Doing the ’do

CEDAR RAPIDS - High school swimmers across Iowa are carrying on a long tradition of getting a unique new look and it all has to do with their 'dos.

Swimmers at Kennedy and Washington high schools in Cedar Rapids have hair stages, which the boys go through, leading up to the state championships in February.

The first stage is to bleach their hair.

'Looking in the mirror and seeing my bleached hair everyday is hard to get used to,” said Xavier sophomore Jack Frieden, who swims for Kennedy.

People who see Frieden have different reactions to his new hairdo.

'My friends tell me my hair looks really stupid, but others tell me it looks good, or really different,” Frieden said.

The final stage is to shave the rest of their hair off for the state championship.

'The first time I heard we were going to bleach our hair ... then shave it all off, I thought it would be fun to see how ridiculous we all look,” Frieden said.

When and who started the hair tradition remains a mystery.

'No one knows who started the hair tradition or how long it has been going on,” said Michael Simoneau, a Xavier freshman swimming for Washington.

The tradition helps create a 'team” atmosphere.

'Going through the hair stages, together as a team, is a great way to say ‘hey, we are all in this together,'” Frieden said.