TORONTO – The Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials, Presented by Bell, will be moved to Toronto due to the closure of the Olympic Pool in Montreal.
Swimming Canada was informed Wednesday by Fédération de natation du Québec that the Centre sportif du Parc Olympique would be closed for several months due to damage caused by fire. Since that time senior staff have been consulting with partners and working on contingency plans for the event, which serves as the selection meet to nominate teams for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre will now play host on the originally scheduled dates of May 13-19. TPASC is familiar territory for Canada’s top swimmers, having been the site of multiple national and international events, including the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, Trials for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games, a leg of the 2022 Swimming World Cup and last year’s Trials for world championships.
“It wasn’t an easy decision and it won’t be perfect but we believe, taking all into consideration, it is the best decision with only five weeks to go before the meet,” said Swimming Canada Acting CEO Suzanne Paulins.
“The local organizing committee put together by the Fédération de natation du Québec did incredible work to help us evaluate all the possible contingencies. We also received support from the City of Montreal, Tourism Montreal, Centre Sportif du Parc Olympique and Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. Their partnership, collaboration and willingness to help is greatly appreciated. No one anticipated this, but everyone did their best to find viable solutions.”
“Although we are disappointed that the Trials will not be held in Montreal or Quebec, we understand the need for an environment that promotes athlete preparation and performance. We support Swimming Canada in this choice. At the same time, this situation highlights the vulnerability of our sport for holding a world-class event in Quebec,” said FNQ Executive Director Francis Ménard. “We are counting on our partners to find a solution to promote the development of swimming.”
Partners consulted included the Swimming Canada High Performance Coach Advisory Council, High Performance Athlete Advisory Council, Para swimming coaches, Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium.
With the Trials less than six weeks away and most travel plans booked, Swimming Canada’s initial focus was to maintain a Montreal-based event at the Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard. The organization also considered the Pavillon de l’éducation physique et des sports de l’Université Laval (PEPS) roughly 250 km away in Quebec City.
“We looked at every possible option of remaining in Montreal, while also considering two other options, PEPS in Quebec City and TPASC in Toronto,” Paulins said. “All three had different limitations and every factor was taken into consideration.”
In addition to travel cost changes for flights and accommodations, other factors included pool availability, with each facility hosting other previously booked activities that could not be cancelled on short notice. Swimming Canada explored the setup of a temporary Myrtha Pool to serve as a warmup/warmdown pool alongside the existing 50m competition tank at Claude-Robillard, but it would not be possible to have fully ready in time. Accessibility of each facility was also taken into consideration.
“No stone was left unturned,” Paulins said. “We looked at every possible option to make this work.”
“There have been multiple issues to consider in making this decision, and everything has been very carefully considered. Representing Team Canada at Olympics and Paralympics is the pinnacle of our sport. We had to minimize compromise for our athletes in order for them, along with their coaches, to maximize their performance,” said High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “This was very critical in getting to this decision. When considering a hundredth of a second is all important in our sport when striving to make standards, this will be the right decision to safeguard performances.
Ultimately, the athlete voice was strongest in advocating for TPASC. Olympians and Paralympians pointed to the availability of a second 50-m pool for warmup/warmdown and training purposes, as well as TPASC’s history of hosting world-class events with record-setting performances.
“TPASC is a great facility,” said Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey of Montreal’s CAMO club. “Summer McIntosh swam two world records at Trials last year. There’s a lot of fast swimming and good history in this pool and I’m sure we’ll see some more.”
High Performance Athlete Advisory Council co-chair Javier Acevedo, a two-time Olympian who trains at the TPASC-based High Performance Centre – Ontario, echoed those sentiments.
“A lot of us are really excited at the prospect of coming to Toronto to swim Olympic & Paralympic Trials,” Acevedo added. “It’s the fastest pool in Canada. We’ve seen so many fast swims here like Summer’s world records, Kylie Masse’s exceptional swims, and Josh Liendo’s world No. 1. Knowing where we are now helps us plan for May 13-19. Thank you to Swimming Canada leadership for a quick decision to allow athletes to return our focus on competing at our best.”
“TPASC is a great pool,” added Paralympic medallist Tess Routliffe, one of the High Performance Centre – Quebec swimmers displaced to alternate training locations in Montreal after the Olympic Pool fire.
“Nothing is going to be perfect but I think it’s the best situation for what’s going on. We’ve been fast in that pool before, the environment is good and we hope the atmosphere will be as good as it was going to be in Quebec. We’re there to swim fast.”
“A lot of people have our backs and are willing to step up to support our athletes, which has been incredible,” Paulins said.
“The speed that all the sporting partners and all within our sport responded to make this possible has been fantastic and a key reason we have got to this decision as quickly as we have,” Atkinson added. “Our athletes had a strong voice in the consultation that happened and our coaches did as well. We thank them for their significant input.”
The focus now turns to adapting plans to move the meet to Toronto.
“It won’t be easy, but our staff, local organizing committee and volunteer base are resilient and adaptable, and have shown that time and time again in recent years with various cancellations and changes after COVID. We will do everything in our power to make this Trials the best it can be,” Paulins said.
“Thank you to our partners, Sport Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee, Own the Podium, Province of Ontario, Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Swim Ontario and Fédération de natation du Québec for coming together with the Swimming Canada Board of Directors and staff to help us make this change in such a short period of time,” added Swimming Canada President Mary C. Lyne.
Swimming Canada will also be setting up an assistance program for those seeking accommodations in the Toronto area and/or facing additional costs due to travel changes.
In support of this initiative, Trials sponsor Air Canada has offered to waive any change fees and fare differences incurred by those with flights already booked to Montreal. Prior to calling Air Canada to make flight changes, please complete this form so Swimming Canada may share the needed information with Air Canada.
Those affected can complete either the form above for Air Canada ticket holders, or this form for travel booked via another airline/travel method.
Additional hotel blocks, in Toronto, are being arranged and will be shared as soon as available.
Further information on refunds or replacements of existing ticket sales will be shared in the coming days.
Swimming Canada is scheduled to return to Montreal for the Canadian Swimming Trials in 2026.
“Once again we’d like to recognize the local organizing committee put together by the Fédération de natation du Québec, the City of Montreal, Tourism Montreal and all the partners who worked so very hard to keep the event in Montreal,” Paulins said. “We look forward to being back in Montreal and competing at Trials in 2026.”
For further information, please email [email protected]
Swimming Canada has unveiled its new development initiative aimed at bolstering coaching excellence across the country, selecting 14 coaches to partake in the revamped Select Coaches Group.
Combining the previous Select Coaches Group and Female Coach Development program, the initiative marks a step towards fostering leadership and innovation in Canadian swimming.
The goals are to support and develop world-leading coaches through the guidance of group and individualized programming.
The vision is to continue swimming excellence with their mission to develop leaders in and out of the water by continuing to drive excellence in all aspects of the sport in Canada.
“We are very happy to announce the new intake for the Swimming Canada Select Coaches Group for 2024-2025,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director and National Coach John Atkinson. “The group over the years has had a massive impact across Canada with enhanced development opportunities for different coaches, and this will be the same for the coming group. Fourteen coaches (eight female and six male) will benefit from their place on the program this time around.”
Led by Swimming Canada’s High Performance staff, the key focus for the group will be to “Build the Engine” through consistent aerobic development and distance training. This work will be structured over the initiative’s 15-month period to implement training progression and embracing transformational leadership.
Coaches were selected from across the country and will use one another to leverage collective expertise to sustain an environment for success while developing people and structures. The select coaches will balance and analyze data to make accurate, evidence-based decisions.
“We received many applications for this program, which shows how motivated the coaches in Canada are to learn and grow,” said Martin Gingras, National Coach (Programming and Coach Development). “I am excited to start this new program with this cohort. I believe that by sharing, learning, and experimenting together, they will be able to become the leading coaches of tomorrow.”
2024-2025 Select Coaches Group:
| Lucien Zucchi | Island Swimming | British Columbia |
| Marc Spackman | Etobicoke Swim Club | Ontario |
| Phil Gaverick | Pointe-Claire Swim Club | Québec |
| Jeremy Dumora | Neptune | Québec |
| Guillermo Toro | North York Aquatic Club | Ontario |
| Nicolas Bélisle | ROC | Ontario |
| Lesley Serediak | Olympian Swim Club | Alberta |
| Savannah King | McGill | Québec |
| Sarah Steinke | Uxbridge Swim Club | Ontario |
| Amélie Poirier | Sherbrooke | Québec |
| Edit Varga | Newmarket Stingrays | Ontario |
| Tina Hoeben | KISU | British Columbia |
| Judy Baker | Winskill Dolphins | British Columbia |
| Christelle Roy-L’Ecuyer | Université de Montréal | Québec |
Sixteen Canadian athletes are set to compete in the fourth leg of the 2024 Citi World Para Swimming World Series, from April 11-13, in Indianapolis.
Prior to the three days of racing, some members of the delegation will also take part in a classification process from April 8-10.
This is the last international classification event Swimming Canada is attending before the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Trials, presented by Bell, set for May 13-19.
“Beyond offering a high quality long course racing opportunity, the WPS World Series event in Indianapolis is a key event for our swimmers to continue along the complex pathway toward Paralympic Games eligibility as established by the IPC,” said Wayne Lomas, Swimming Canada’s Associate Director of High Performance and Para Swimming National Coach.
“We look forward to several swimmers advancing to the next stage by undergoing classification, participating in a World Series event, or attaining a Paris minimum qualifying standard while in Indianapolis. These milestones pave the way for them being eligible for selection at the upcoming Trials.”
Canadians set to go through classification in Indianapolis are Tokyo 2020 Paralympian Aly Van Wick-Smart of Toronto and Hunter Helberg of Fort McMurray, Alta., both of whom are having classification reviews done.
For her part, Mary Jibb, a native of Bracebridge, Ont., who already has a Paris MQS, is being internationally classified for the first time.
Additionally, six of the Canadian swimmers attending this World Series event were classified at the Ken Demchuk Invitational last December in Surrey, B.C. This will be their first international competition as newly, internationally classified swimmers.
The group includes Ali Diehl of Prince Albert, Sask., Charlie Giammichele of Hamilton, Ont., Riley Martin of Peachland, B.C., Sebastian Massabie of Surrey, Hannah Ouellette of Saskatoon and Leo Zheng of Regina.
Other Canadians set to compete in the capital of Indiana include Tokyo Paralympians Nikita Ens of Meadow Lake, Sask., and Shelby Newkirk of Saskatoon, former world championship participants Justine Morrier of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., Myriam Soliman of Saint-Hubert, Que., and Emma Grace Van Dyk of Port Colborne, Ont., as well as Antonio Fricano of Ancaster, Ont., and Sumbul Zafar of Etobicoke, Ont.
Janet Dunn, Swimming Canada’s Para Swimming Performance Pathway Coach & National Classification Lead, will be the delegation’s team leader and head classification advocate in Indy.
Streaming of the Indianapolis World Series event is available on the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Facebook page, and at www.usparaswimming.org and www.paralympic.org/swimming.
Seven of the season’s nine Citi World Para Swimming World Series events take place between February and June, before the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (Aug. 28-Sept. 8). The campaign will then wrap up in November and December with the last two competitions of the calendar.
Following Indianapolis, the Series will resume next month in Singapore.
Swimming Canada is working on contingency plans after learning Wednesday that an extended closure of the Montreal Olympic Pool affects the scheduled dates of the Olympic & Paralympic Swimming Trials, Presented by Bell.
Swimming Canada had previously been informed by Centre sportif du Parc Olympique of a temporary closure due to damage caused by fire.
“As our High Performance Centre – Quebec is based at the Olympic Pool, our immediate concern was for those Paralympic Program swimmers to continue their training uninterrupted. We arranged an alternate training location for the short term, but Wednesday we were informed that the closure would be of a much longer term affecting Trials,” said Swimming Canada Acting CEO Suzanne Paulins.
The event serves as Swimming Canada’s selection meet to nominate the teams that will represent Canada at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The organization is now focused on organizing Trials at an alternate location in the Montreal area, maintaining the original May 13-19 schedule. Racing must be held in a 50-m pool with adequate capacity for participants and spectators, in a venue capable of accommodating broadcast of the event.
“We know that day-by-day plans for an Olympic and Paralympic year are laid out months in advance. We are also aware that, with Trials less than six weeks away, most participants have booked travel to, and accommodations in, Montreal,” Paulins said. “We are working hard on contingency plans to hold the event in Montreal on the scheduled dates of May 13-19.”
Swimming Canada will also continue to make alternate training arrangements for the HPC-Quebec, and work with partners at the Institut national du sport du Québec to ensure services remain available to athletes, including the temporary relocation of the INS medical clinic.
Staff will be consulting with key partners in the coming days, with a goal of sharing more detailed plans early next week.
“We know our athletes are resilient and adaptable, and so is our staff,” Paulins said. “We are doing our best to minimize disruption, and confident in our ability to deliver a first-class swim meet that sets us up for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The status of tickets already purchased will be determined when a new location and seating plan is finalized. Swimming Canada will make best efforts to ensure fans receive comparable seating to what was originally purchased
By Rita Mingo
Diane MacKenzie, a fixture in Nova Scotia officiating circles, started her volunteerism in rural Saskatchewan before moving east.
Now she’s one of a handful of Canadian swimming officials who have been chosen to represent their country at top international meets.
“I think I would have my father to thank for that,” MacKenzie said. “He was a huge community volunteer. He was always giving back.
MacKenzie is one of five Canadians who have been named to the Pan Am Aquatics (PAQ) officials’ list, a commitment that runs from Jan. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2027. The others are Kerim Ozcan, Iris Jackson, Teresa Stauft and Su Kin Cheong. Ozcan, MacKenzie and Jackson are referees, while Stauft and Cheong are starters.
“When I was growing up, sports was something that was very helpful to me. I did team sports and I had a lot of excellent coaches. When I had my own kids, swimming requires volunteer officials. You do it long enough and you develop some sort of competency so it’s kind of like succession planning. How do I also then help other officials come up and continue the sport?” MacKenzie said.
Her resume includes all levels of swimming, including the Bedford Beavers, the Halifax Trojans and both Dalhousie and McGill varsity programs; age group development meets, the AUS championships, U Sports championships and several national trials.
“Clearly, it’s quite an honour to be on the list from Canada because we have a lot of great officials coast to coast,” MacKenzie said. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of them on the list and also on past lists.”
“As you move through different positions, then you’re often asked to teach the clinics because it’s part of the officials pathway. I’ve been involved with some of the steering committee work on looking at revising clinics, making them accessible, to try and recruit more individuals. To try and make it so people can stay in it longer so they don’t feel there’s only one end point.”
Ozcan, meanwhile, reflects on how he has been both mentor and mentee.
“We have two responsibilities,” said Ozcan, an oral surgeon from Prince George, B.C. “The first is to take advice and mentorship from the ones that have gone before us but I think also it’s to be good mentors. Be a role model. Try to teach clinics, encourage people to go to national meets and keep the volunteerism of Swimming Canada foremost in our organization.
“Without swimming officials, we don’t have swimming.”
Ozcan, a swimming official for almost 20 years, called it an “absolute thrill” to represent Canada internationally.
“I thought it would be important to volunteer and this is my way of giving back to my community, my province and my nation,” he said.
Ozcan, who began his volunteering with the Prince George Barracudas Swim Club in northern B.C., lists Sheila Nelson, Larry Chrobot, Bill Hogan, Maggie Middleton and Daryle Martin as mentors at the provincial and international stages.
“I went into swimming officiating quite humbly, going from timer to stroke judge to starter, then referee then master official,” he said. “Once I had some confidence on the deck and I had great mentors at a national level that were blazing the path ahead of me, they suggested that I keep moving up the officials’ pathway. My thought has always been if you do good work, that work will be recognized.”
Cheong, who hails from the Pickering Swim Club, has the late Paul Corkum to thank as mentor and now, 20 years into her officiating journey, she can be found almost every weekend on a pool deck.
“When I received the email, I couldn’t believe that I was selected,” she said. “And then I couldn’t even sleep.
“Then I thought, what is next? I just want to continue what I love best: to be on deck, to see the swimmers perform well and progress. That’s why I’ve been volunteering with the swimming world for so long, to see the kids go after their goals.”
Happily, mentoring in the Toronto area takes up a lot of her time.
“If they need a clinic run, I’ll be there,” noted Cheong, a retired elementary school workshop presenter. “That’s also the main thing. I enjoy being with people and encourage them to progress. I always say don’t think about it as a chore, think about it as potential for when you retire. When you retire, you have plenty of time on your hands and this is a good hobby to have. The main thing is don’t think about going up the ladder. You’re here to help and when you’re assigned a position, do it well.
“The friendship created among officials is precious to me.”
By Rita Mingo
Claude St-Jean may have been a bit shorthanded but the extensive quality of his swim club still shone brightly.
CAMO (Club Aquatique de Montréal) finished atop the overall standings at the 2024 Speedo Canadian Eastern swimming championships at the Université Laval, collecting 2,902.5 points.
The race for second was incredibly close, with Pointe-Claire Swim Club amassing 2,469 points and CNQ (Club de natation région de Québec) a shade behind with 2,456. The CAMO men were tops in their division, while the Pointe-Claire women were best in theirs.
“I think the meet was great,” acknowledged St-Jean. “This is what we expected. But like before every meet, I was scared we’d get caught. But the kids delivered; they swam really well. I’m really happy because we are six weeks from the trials and some of the boys really put the bar up and did some very good times and I’m happy with it.”
“It says a lot about the talent on our team that we came out on top of the ranking despite having three, four of our best swimmers in Europe right now, so they weren’t here to help us make more points.”
Among his key contributors, St-Jean pointed to 18-year-old Antoine Sauvé’, a freestyle specialist who garnered the most points in a single event.
“It’s the first time he went an individual race under 50 seconds, 49.5 (in the 100-m free) and I’m really happy about it,” noted St-Jean. “His 200 was 1.50 and he wasn’t fully rested so I think the 200 can be even better. I think my distance junior guys like Simon Fonseca and Édouard Duffy did a really good job in the freestyle events.”
Jordi Vilchez of the Barrie Trojan Swim Club was the top male competitor while Katerine Savard of CNQ was the top female swimmer.
She has returned to her roots in Quebec City after 10 years in Montreal.
“My coach and I saw it as a training opportunity,” she said of these championships. “I’m happy with how I swam. I think there are good things in every single race I did this weekend and I have met my own expectations. My main goal coming here was to be fearless, which is something that had been missing in the last few years. I still have a lot of work to do, but I’m ready to do it and I’m on the right track.”
“I have been swimming for a long time and I’m incredibly lucky to still be competitive,” continued Savard, who turns 31 in May. “I love what I’m doing and the next generation is motivating me. I see a younger version of myself in some of my teammates.”
Savard hopes this tournament is a stepping stone to bigger things.
“We’re leaving for a training camp in Florida tomorrow and there are things I did this weekend that I want to work on while we’re there,” she noted. “I put a lot of pressure on myself for trials, because I still love and care a lot about swimming.”
Among the top competitors at the meet was Charles Giammichele out of the Golden Horseshoe Aquatic Club in Hamilton. Giammichele set the 100m breaststroke S87 record on Friday morning, then again that evening. The record he broke was his own, which he set in December.
“I was expecting to swim fast during the meet,” Giammichele admitted. “I was feeling great and training had been going well. Breaststroke has always been my best stroke, but lately I’ve been working more on my IM and I think it’s helping me in everything. My goal here is to see what I still need to work on to get ready for trials in May.”
A pair of CNQ athletes, Alexander Elliot and Aurelie Rivard, were tops in the Para division.
A total of 105 clubs and 640 athletes took part in the four-day competition.
By Rita Mingo
Some of the finest young Canadian swimmers took to the Pan Am Pool in Winnipeg this past weekend and, when the dust settled, the Langley & Abbotsford Olympians Swim Club claimed number one status.
LOSC was the combined team winner at the 2024 Speedo Western Canadian swimming championships with 2,657.5 points, followed by Cascade Swim Club of Calgary at 1,558 points and Edmonton Keyano Swim Club with 852.
“They all work very hard and it’s nice to see their performance come through and come together as a team to win this; it was really fun,” said LOSC head coach Ryan Skomorowski. “We’ve got to get working really hard now and really focus on grinding it out and getting ready for (Olympic & Paralympic) trials (May 13-19 in Montreal).”
LOSC was ably represented by several swimmers, including Julia Strojnowska, Leilani Fack and Ashley Ko. The trio competed in all three women’s relays, winning a pair of golds and a silver. They also, as individuals, copped their fair share of hardware.
“It’s extra special (winning as a team) because we get to see all the work we’ve done together and when you win it feels really good to be there together,” said Strojnowska, who won a gold, silver and bronze on her own. She tied with Rebecca Smith of Cascade for the top performer in the women’s open category.
Being successful as a team is something that Fack says is extra important to her and her mates.
“It definitely is,” she insisted, “because when we train together we see how hard each of us works and to see that pay off, it’s just heart-warming in a different way.”
The top male open winner was Zackary Bowie of EKSC.
There were a number of standout performances on the weekend, including that of Aiden Kirk of the Kelowna AquaJets, tops in the junior boys division. The 16-year-old was a gold medalist in the 14-16 age group 1500m free, the 100m free, the 400m IM, as well as the 400m free, in which he went under four minutes for the first time.
“I felt pretty good about that,” Kirk said of that swim. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to go that fast so it’s kind of a shock … and it’s just super exciting to have done that time; I’m super pumped about it.”
He was also thrilled, understandably, with his overall medal haul.
“I was trying to go for a sweep in all the freestyles which was a fun goal me and my coach made up, but I was really just trying to do that for this meet.”
The junior girls winner was Matea Gigovic of Calgary’s Killarney Swim Club, who won gold while setting a meet record in the 13-15 age group 100m free.
“It was really good,” she said. “I didn’t love my time this (Saturday) morning so I really wanted to beat it in the afternoon and I haven’t gotten any best times this season so this is the first one. I am really happy about it.”
Gigovic also collected silver in the 200m free, and gold in both the 100m fly and 50m fly (the latter in a tie).
In Para swimming, Maxine Lavitt of the University of Manitoba was the top female, while Reid Maxwell of EKSC the top male.
“It wasn’t my best performance, I was faster about two weeks ago,” Lavitt said of her gold-medal swim in the 400 free. “I think the preparation was better; I’m still getting used to racing this event. I have to better prepare mentally. I let my mind wander a little bit. I’m more of a sprinter but Breanna (White) is awesome to race, she was pushing me to finish.”
“I’m happy with my swims,” added Maxwell. “I came into this meet not tapered so I just wanted to see what I could go and I am happy with it.”
A total of 452 athletes from 67 clubs competed in the four-day meet.
By Jim Morris
For Kiet Kong it was the simple things that made the biggest difference.
Learning how to clear his mind of distractions to better focus on his training was one tool Kong added to his collection during a recent Swimming Canada Junior Male Development Camp held in Vancouver.
“I learned about mindset,” said the 16-year-old, who trains with coach Sean Baker at the Markham (Ont.) Aquatic Club. “That I need to be in the right spot in my mind, just focus on the set. Think what you are going to do.”
Tuja Dreyer, a 16-year-old who was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, and now trains with Island Swimming in Victoria, received advice on improving his strokes from Martin Gingras, Swimming Canada’s national coach, programming and coach development.
“Throughout the camp he reminded me, worked with me,” said Dreyer, who trains with coach Lucien Zucchi. “It’s something I am working on right now.”
The camp drew 11 junior-age swimmers from across Canada to the University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre. It was part of a Swimming Canada initiative to develop more male swimmers to compete on senior national teams.
Ken McKinnon, Swimming Canada’s national development coach, said for many of those attending it was the first time they could train and learn from athletes of equal skill.
“That helps when you get like-minded swimmers doing something together,” said McKinnon. “It’s more fun for them. They can push each other harder. We get a little bit more of a directed focus.
“The message can be more common across the board. They also are playing some gamesmanship with each other. They race each other at meets, now they get to see each other in training.”
Kong, who swims the 100 and 200-metre breaststroke, liked being challenged in the training sessions.
“It was nice being able to swim next to people that are at my speed,” he said. “At home training, I don’t really get that opportunity.
“It pushed me. I did stuff at that camp that I haven’t really done before at my home training.”
Besides training sessions in the water, the swimmers were taught proper activation before practices, how to cool down after training and good lifestyle choices.
“We’re trying to push that kind of development and preparation, an athlete’s lifestyle,” said McKinnon. “Your wellness outside of the pool, your flexibility, mobility and injury prevention work is as important as your pool training.”
Robert Pettifer of the Richmond (B.C.) Rapids acted as head coach. The coaching staff also included Zucchi; Wendy Johnson, assistant head coach of Calgary’s Cascade Swim Club; Chilliwack Spartan Head Coach Justin Daly; and Baylee Munro, head coach with the University of Regina Cougars.
Zucchi said the coaches benefited as much as the swimmers.
“That was a really good group of coaches,” said Zucchi, who came to Canada from France 13 years ago and has coached in Red Deer, Alta., the University of Regina and the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club. “I learned a lot and there was stuff I brought home right away.”
Zucchi said the structure of the camp, with its training sessions and out-of-pool activities, was designed to show swimmers what it takes to compete at high-level, international meets.
“We wanted to show them what a high-performance athlete is doing and what they can do better,” he said.
Zucchi said he saw a difference in Dreyer, who swims the 200 and 400-m individual medley plus the 200-m butterfly.
“When he came back home his level of training was better,” he said. “We’re working on his skill.”
The camp is one of a series operated by Swimming Canada. The goal of developing more male swimmers came on the heels of the Rio 2016 Games, where Canadian women won six medals and reached 12 pool finals. Canadian men were kept off the podium and reached three finals.
Among the swimmers who have benefitted from past male junior camps are Finlay Knox, who won gold in the 200-m individual medley at the recent World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar; Joshua Liendo, a silver medallist at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and winner of three medals at the Budapest 2022 World Championships; and Gabe Mastromatteo, who won three medals at the 2019 World Junior Championships. Liendo, Knox, Mastromatteo and Cole Pratt all swam at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Most of the swimmers who attended the Vancouver camp are expected to compete at the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Trials, Presented by Bell, May 13-19 in Montreal. They will try to earn a spot on the Canadian team headed to the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Canberra, Australia, in August.
Neither Dreyer nor Kong has represented Canada at a major international meet. The Vancouver camp was a first step along the road to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“It’s a pretty far goal,” said Kong. “It’s always in the back of my head. I think it’s doable but it’s going to be a challenge.
“I think it’s a lot more achievable after this camp.”
Over 450 athletes are getting ready for the 2024 Speedo Eastern and Western Canadian Championships Thursday through Sunday.
Competitions on both sides of the country will run simultaneously with PEPS Université de Laval in Quebec City as host for Eastern Championships, and the Pan Am Pool in Winnipeg welcoming swimmers for the Western Championships.
“As Swimming Canada prepares to bid farewell to a cherished tradition, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the provincial sections, clubs, local organizing committees, officials and volunteers who have tirelessly supported the Speedo Eastern and Speedo Western Championships throughout the years,” said Jocelyn Jay, Acting Associate Director, Sport Development.
“This final instalment in Winnipeg and Quebec City would not be possible without the exceptional efforts of Swim Manitoba and Club de natation Région de Quebec (CNQ), who have graciously stepped up to host this year’s events. Their commitment, expertise, and volunteer spirit exemplify an exceptional collaboration, making this weekend’s competitions truly the ‘last one, fast one!’”
The four days of racing will be streamed live on the Rec Tec website.
The University of Calgary Swim Club (UCSC) will look to defend their Western title, while the Eastern banner is up for grabs with Etobicoke Swim Club not in action at this year’s meet.
At the 2023 Speedo Eastern Championships held in Windsor, Ont., Eswim’s 27-member team won by 181 points over Montreal’s Pointe-Claire Swim Club. On the Western side, UCSC couldn’t be touched winning the meet with 3,176.50 for Edmonton Keyano Swim Club to follow in second with 919.50 points last year at MNP Community and Sports Centre in Calgary.
These championships will be the final stop ahead of the 2024 Speedo Canadian Open in Toronto, April 10 to 13 and the 2024 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Trials presented by Bell May 13 to 19.
Tickets are still available for purchase for Eastern and Western Championships which can be found below:
More information including meet packages and results can be found on the Events & Results page of our website.