This last weekend, the Southwestern University Swim and Dive team traveled to Lewisville, TX to compete at the SCAC Conference Championship Meet. Thus ends a nearly six-month season full of grueling practices and disgustingly early mornings. In honor and celebration of these end of year feelings, here are the five stages of what has come to be known as #ConferenceMadness.

1. We just want to eat everything in sight.

I’m not sure what “bulking season” is, but I do know what “carbo-loading” is and it is a beautiful, beautiful thing. In fact, it looks something like this:

2. Legs smooth AF.

It’s been at least a month since the ladies have shaved their legs and despite the initial annoyance of spending an hour perfecting them, the end result is bordering on dolphin-smooth legs. It makes you feel like a supermodel, or a functioning member of society for the first time in weeks, either one.

3. Let’s freaking go.

Or if you prefer: here we go Bucs! Or if you're really serious: here we actually go Bucs! The hype of not only high-stakes competition but also the nearness of freedom which is too sweet to put into words. What better way to kick of the exorbitant amount of free time that has since commenced than by swimming our best swims of the season?

4. The dreaded "chlorine cough."

You can't spend upwards of three days in/around a highly chlorinated pool without getting a wild cough from the chemicals. It happens every year, it'll clear up in a month or two. It serves as both a reminder of the previous season as well as a celebration of the fact that you have no obligations to deal with chlorine for weeks.

5. The unforgettable end-of-season bus ride.

I’m not sure there are words for the exhaustion and feelings that accumulates throughout the weekend that comes to a point on the bus ride home, but one thing is for sure, those final bus rides are unforgettable.