At first glance, it might not look like Shelby Newkirk and Nikita Ens have that much in common.

The former is quite voluble, the latter is on the quieter side. They came into Para swimming under different circumstances. They compete in different sport classes.

There is, however, one thing they most certainly share: the pride of representing the Saskatoon

Lasers Swim Club and their home province of Saskatchewan on the international stage.

After making their world championships debut together at London 2019 and teaming up again at the Tokyo Paralympics and last year’s worlds in Portugal, Newkirk and Ens are among 20 Canadians set to compete at the 2023 Allianz World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, England (July 31-Aug. 6).

“It makes me immensely proud to be from the Prairies,” says Newkirk, who hails from Saskatoon. “My whole family has been from Saskatchewan and I’ve lived there most of my life now.”

“Totally proud,” adds Ens, whose hometown of Meadow Lake is located some 300 kilometers northwest. “Saskatchewan is a little smaller but it’s definitely more of a tighter-knit community. The support is just amazing.”

Newkirk says having local role models is important for the development of the sport in less populous provinces.

“When looking at international meets, often swimmers might be like ‘Oh yeah, there are always people from Toronto, from these bigger centres’. But for them to be able to say ‘And there’s someone from our home club, someone that I swim with every day’, I think that’s a really cool thing.

“And for us, it’s also really cool to have all those voices cheering from back home.”

Newkirk and Ens definitely fit the definition of a role model, thanks in large part to their remarkable success over the years while wearing the Maple Leaf.

The reigning world champion in the 100-m backstroke S6, Newkirk had previously claimed world silver in the 100 back S7 in London and, at Tokyo 2020, she set Canadian records in every event she competed in.

She is also a former world record holder in the 50, 100 and 200 back S7, and currently holds nine national S6 and S7 standards.

Ens, for her part, captured her first world championships medal at Madeira 2022, silver in the 200 freestyle S3, and also holds nine national marks in the S3 and S2 classes. In her Paralympics debut in Tokyo, she broke the Canadian record in the 150 individual medley SM3.

Perhaps more impressively, both seem to be getting better with age.

At the 2023 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto, Newkirk, 27, lowered the Canadian S6 standards in the 50 and 100 free.

Ens, 34, claimed four multi-class medals, two of them gold. Last February, at the season-opening meet of the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series in Australia, she shattered her own national record in each of her four events.

“It’s fun. It’s impressive,” said coach Ryan Jones about his protégés’ ongoing improvement.

Jones, who took on the Paralympic program at the Saskatoon Lasers Swim Club right after Tokyo, is part of the Canadian coaching staff for Manchester 2023.

“You always kind of wonder, at what point is someone going to hit that peak,” he said. “Niki is still relatively new to the sport but someone like Shelby… Watching her put in some of the races that she put in is really impressive. You kind of go ‘Wow! This is where we’re at!’

“It’s very exciting to see how well they’re doing.”

According to Ens and Newkirk, good coaching and communication are key parts of their success.

“For sure, it’s a bit of a surprise to see continued improvement,” said Ens. “But actually, I don’t know why it does surprise me. My first year, one of our national coaches, Janet Dunn, threw out some times that I should aim for and they seemed ridiculous at the time. But with good coaching and hard work, it’s amazing to see it come to fruition.”

“I feel like I definitely had times during my career where I kind of hit that plateau and I was thinking maybe this is it, maybe this is as fast as I can go,” said Newkirk. “And especially with a progressive disability, it always comes to mind every time something changes or I can’t do something anymore, there’s always that thought of maybe I won’t be able to get back to that level.

“I think it’s really come down to me relying on, as an example, my communication with Ryan, my physiotherapists, and my whole (support) team at home. That really helps to see the challenges and see how we’re going to adapt to them.”

Jones agrees great communication is key.

“They’re a lot of fun to work with,” he said. “I get a lot of great communication and feedback from them. Day to day in practice, like how is this going, I’m feeling this way with this, etc. It’s really helpful as a coach to get that feedback so we can kind of adapt and keep moving forward.

“They’re very committed. They show up at the pool, at practice. They’re also on top of the support they need in order to do what they need to do outside of the pool, so they’re prepared when they get in.”

A little mutual admiration and complicity don’t hurt either.

“I’ve been with the Lasers for about five years now. At first I didn’t know Shelby was a big deal,” chuckled Ens. “She’s so humble and so encouraging and so kind. When we first went to Trials together it was mind-blowing to see her just flourish in that race environment.

“My impairment was acquired and she was born with hers. Just the way she has stepped up to those challenges… she’s such an inspiration.”

Newkirk loves the fact “we can be across the world and still have a little piece of Saskatoon wherever we go.”

“It’s nice to have a bit of a reminder of home. I find when you travel, everything’s different, and you can kind of look for those little similar pieces. Getting to go this year with my home coach and a club teammate, it’ll be nice just to have that little bit of familiarity.”

All three look forward to see how that all translates in Manchester.

“I definitely have my eyes on that podium. To be able to defend my title from last year,” said Newkirk, who holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Saskatchewan after graduating last June while in Portugal. “I just always want to come up with the best results that I can. You can’t control anybody else’s times. So we’re going to put in the work, and hopefully the times and placings will follow in line with those.”

“Going in as a defending medallist definitely adds a little bit of pressure, I would say,” said Ens, who takes online classes in theological studies from Toronto-based Tyndale University. “But in a good way. Like I’ve tasted it, and I want some more. I want to press in and work even harder, and the world championships are a great place to do that.”

Once again, Jones agrees.

“Get out there and perform like they’re capable of. When we discuss a race, we never talk about time. We talk about what they need to do in their performance to be successful.”