Every year around conference time, the boys’ swim team makes a change. Namely, they change their hair. The boys on the team have two choices: they can shave their heads or bleach their hair. This year there was another change: where the team got their hair done. Usually, the boys get their hair styled in the boys‘ locker room at Ames High, but this year it took place in Leedz Salon at the campus town location. “I was impressed! It was so fancy, I mean, it involved more than just a salad bowl of bleach!” junior swimmer Michael Herriges said. Such a fancy hair treatment would cost 45 to 60 dollars at Leedz Salon. But on Wednesday, Jan. 25, starting at about 4:45 pm, the boys swim team got the treatment done for free. The process took until 8 pm because almost the entire swim team showed up at the salon and so many of the swimmers opted for bleached hair instead of shaved heads. Mothers and stylists alike manned the sinks, washing out hair when the job was finished. Some swimmers even got their hair styled to better suit their new hair color, like junior Ege Inanc who quickly found himself with a faux hawk. “ I really wanted a mohawk, but my mother told me how a mohawk would land me in jail and ruin my life,” he said. “So my friends and stylist suggested I get a fauxhawk instead. It was nice because the stylist did it so well.” Almost all the boys on the team showed up for the free treatment, and all together, it took a little more than three hours. “It was pretty cool how they managed to fit about sixty kids into that salon; it was almost like magic!” Inanc said. He also added, “those beauticians are super good!” The salon ordered pizza for the boys’ team and, while waiting for a turn in a stylist’s chair, the swimmers said they had a good time relaxing, flipping through magazines, listening to music, eating, and talking. “We did it because it’s fun.” Doug Ziminski, owner of Leedz Salon, said. “Fun for us, fun for the team. I mean, what’s more fun than this?”