Admiring his reflection in the water, a Different Strokes Swim Team member hitches up his skirt, secures his polka dot kerchief with swim goggles, and checks his makeup as he prepares to dive into the pool.

About 75 swimmers from San Diego, Long Beach and San Francisco will join him Sept. 12, as they compete in the 3rd annual Flaming Gators Swim Meet at the Tierrasanta Municipal Pool.

“A lot of people from around the state come to San Diego for the La Jolla rough water swim,” Johanna Daly, DSST media director and team member said. “We thought this is a perfect chance to have a big swim meet and invite other GLBT teams to come mingle and socialize. Last year people had great costumes for the drag race; people were dancing and lounging in the pool, having nice drinks,” Daly said, adding the drag race portion is when swimmers ‘bend their genders’ to race with makeup and costumes on.

“We have people that look like the Queen, old English ladies and hookers,” Daly said. “I always buy a bunch of makeup, and all the guys wear bright red lipstick and the girls draw mustaches. It’s a great time.”

“Men have to wear a dress,” DSST member Lauri Stock said. “They have three female clothing items they have to wear. We wear a shirt, tie and pants. We [draw on] soul patches, sideburns and mustaches.”

Stock has been a DSST member since 2005, earning four medals at Gay Games 2006 for swimming and four gold in addition to a silver and a bronze in other track and field events.

Other events include a relay where swimmers push a team member on an inflatable gator and a dog paddle race.

“I signed up for the 50 Individual Medley, and the 25 Meter doggy paddle, which is always fun because we play ‘Who let the dogs out,’” Daly said, adding the music matches the individual events.

Swimmers can lounge on inflatable gators, beach balls and palm trees as they float on the water’s surface. As a general rule, each swimmer can only win one event at the meet, and each participant is guaranteed to win an award.

“We’ve had a beaded necklace with a light-up bead around the end of it.” Daly said. “Last year was a bottle opener with an alligator.”

Stock’s favorite memory of Flaming Gators past is a group picture the swimmers took.

“We did a really big group photo, and we all piled into the pool at the shallow end,” Stock said. “We had this beautiful sunny day and we were celebrating together.”

DSST maintains multiple practices during the week and has six coaches with another two as substitute coaches.

“We have five coach practices a week and all kinds of social opportunities, formally and informally,” Stock said. “People get together because it’s a really friendly group. I feel that kind of camaraderie being a part of the team. I don’t know who else does a swimming event like this. You get a chance to compete in regular events, but you also get to compete in all these fun relay races. The social events with these swimmers are crazy. It’s a blow out good time.”

“We’ve got music, a snack bar, and we’ve got a social afterwards. There are a lot of hot guys in Speedos,” Daly agrees – and, of course, some cool ones in skirts and eyeliner too.

The Different Strokes 3rd Annual Flaming Gaytors Swim Meet will be at the Tierrasanta Municipal Pool on Sept. 12, starting at 9 a.m. Events will take place until 2 p.m., with a social at Bourbon Street starting at 6 p.m.

Spectators are welcome, and there is no admission fee to watch the event.

For more information, visit www.dsst.org or e-mail flaminggaytor@dsst.org.

• Different Strokes Swim Team (DSST) formed in spring 1985 to prepare San Diego swimmers for the first Gay Games in San Francisco. DSST has grown steadily over the years and now has more than 100 men and women on its roster.

• In 1986, DSST sent 34 swimmers to the Gay Games in San Francisco, Calif. On the last day of the meet, DSST was asked to host the first IGLA (then known as the West Coast Gay Swim League). DSST proudly hosted IGLA 1 and 2 in 1987 and 1988.

• In 1990, DSST sent 48 swimmers to Gay Games III in Vancouver and in 1994 sent 58 swimmers and one diver to Gay Games IV in New York City.

• In 1997, DSST sponsored the 10th Anniversary of the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) championship. It also attended the Gay Games in 1998 in Amsterdam, Netherlands and in 2002 in Sydney, Australia.

• Each year DSST participates in the San Diego Pride parade.

• DSST hosts the Bart Hopple Annual Swim-a-Thon to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS. The team has donated thousands of dollars over the past 15 years to San Diego AIDS service organizations.

• DSST does not discriminate in terms of swimming aptitude. All kinds of swimmers are welcome, with team members’ ages ranging from 18 to 70.