might not be in this position that I am today if it had not been for that day that I spoke for the city council meeting.”
Zawadzki says his favorite memory at the GAC was diving with Olympian Nick McCrory at the grand opening in 2011.
“Just 11-year-old me sitting on the platform right next to him, just chatting it up with an Olympian was one of the most unforgettable experiences,” he shared.
The college freshman graduated last year from Northwest Guilford High School and looks back at all the meets from his childhood and teenage years.
“It’s amazing knowing that I can come back here and my family and friends, my old teammates and my coaches are all within like a 10-mile radius of this pool, and knowing that they’re here to support me every step of the way.”
The facility is located on the same campus as the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
According to the Coliseum’s website, the venue is 78,323 square feet and fully meets NCAA and FINA standards.
The GAC hosts several impressive national championships, regional championship, ACC and NCAA championships.
Other elite events hosted at the GAC include the U.S. Synchronized Swimming 2012 Olympic Team trials, 19 consecutive days of USA Diving national championship competitions, including the 2012 AT&T Senior National Championships, 2015 USA Diving Synchronized National Championships and the 2015 Synchronized Swimming Junior Olympics.
“We went from practicing in a high school pool with a little mini trampoline and tiny little one-inch platform to potentially having one of the nicest facilities in the country,” Zawadzki said.
Zawadzki is competing in the 2019 ACC Swimming and Diving Men’s 3-Meter Dive event.