Swimming Canada has one edition of its new Paris & Beyond Virtual Distance Camp concept in the books, and is ready to launch the next.

The East camp wrapped up Nov. 14, exposing 35 young athletes and their coaches to a traditional distance training model, workout examples, plans and templates. The week of activities was bookended by weekend sessions with participation from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. The second week runs in the West beginning Saturday through Nov. 28 with participation from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“The first Paris & Beyond East camp was an extraordinary experience giving a huge mental boost to the swimmers and coaches who took part in it,” said Swimming Canada Distance/Open Water Coach Mark Perry. “I’m extremely proud of the professionalism and the levels of expertise from the presenters on the calls. The way the swimmers and coaches excelled during the week is also very satisfying.”

The camps include a series of talks with opportunities for feedback and analysis with further educational content, including coach planning, workout progressions, Anti-Doping and True Sport Clean, and team management and protocols. Swimmers will complete at least three key workouts during the week. The new virtual camp concept was developed to reimagine the normal camp delivery process in light of the health, movement restrictions and different provincial protocols in place during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

An even larger group of 43 swimmers (males 18 and under, females 16 and under) is on tap to take part in the West camp. Perry and National Development Coach Ken McKinnon lead the initiative, supported by Olympic Senior Coach, Martyn Wilby and a group of support staff.

“Looking forward to the second Paris & Beyond West camp this week, I’m delighted that we have so many coaches, swimmers and clubs that will be able to benefit from the engagement with world class presenters,” Perry said. “Combined with the opportunity for these swimmers to be together virtually and complete a weekly training template together is a fantastic opportunity.”