Swim team goes blonde: truth behind the tradition

It’s no secret that at the beginning of swim season, the boy’s team seems to instantly turn blonde. What remains a secret is why they do this.

Some believe H10 is the answer.

H10 is a secret society operating within the UHS swim team. Not much is known as they keep their secrets very well, but there are a few rumors as to the origins of the name and what this secret club entails.

One of the older rumors surrounding H10 is that the name may be related to an old auditorium seat (row H, seat 10). A search of “H10 swimming,” results in a 12 year old Echo article and the Polar H10 device. This device at its simplest is an underwater fitness tracker. Regardless of the name’s meaning, H10 is related to the bleach-blonde look.

According to an anonymous member of the swim team, the tradition of bleaching their hair started just around 40 years ago.

“Back then it was more of a cult,” he said.

The team would all bleach their hair and “those who did not…were hooked up to jumper cables and electrocuted.”

The punishment has since been banned. Despite the dark past, the bleach-blonde tradition is now all about building the bonds of friendship.

“It deepens the relationship with everyone on the team,” said junior Ian Peters. “It gives a lot of uniqueness to the team; it’s something no other team in the school has.”

Standing out is nothing new to the swim boys, and this unique tradition is just one more thing to add to the list. They have their secrets, but most importantly they have true unity.