More Happy news - Selected off swims done at Western Champs and Provincial Champs, the BC Age Group and Prospects Team(13+14 year olds) has been announced. Congratulations to: Stefanie Schmidt, Caileigh Filmer, Lauren McMillan, Salin Bol, and Ryan Howe.
They will join the team who will participate in the BC/Alta/Man-Sask Western Challenge Camp and Tri meet.
Rod Barratt was selected for the coaching staff to work with the 13 year old girls.
In the "oh so close" category were Rosie Moulton and Sophia Borchers.
One of the "competitions within the competition" at the Team Aquatic Supplies BC AAA Championships is the SwimBC-Team Aquatic Supplies Regional Athlete Development (R.A.D.) Awards.
These were created to recognize well-rounded swimming abilities and to assist developing athletes in any of the 14 years or younger age categories at BC AAA Championships.
Team Aquatic Supplies and Swim BC present the high-scoring swimmer (male or female) from each of the SwimBC regions with a cheque for $125.00.
-------------------- UVPCS swimmer Ryan Howe is this year's winner for the Vancouver Island Region. Congratulations to Ryan and coach Rod Barratt!
400 Freestyle Caileigh Filmer (13yrs) lead the UVPCS crew off with a silver medal in a strong 4:33. Stefanie Schmidt (14yrs) recovered from feeling ill earlier in the day to take advantage of getting into the final due to a scratch. She came from the outside lane to steal the silver medal and record a personal best of 4:27. Rosie Moulton (14yrs) continued to surprise and delight teammates with a stunning top five finish after qualifying 7th in the preliminaries. Rosie struck another four seconds from her PB in the heats. Katelyn Hayward (15yrs) held on to her aggressive beginnings to take fourth while Rachael Newman (16yrs) also swam from the outside lanes to snatch the bronze in a PB. Tyler Smith (18yrs) faded slightly from his strong am showing to end up sixth behind teammates Zac Parkes (fourth) and Ian Mattock (fifth).
100 Butterfly Lauren McMillan (13yrs) qualified in 7th and held her ground in a fast final to achieve another personal best. Ryan Howe (13yrs) pulled away from the field over the four lengths to take gold and a best time. Nival Bissoon (13yrs) carried off another front end attack to conclude in best time and a top eight finish. Rachael Newman (16yrs) slid up to fourth in a her best ever.
200 Breaststroke Aidan Thirkell (15yrs) put on a show from lane eight getting out in a blazing first 100m and continued to stretch out the rest of the competitors to take GOLD and set a personal best. Lauren McMillan (13yrs) lead from the front and confidently took the gold in a PB. She said she thought it would have been faster but there was no one pushing her at the end. Alex Kierstead (14yrs) had the best meet of her swimming career so far...in spite of 100% best times she had missed the final in all of her events, coming the closest with a 9th in 100Br. In the 200 Br, she soared in the heats erasing 5 seconds from her previous best to qualify fourth. In the final, Alex was in her zone and lopped another 3 seconds off to get under the Western Canadian Champs time for next winter and qualify for her first Age Group Nationals this summer in Winnipeg. In doing so Alex stuck close the the leaders, teammate Sophia Borchers (14yrs) and Kate Thompson of LOSC, and pulled away from the rest of the field on the final 25 to capture the bronze, her first medal in Provincial competition. Way to go Alex! Sophia Borchers (14yrs) just keeps on getting better. She lead from the front and held Kate Thompson off until the final 15m when Thompson passed her for the gold. Sophia has had that challenge all along and was pleased that her back half is getting much stronger. Her time of 2:41 set a new club record! Awesome meet Sophia.
100 Freestyle Salin Bol (14yrs) showed her stuff on the final night coming up with a top four finish and clipping a second off her best time to slide under 1:00. Her time of 59.45 put her in the running for selection to the provincial team. Also in the final was Stefanie Schmidt (14yrs) finishing in 7th and tying her best from the preliminaries. Katelyn Hayward (15yrs) rounded out the girls 100 Free with an 8th place finish. On the boys side Ian Mattock hammered to a best in the 17-18 category for fifth spot.
Congratulations to Salin Bol, Rosie Moulton, Caileigh Filmer, Stefanie Schmidt, winning silver in the 4x50m FR.
Updated 07-Mar-10
Night began with the 400IM: Rosie Moulton dropped in a big surprise swim for all chopping 13 seconds off her personal best to take the silver in 14yr old girls right behind Charlotte Philpots of WVOCS. Rachael Newman (15-16yrs) clipped 2 seconds off of her prelim time to take our second silver of the night behind Caitlin Quon of VPSC. Caileigh Filmer (13yrs) swam to a PB for the bronze. Ryan Howe (13yr boys) crushed the field. Ryan lead from the get go and withstood a strong finish from Peter Brothers of ISA to take the gold in a personal best of 4:56.88 moving Ryan to top three in Canada so far this year for 13yr boys.
Second event of the night 200Fly: Vicky Mock had a great race from the outside stripping 3 seconds from her best and cruising to fourth for 12 yr girls. Vicky had the fastest last 50 of the entire field. Emily Ding recovered from a rough prelim session to move up to 5th in her Fly(13yr girls) Final Time 2:30.89. Lauren McMillan set her night up with a new PB in her Fly moving up to finish 6th. Rachael Newman showed her strength taking second in the Fly just a short while after her 400IM. She let the competition get a little too far out front before running down MacKensie Morgan of WD but ran out of room to settle for 2:18.77 and the sliver. Julia Schmidt found her stride in the 17-18's notching a best time an 7th spot her time of 224.16 qualified her for this summer's Age Group Nationals in Winnipeg in July. Evan Letkeman had another PB in 15-16yr boys sliding up to 5th. Nick Sinclair lead from beginning to end to take the 17-18 Gold and was closely followed by teammates Remy Mock 3rd PB, Ian Mattock 4th also a PB and Tyler Smith 6th.
50m Br 10&U Patricia Horwood sprinted to 8th in the 50 Br in her first Provincial Championships.
100m Br Lauren McMillan (13yr girls)lead out the clan of UVPCS Breaststrokers with a silver medal and a BT. Her time of 114.36 established a new club Record - but it was not to stand for long... Hanna Carter charged from lane one to snatch the bronze and a 2 second drop in time. Caileigh Filmer swam to eight (13yr girls). Only minutes after Lauren McMillan's new record, Sophia Borchers spurred on by her competition and teammate McMillan's inspiration became the new club record holder. While she was 3rd for the bronze she looks forward to Sunday's 200 where both girls will square off with the province's best in a bid to qualify for their Senior national standards. Right behind Sophia was Rosie Moulton who slashed 2 seconds off of her best to finish fourth in 115.48. Alex Kierstead had to watch the proceedings from the sidelines after narrowly missing the final cutoff and her Age Group National time. Aidan Thirkell has struggled to get his stroke "on" for the past two weeks but certainly put it together tonight to slide into the medals and a PB time of 108.56. Eric Christiansen was just off his super heat swim but managed a 7th spot from his final. Zap Parkes stroked to 4th in 109.00.
100m Back 10&U Patricia Horwood snipped off over 1 second to finish 8th.
In the final individual event of the night - 200m backstroke: Ryan Howe (13yr boys)claimed silver in a battle with Brenden Decosta. Despite Ryan's mighty closing 50 Brenden held him off leaving Ryan at 2:18.41. Stefanie Schmidt (14 yrs) swam a magnificent race to take gold but missed the Provincial Record from 18 years ago by 1/3 of a second! Katelyn Hayward finished a respectable 5th creating a new club record for 15-16 girls
13-14 girls wound up the session with a Silver medal in the 4x50 F.R. - unfortunately they were just shy of the Club Record. 15-18 boys also took silver. 15-18 girls finished 7th.
Congratulations to Rosie Moulton, Caileigh Filmer, Salin Bol, and Stefanie Schmidt. The girls set a new provincial record in the 4x100 F.R. They cut over 1 sec off the previous record. Well done!
Congratulations to the following swimmers with top 3 finishes in Thursday's events: Caileigh Filmer, silver medal, Girls 13yo 800m Fr; Rachael Newman, silver medal, Girls 15&U 800m Fr; Rosie Moulton, Caileigh Filmer, Salin Bol and Stefanie Schmidt, gold medal, Girls 14&U 400m FR; and, Nicholas Sinclair, Tyler Smith, Ian Mattock and Zac Parkes, silver medal, Boys 18&U 400m FR.
Congratulations for top 8 finishes to: Victoria Mock, 6th place, Girls 12yo 800m Fr; Rosie Moulton, 7th place, Girls 14yo 800m Fr; Katelyn Hayward, 5th Place, Girls 15yo 800m Fr; Emily Ding, Sophia Borchers, Lauren McMillan, and Hanna Carter, 6th Place, Girls 14&U 400m FR; and, Allison Wood, Katelyn Hayward, Rachael Newman and Xin Wang, 6th Place, Girls 18&U 400m FR.
TORONTO - Nick Sinclair struck gold in the 200m backstroke and Craig Dagnall won bronze in the 1500m freestyle as the CIS Championships came to a close for the UVic Vikes swimming team.
Sinclair was first to touch in the 200m back with a time of 1:56.36, almost three seconds faster than the UVic school record he set at the Canada West meet. The Oak Bay graduate became the first Vikes male rookie swimmer to win CIS gold since Rod Archibald in 1985, and the first UVic male swimmer to win gold since John Stamhuis in 2002.
Craig Dagnall added a bronze medal win in the 1500m freestyle. The rookie from Victoria finished with a time of 15:30.09.
The two medal victories on day three piloted the men's team to an eighth place finish in the final standings, matching their standing from the previous year. The women's team, meanwhile, placed 11th and the Calgary Dinos completed the podium sweep by winning the men's and women's team titles.
The Vikes men narrowly missed a podium finish in the 400m medley relay, with the team of Sinclair, Derek Doerksen, Jeff Saganski and Cody Flegel finishing fourth with a time of 3:43.75.
The women's 400m medley relay placed 11th overall with Eleanora Dalling, Kaela Richardson, Jessica Pietrusiak and Siobhan Newell finishing in 4:20.12.
Dalling also broke a 15-year old school record in the 200m back with a time of 2:13.86. The sophomore from Vancouver finished seventh overall. On the opening day of competition she broke the school record in the 50m back.
We brought ten swimmers up to the meet. It was a nice sunny weekend in Campbell River which made the trip really nice. All the kids swam really well and improved a lot. Only 5 or 6 swims were not best times overall. So the trip was a big success with Braeden Copeman and Dana Goerzen having their first meet experience out of town. Emma Reinsch achieved her AA time on the first leg of the Freestyle relay!
Results Day Three Rachael Newman - Bronze in 200 Fly in Youth Final. She posted a PB of 2:19.54 Julia Schmidt - 9th in the B finals of the 16&over 200 fly. Stefanie Schmidt - 6th in 200 Back in the Youth Final. Her time of 2:15.84 narrowly missed the Provincial record of 2:14.32 held by Suzanne Weckend. Her coach at the time - Ron Jacks! The girls Youth 4x100 M.R. set a new Club Record smashing the previous mark by just shy of 20 seconds!. New time 4:29.(Schmidt. Borchers, Newman and Hayward)
Also swimming up a storm: Katelyn Hayward sliced over a second off her PB in 200 Back to finish in 2:25.3 Caileigh Filmer ripped over 4 seconds off her best in 400 Free - 4:32.5 Stefanie Schmidt swam to a best 400 free and just missed the top ten.
Took two days to reach Saskatoon after canceled and delayed Air Canada flights. The crew of 9 UVPCS swimmers stayed right on track through out.
Day one Highlights Stefanie Schmidt fought hard to finish 8th in 1500, just off her best. Racahel Newman netted a personal best 50 Fly and got under :30 sec for thr first time. Hanna Carter snapped over a second off her personal best in the 50m BR. Sophia Borchers also had a personal best in 50m BR. Rachael Newman lead the girls 4x200 FR off in a PB the team finished 20th.
Day Two Highlights 100 Backstroke Rachael Newman best by two seconds and finished 18th. Stefanie Schmidt just off her best 100 finished 14th in 1:06.84. Salin Bol also right on her PB of 1:08.8 Katelyn Hayward ad a PB of 108.4
200 Br - We lit this up. Hanna Carter lead out our breaststroke crew with a 2 sec PB finishing in 2:47.48. Caileigh Filmer won her heat slicing 5 seconds off her best time and moving up to 16th spot Sophia Borchers also ripped a sec off her previous best going 2:43. 3 for 13th just out of the Youth final. Aidan Thirkell was 11th and finished just out of the final.
VICTORIA – What does it take to be among the best open water swimmers in the world? Nineteen-year-old Richard Weinburger appears to have the guts, stamina and talent to be with the best if his performance this past Sunday at a World Cup in Brazil is any indication.
Afflicted with a serious case of food poisoning which caused diarrhoea and vomiting, the morning of the race, Weinburger soldiered on to the starting dock in Santos and swam the 10 kilometre event in two hours and 15 minutes and 05.12 seconds for 21st place.
What's most impressive is that he was less than a minute behind winner Evgeny Drattsev of Russia, a two-time world championship medallist and fifth at the 2008 Olympics.
“I was disappointed and pretty happy at the same time,” said Weinburger, racing at his second career World Cup and fifth open water race overall. “It was a really a race time decision whether I would compete or not. But I finished much closer to the winner than I would have thought. It was a strong field and the Russians and Italians, the top-two countries in the world, sent their best.”
Being so close to the leaders definitely left Weinburger wondering what could have been if he was in full health.
“I had a great week of training leading in, probably my best training ever heading into a race,” Weinburger said. “I was prepared to come top-10 no matter what. I had put in the preparation to achieve that and I was little disappointed it didn’t happen.”
Weinburger’s coach Ron Jacks of Victoria was elated with the performance.
“I was going to pull him but he was determined to race no matter what,” said Jacks. “He stayed with the pack for two laps and actually moved up in the third. There was some uncertainty for him during the race because he wasn’t sure how he felt. He definitely had never gone through any kind of experience like that.”
Weinburger and Jacks returned home from Brazil on Tuesday afternoon. Despite still in recovery mode, Weinburger was back in the pool at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning training for his next big event: a 14 kilometre open water race this April in Mexico.
His main goal in 2010 is to reach podium at the Pan Pacific Championships this August in California.
“He learned this weekend that he could swim with the best,” said Jacks.
VICTORIA - Nick Sinclair, a member of the UVic Vikes men's swim team, is featured in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of the February 15th issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.
The UVic Science student was recognized after becoming the first athlete in Canada West history to be named swimmer of the meet and rookie of the meet in the same year at the conference championships, and the first Vikes male swimmer to capture either award.
The bio accompanying his photo reads:
"Sinclair, a freshman at Victoria, won the 400 IM (4:24.85), 200 butterfly (2:02.88) and 200 (1:59.54) and 100 backstrokes (55.24) at the Canada West conference championships, earning rookie and athlete of the meet honors. A member of the Canadian junior national team, he recently won the 200 back in the 17-18 division at the New South Wales 13-18 championships."
The issue, featuring Super Bowl champion Drew Brees on the cover, hits newsstands across North America on Thursday, but a preview is also available online at: www.si.com/faces.
Sinclair is the second Vikes athlete to be featured in Sports Illustrated in the past 18 months. Women's golfer Christina Spence-Proteau was profiled in August 2008 after winning the RCGA national title. In 1969, UVic psychology professor Roger Ruth was featured for his accomplishments in the pole vault.
Sports Illustrated is the North America's leading sports publication, read by an estimated 23 million adults each week. "Faces in the Crowd" is a long-running segment in the magazine, which has profiled over 15,000 amateur athletes since 1956.
The results for the BC AA Championships in Penticton are now posted on the Results Page. Pictures and write-up from the weekend will be posted later today.
Michael Steele has produced for us a custom shampoo and conditioner. It is packaged in a great looking blue bottle with the PCS logo on it and product information.
The products are free of parabins and harmful chemicals so they are good for the environment and for us and our children.
A pair of bottles (either two shampoos or 1 shampoo and 1 conditioner) are $20.00 and $5.00 will go to the PCS Bursary and Scholarship fund. This will assist us in helping PCS families achieve excellence. And you get a quality product.
We would like to have you ask as many friends and family if they would purchase two of the bottles.
Coaches will be sending home a sample and an envelope. The swimmers need to return the envelope and cheques for orders by February 12th.
The hair products will be available on an ongoing basis. There will be a web link on the PCS page linking to Steele Luxury Hair.
We have several other community partners such as Cannor Nurseries and Kaboodles Toy Store. Links to our community partners can be found on our sponsors page.
OTTAWA (CIS) - Swimmers Nicholas Sinclair of Victoria and Martha McCabe of UBC and are the BlackBerry Canadian Interuniversity Sport female and male athletes of the week for the period ending January 24, 2010.
Sinclair, a first-year student from Victoria, became the first athlete in Canada West history to be named swimmer of the meet and rookie of the meet in the same year at the conference championships, and the first UVic male swimmer to capture either award. The 18-year-old member of Canada’s junior national team racked up an impressive six medals including wins in the 400 IM, 200 butterfly, 200 backstroke and 100 back and second-place finishes in the 50 back and 4x100 medley relay. Sinclair, who set school records in both the 100 and 200 back, will travel to Toronto next month for his first CIS championships.
Basketball players Paris Carter of Cape Breton, Jules Diagne of UQAM and Boris Bakovic of Ryerson were the other male nominees.
McCabe, a third-year student from Toronto, was named female swimmer of the meet at the Canada West championships in Lethbridge, Alta., after she collected five medals, including three individual victories, and helped the Thunderbirds upset defending CIS champion Calgary in the women’s team standings. The 20-year-old senior national team member set conference records in the 400-metre individual medley and the 200 breaststroke, added a third gold medal in the 100 breast, and claimed silver in the 200 IM and the 4x100 medley relay. McCabe and her UBC teammates will take on the nation’s bests at the CIS championships from February 18 to 20 at the University of Toronto.
Cape Breton basketball player Kelsey Hodgson, Laval basketball player Marie-Michelle Genois and Guelph hockey player Danielle Skoufranis were also nominated for the women’s award.
Male nominees: AUS: Paris Carter, basketball, Cape Breton QSSF: Jules Diagne, basketball, UQAM OUA: Boris Bakovic, basketball, Ryerson Canada West: Nicholas Sinclair, swimming, Victoria (recipient)
VICTORIA - On Monday, the Canada West announced that UVic Vikes swimmer Nick Sinclair has been awarded Male Athlete of the Week, in recognition of his outstanding performance at the conference championship.
Sinclair completed the awards hat trick at the Canada West swimming championships on the weekend. The Victoria rookie was named the conference's Athlete of the Meet, Rookie of the Year and All-Star after a six-medal performance in Lethbridge.
Sinclair became the first athlete in Canada West history to win Athlete of the Meet and Rookie of the Meet in the same year, and the first UVic male swimmer to win either award. Sinclair totaled four gold medals, winning the 400m individual medley, 200m fly, 200m back, 100m back, and picked up silver medals in the 50m back and 400 medley relay.
Sinclair’s time in the 100m back (55.24) and 200m back (1:59.54) both established new UVic school records.
In January, the 18-year old Oak Bay High School graduate represented the Canadian Junior National team at the Australian under-18s. Sinclair won the 200m backstroke at the meet.
Sinclair will be put forward as a finalist for the CIS' Athlete of the Week award, which will be announced on Wednesday of this week.
LETHBRIDGE - UVic Vikes men's swimmer Nick Sinclair completed the awards hat trick at the Canada West championships. The Victoria rookie added three more medals and was named the conference's Athlete of the Meet, Rookie of the Year and First Team All-star.
FULL RESULTS
Sinclair becomes the first athlete in Canada West history to win Athlete of the Meet and Rookie of the Meet in the same year. Sinclair totaled four gold medals, winning the 400m individual medley, 200m fly, 200m back, 100m back, and picked up silver medals in the 50m back and 400 medley relay.
On day the final day of competition, Sinclair broke UVic's school record with a time of 55.24 in the 100m back, and led a 1-2 Vikes finish in the 200m fly. Jeff Saganski placed second, and the two also teamed up to produce a team silver medal in the 400 IM relay.
Both Vikes men's and women's teams finished fourth overall in the team standings, but in terms of individual medals, the team won a combined five gold, five silver and a bronze.
VIKES MEDALS WINNERS AT CW CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD - Craig Dagnall, 1500 FR (15:46.84 GOLD - Nick Sinclair, 100 BS (55.24) GOLD - Nick Sinclair, 200 BU (2:02.88) GOLD - Nick Sinlcair, 200 BS (1:59.54) GOLD - Nick Sinclair, 400 IM (4:24.85) SILVER - Derek Doerksen, 200 BS (2:02.41) SILVER - Jeff Saganski, 200 BU (2:05.85) SILVER - Nick Sinclair, 50 BS (26.69) SILVER - Eleanora Dalling, 50 BS (29.91) SILVER - 400 IM Relay - Sinclair, Doerksen, Saganski, Sturgeon (3:48.30) BRONZE - Siobhan Newell, 200 FR (2:04.23)
See the Canada West release for full award winners and standings
CANADA WEST ALL-STARS & AWARDS Awards Women’s team champions (Felstad Memorial Trophy): UBC Thunderbirds Men’s team champions (E.W. Griffiths Trophy): Calgary Dinos Women’s Athlete of the Year: Martha McCabe, UBC Men’s Athlete of the Year: Nicholas Sinclair, Victoria Women’s Rookie of the Year: Shelbi Snodgrass, UBC Men’s Rookie of the Year: Nicholas Sinclair, Victoria Women’s Coach of the Year: Chad Webb, UBC Men’s Coach of the Year: Mike Blondal, Calgary
Men Joshua Au, Alberta Robert Mackinnon, Alberta Scott Stewart, Alberta Brian Yakiwchuk, Alberta Jason Block, Calgary James Goodway, Calgary Ryan Gow, Calgary Bogdan Knezevic, Calgary Andre Kudaba, Calgary Dan Langlois, Calgary Colin Miazaga, Calgary David Woodman, Calgary Riley Pickerl, Manitoba Tommy Gossland, UBC Nicholas Sinclair, Victoria Craig Dagnall, Victoria
LETHBRIDGE - With a double gold medal victory by rookie Nick Sinclair, the UVic Vikes swimming team continued to make waves on day two of the Canada West championships.
FULL RESULTS
Sinclair struck gold twice, first taking the 400m individual medley then winning the 200m back stroke in record time. Sinclair's time of 1:59.54 in the 200 back broke the UVic school record of 2:01.01, set by Derek Doerksen in 2009.
Derek Doerksen put two Vikes on the podium in the 200m back, finishing just behind Sinclair for second with a time of 2:02.41.
"We had a lot of strong swims today, and Nick's performance was really good," said head coach Peter Vizsolyi. "He won two difficult swims, and was also the fastest guy in the relay."
Siobhan Newell delivered the Vikes their fourth medal of the day, and seventh overall, after capturing bronze in the 200m free. Newell, a rookie from Kingston, finished with a time of 2:04.23.
The Vikes narrowly missed medaling in the relays, placing fourth in the men's and women's 400 free. Jeff Saganski also just missed the podium with a fourth place standing in the 200m fly. Jessica Petrusiak placed fifth in the 200m fly.
On Sunday the Vikes will wrap-up the Canada West Championships at Lethbridge's Max Bell Aquatic Centre. Heats begin at 9 a.m., with the finals taking place at 4 p.m.
LETHBRIDGE - Craig Dagnall won the UVic Vikes men's swimming team's first gold medal at the Canada West conference championship since 2003 after winning the 1500m.
FULL RESULTS
Dagnall, a rookie from Claremont Sec., was first to touch with a time of 15:46.84. The last time a member of UVic's men's team struck conference gold came in 2003 when David Creel won the 1500m.
The Vikes also added a pair of silver medals in the 50m backstroke men's and women's races for a successful opening day in the pool.
Nick Sinclair, a rookie from Oak Bay Sec., finished second in the 50m back stroke with a time of 26.69. Calgary's Dan Langlois won the race with a time of 26.19.
Eleanora Dalling won silver in the 50m back after finishing in 29.91. UBC's Grainne Pierse won gold with a time of 29.67.
In addition to the medal success, four members of the women's team reached CIS standard to qualify for the National championship. Danielle Newton and Allison Wood both met standard in the 50m back, placing sixth and eighth, respectively. Liz Sissons and Kaela Richardson both qualified with seventh and ninth place finishes, respectively, in the 50m breast stroke.
Day two of the Canada West championships resume Saturday morning at Lethbridge's Max Bell Aquatic Centre. Heats begin at 10 a.m., with the finals taking place at 5 p.m.
Congratulations to all our UVPCS swimmers and coaches on their fine performances in Duncan at the Vancouver Island Region (VIR) Short Course Championships!! Highlights included lots of best times, top-8 and medal finishes and a new club record.
Our Gold medalists were Nival Bissoon, Salin Bol, Lauren Crisp, Emily Ding, Caileigh Filmer, Ryan Howe, Lauren McMillan, Remy Mock, Rachael Newman, Zac Parkes and Stefanie Schmidt. Silver and Bronze medalists included Sophia Borchers, Hanna Carter, Michael de Clare, Katelyn Hayward, Patricia Horwood, Evan Letkeman, Rosie Moulton, Kristopher Neilson, Julia Schmidt and Alice Wang.
Additional top-8 finalists were Finn Barker, Cole Barratt, Emma Carter, Eric Christiansen, Nathan Howe, Alexandra Kierstead, Katherine Krause, Eeh-Joe Kwon, Spencer Lee, Edward Liang, Annie MacIntosh, Rebecca MacKenzie, Heather McMillan, Nicholas Nolt, Stephen Olmos, Jackson Sinclair, Riley Tesch, Heidi Ullrich, Brenden Ward and Tabitha Zammit.
As well, congratulations to the following swimmers and their coaches for achieving new time standards: Hanna Carter – Western Nationals Emily Ding - Western Nationals
And, last but not least, congratulations to Lauren McMillan for setting a new club record in the 200 Breaststroke (13-14).
Well done, swimmers! As always, complete details are available on our results page.
Here are the results from the meet in LA: Stefanie Schmidt was 4th in the 500yd Freestyle and 4th in the 200yd Backstroke. Lauren McMillan was 8th in the 100yd Breaststroke and 11th in 200yd Breaststroke and 12th in the 400yd IM.
The team result was 4th.
Kristine McMillan went as one of the two team managers and did a great job!
Congratulations to the team and to Stef and Lauren!
Down Under at the New South Wales State Championships, Nick Sinclair added a Gold medal to his Canadian National Junior campaign by winning the 200 Back in a dominant time of 2:03.59. Nick finished almost 2 full seconds ahead of his nearest Australian and Canadian competitors.
January 7, 2010
SYDNEY, Australia – Nick Sinclair of UVic-PCS is competing for Canada as part of a 20-member Canadian National team comprised of 12 junior and eight youth-aged swimmers from the national development program. They have been training in Australia since December 29.
Currently, they are competing at the New South Wales under-18 swimming championships being held this week at the 10 lane Homebush Olympic pool in Sydney. The meet is one of the first International meets to be conducted under the FINA textile only suit rules.
Nick was the fastest Canadian in the 100 Back in a 57.73, placing second to Australian Kenenth To. He was also 7th in the 100 Fly in 57.30. Competition continues through to Saturday.
Congratulations to the 5 (more than any other team) PCS swimmers chosen to go to the VIR 10 & Under Regional Camp this month based on their performances in the 400 free and 2000 I.M. at the Christmas Cracker. The swimmers who qualified are: Patricia Horwood, Emma Carter, Lauren Crisp, Heather McMillan and Kristopher Neilson. Well done!
Just a reminder to all families interested in the Lightning Fast Swim Series (LFSS): new sessions are starting up in January and registration is now open. Lightning Fast (LF) programs are offered at UVic,Oak Bay Recreation Center and Saanich Commonwealth Place swimming pools. They will also be offered at Gordon Head Recreation Center in early February, once renovations are completed to their pool.
Here is a summary of the sessions and registration information:
UVic Lightning Fast sessions are Saturday mornings, starting January 16th and go to March 22nd. Register by phone at 250-721-7982.
Oak Bay sessions start January 10th and go to Mar 7th. Register at Oak Bay or phone 250-595-7946.
SCP session run January 5th to February 4th. Please call 250-475-7600 to register.
Please note that the Lightning Fast Swim Series is changing slightly in 2010. Lightning Fast is now made up of 5 levels. What we used to call Tykes and Super-Tykes have become Lightning Fast One and Two respectively. The previously levels of the series (LF1-LF3) have now become Lightning Fast Three, Four and Five respectively. A full description of the new levels can be found at the Lightning Fast Swim Series page on the PCS website.
If you have any questions about the Lightning Fast Swim Series, please contact Mark Lancaster.
The Herman Mock Memorial Bursary has been awarded to a deserving recipient for the 2009-2010 season. All interested PCS families are encouraged to apply in future.
Herman Mock (1935-2003) was an avid sportsman and sports fan. During his younger years he competed in track and field and qualified for the 1959 European Maccabiah Games. This bursary is to honour the memory of this extraordinary man whose living legacy remains with his loving descendants.
We would like to thank the Mock family for their generous donation in the name of Herman Mock and extend the appreciation of the recipient's family.
For more information on Herman Mock and this award please see the Registration section of the Main page.
A Thank you for the Herman Mock Memorial Award from the 2009-2010 Recipient
Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I can't express my gratitude enough for the Herman Mock Memorial Award. You have no idea what a huge difference this will make when planning out the next year. My Swimmer has started the year very focused on what they want to achieve and winning this award I know will definitely contribute in maintaining this attitude in the seasons to come.
UVPCS swimmers Lauren McMillan and Stefanie Schmidt were among the swimmers selected to represent BC at the Pacific Coast All-Star Meet being held in Southern California, January 08-10, 2010. This meet is for 11-12 and 13-14 year old swimmers.
Congratulations to these swimmers and their coach Rod Barratt!
In November, Swimming Canada sponsored a 5k Freestyle Pool Challenge across the country. Congratulations to UVic-PCS athletes Caileigh Filmer (1st), Aidan Thirkell (1st), and Richard Weinberger (1st) for being the top finishers across Canada in their age groups.
Other top-8 finishers were Ryan Howe (3rd), Stefanie Schmidt (3rd), Victoria Mock (4th), Rosie Moulton (7th), Lauren McMillan (8th), Evan Letkeman (4th), Katelyn Hayward (8th), and Alice Wang (3rd).
As always, complete details are available on our results page.
The 8th Annual PCS Xmas Cracker Invitational was the largest meet hosted to date, with 29 teams and 650 athletes & coaches from throughout BC, Alberta and the Yukon represented. UVPCS was well-represented with 123 swimmers entered in the meet.
Our event winners were Caileigh Filmer, David Creel, Jeff Saganski, Stefanie Schmidt, Nicholas Sinclair, and Richard Weinberger.
Further top-3 places were achieved by Sophia Borchers, Ryan Clouston, Eleanora Dalling, Derek Doerksen, Cody Flegel, Katelyn Hayward, Ryan Howe, Evan Letkeman, Ian Mattock, Lauren McMillan, Remy Mock, Rachel NewmanZac Parkes, Liz Sissons, and Aidan Thirkell.
Rounding out the top-8 were Nival Bissoon, Eric Christiansen, Katherine Cook, Carlene Creyke, Emily Ding, David Killy, Victoria Mock, Kristopher Neilson, Siobhan Newell, Rachael Newman, Danielle Newton, Ben Partridge, Julia Schmidt, Annika Schmuck, Tyler Smith, MJ Sorba, Eric Stein, Sage Sturgeon, David Vizsolyi, William Vosper, and Alice Wang.
Several UVPCS team records fell as well: Kristopher Neilson (10 & Under 200 Breaststroke); Caileigh Filmer (11-12 400, 800, and 1500 Freestyle); and Lauren McMillan (13-14 100 Breaststroke).
Caileigh Filmer also broke Vancouver Island Regional (VIR) records in the 400, 800 and 1500 Free. Her time of 17:52 erased the old 1500 Freestyle mark held by Leanne Wilkinson of Duncan from 1988!! 21 years ago. Way to go Caileigh!
Nicolas Sinclair also managed to break the UVic 200 Backstroke record. Congratulations Nick!
The team also re-wrote two relay records: the 13-14 Girls 200 Medley Relay (Stefanie Schmidt, Lauren McMillan, Emily Ding and Katelyn Hayward);and the Open Boys 200 Freestyle Relay (Cody Flegel, Sage Sturgeon, Nicholas Sinclair, and Jeff Saganski). The latter was also a new meet record.
Finally, and not least, congratulations to the following swimmers on achieving new time standards: Senior National – Stefanie Schmidt (14), Zac Parkes (16) CIS - Carlene Creyke, Cody Flegel Westerns – Alice Wang (16) Age Group National – Eric Christiansen (15), Alison Wood (18) AAA – Patricia Horwood (10), Caroline Rendez (15) AA – Allison Ballantyne (10), Finn Barker (10), Fionnuala McKenna (10), Justin Howe (11), Riley Tesch (11), Heidi Ullrich (11), Savannah Barratt (13), Jackson Sinclair (13), Ariyan Suleman (15) A – Michael Schmidt (7), Lia Lancaster (9), Shaun Gill (10), Emma Reinsch (10), and Jessica Jiang (13).
Congratulations to all of our swimmers and coaches on a great meet! Check out our results page for details.
Many thanks to all our volunteers – including many PCS families & friends, and those from other teams as well, especially Chena and Ravensong Swim Clubs. As everybody knows, our kids' swim meets happen because of dedicated volunteers and we have a great group!! Thanks too to Saanich Commonwealth Place for its wonderful staff and facility.
Happy holidays to all our families, friends, supporters and sponsors, thanks again and see you at the next Cracker!
PCSPA has been awarded a Chevrolet Community Coaching Grant! ----------------------------------- Oshawa (ON), December 07, 2009 – Today, Chevrolet presented an additional 51 Canadian community sport clubs from across Canada with a grant of $2,000 each for coach training and development activities. Since inception in 2006, Chevrolet Making Dreams Possible has donated nearly $1 million to Canadian coaches at all levels of competition.
“GM has a long history of supporting Canadian athletes,” said Tom Laurie, GM of Canada’s Olympic Partnership Manager. “Making Dreams Possible is major grassroots commitment by Chevrolet designed to help coaches get the right kind of training that results in children having positive first experiences to encourage a lifetime love of sports.”
Over the past three years, GM’s direct support of coach education and development through this program has impacted over 18,000 coaches and 196,000 athletes in 165 communities across the country.
“Since the inception of Chevrolet Making Dreams Possible, the response from clubs across the country has been fantastic,” commented John Bales, Chief Executive Officer of the Coaching Association of Canada. “This program provides more community and high performance coaches access to valuable training through our renowned National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP). As Vancouver 2010 will inspire more Canadians to participate in community club sports, it is very important that our athletes are trained by certified coaches.The Chevrolet Making Dreams Possible program helps make that happen.”
Rio de Janeiro – On Day 4 of the 2009 IPC World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, UVPCS swimmer Stephanie Dixon, broke the world record in the 400 Freestyle event (S9 disability category). Her time of 4:38.84 bettered her own previous record, set in 2004, by over 8 seconds. On Friday, Stephanie will be competing in her best event, the 100 Backstroke, in which she also holds the World Record. Saturday, the last day of the meet, will see Stephanie compete in the 100 freestyle.
Another day and another Gold Medal World Record performance for Stephanie! This time, the record was in her signature event, the 100 Backstroke, an event she has owned since the 2000 Paralympic Games. Stephanie’s time of 1:07.83 broke her previous record set in February, 2005. Go Stephanie Go!
UVic swimmers took to the pool in two meets over the past few weeks. Their job was to achieve the qualifying standard required for entry into the Canadian Interuniversity Championships (CIS) to be held in Toronto in mid-February. And qualify they did!
The SFU meet saw CIS seasonal qualifying swims from Jeff Saganski and Nicholas Sinclair, joining Derek Doerksen and Eric Stein, who posted their times at the Senior Circuit meet held at the end of October. The UVic-PCS Dual meet added 6 more swimmers to the group: Ryan Clouston, Ella Dalling, David Killy, Siobhan Newell, Jessica Pietrusiak, and David Vizsolyi.
Additional highlights included top-3 finishes from Katherine Cook, Ella Dalling, David Killy, Siobhan Newell, Danielle Newton, Jessica Pietrusiak, Jeff Saganski, Nicholas Sinclair, Annika Schmuch and Eric Stein at the SFU Invitation Meet and best times from Sophia Borchers, Katherine Cook, Derek Doerksen, Caileigh Filmer, Katelyn Hayward, Ryan Howe, Annie MacIntosh, Ian Mattock, Zac Parkes, Jackson Sinclair, Sage Sturgeon, David Vizsolyi, Leanna Woo and Melanie Yu at the UVic-PCS Dual Meet.
Congratulations swimmers and Coaches Peter Vizsolyi and Rod Barratt!
Results from both of these meets can be found on our results page.
A group of 19 of our younger swimmers, all 13 or under, went to Duncan for a regional meet on November 14th. The results were wonderful for them as individuals and for the club. Emma Carter (9), Patricia Horwood (10), Nicholas Nolt (8) and Tabitha Zammit (11) all came first in one of their races. Patricia Horwood had 2 second place finishes and Andre Prescott (11) brought home another second place. Third place medals went to Emma Carter, Lauren Crisp (9), Andre Prescott, Joshua Stebeck (11), Grace Thomas (11) and Tabitha Zammit.
Kennedy Aragon-Scriven (11); Emma Carter; Achintya Chaudhari (11), Lauren Crisp, Rachel Davies (13); Samantha Gibson (12); Patricia Horwood; Anna Letkeman (11); Nicholas Nolt; Andre Prescott; Rachel Sawchuk (11), Anna Stebeck (8); Joshua Stebeck; Grace Thomas; Victoria von Sacken Nash (9); and Tabitha Zammit all had top 8 finishes.
Lia Lancaster (9) in her first meet and Emma Whitten (10), and Trillian Zammit (9) in their second meets of the year all did very well. The individual events and results are available on our results page. All in all a great early meet with some tremendous results.
13 swimmers from UVICPCS competed in a meet in Langley on the Nov. 14th. A sign of the success of the club and the power of our younger up and coming swimmers was demonstrated when all thirteen swimmers had at least 1 top 8 finish in this regional meet. Caileigh Filmer (12 and under), in 12 events, finished 1st 11 times and 2nd in her other event. Katelyn Hayward (13-14) also competed in 12 events with 5 1st place finishes and an additional 7 2nd places. Lauren McMillan (13-14), who competed in 11 events, came 1st twice, 2nd twice, 3rd once and had 5 more top 8 finishes. Virginia Mock (12 and Under) competed in 12 events and came 1st in one event, 2nd in two, 3rd in 4 and had 5 more top 8 finishes. Rosie Moulton (13-14) had a first, three 2nds; 5 thirds and 3 additional top 8 finishes.
Savannah Barratt (12 and under) 2 top 8; Alexandra Kierstead (13-14) 11 top 8; Katherine Krause (13-14) 2 top 8, Ana MacLeod (13-14) 2 top 8; Caroline Rendez (15 and over) 3 top 8; Rebecca Thomson (15 and over) 1 top 8; Brendan Ward (15 and over) 8 top 8 and Melanie Yu (15 and over) 4 top 8 finishes, rounded out an excellent squad who made us all proud with their excellent performances. The details of their great effort are available in detail on our results page. It is great to see another example of the quality teams we are able to send to meets on a regular basis. Congratulations to all the swimmers, coaches and parents involved in the success of this meet.
Last weekend UVPCS hosted the first Team Aquatic Supplies-Swim BC Senior Circuit meet of the season and highlights included two new UVPCS records. Caleigh Filmer set a record for girls’ (11-12) 800 Freestyle, while in the 200 Breaststroke for 13-14 boys, Aidan Thirkell powered to a new club record. Congratulations to Caileigh and Aidan!
Each year, university athletes are required to meet the standards to qualify for the Canadian Interuniversity Swimming Championships (CIS) held each spring. Three of our UVic swimmers met these standards at this first major meet of the fall: Derek Doerksen, Jeff Saganski and Eric Stein can now begin to envision their swims next spring at CIS.
Four of our swimmers were first in events: David Creel (400 IM); MacKenzie Downing (100 Butterfly); Nick Sinclair (100 Backstroke) and Richard Weinberger (1500 Freestyle).
Four of our swimmers were second in events: MacKenzie Downing (200 Freestyle); Siobhan Newell (400 IM); Jeff Saganski (100 Butterfly); Eric Stein (400 IM).
Four UVPCS swimmers finished third in events: Eleanora Dalling (100 Backstroke); Siobhan Newell (100 Freestyle); Nick Sinclair (400 Freestyle); Eric Stein (1500 Freestyle).
We had a further 13 swimmers finish in the top 8: Ryan Clouston, Katie Cook, Derek Doerksen, Caileigh Filmer, David Killy, Evan Letkeman, Ian Mattock, Remy Mock, Rachael Newman, Jessica Pietrusiak, Stefanie Schmidt, MJ Sorba and David Vizsolyi.
Congratulations to all of our swimmers and coaches! As always, full details are available on our results page.
Coach Mark Lancaster reports from the Nanaimo meet this weekend...Swimmers who attended the Nanaimo meet did very well – much faster than their previous short course times, especially in the 400 freestyle where a number of the C & D group swimmers took more than 1 minute from their previous 400 freestyle best times! As well, the 10 & under girls team of Lauren Crisp, Heather McMillan, Patricia Horwood and Emma Carter set a new club record for the 200 Freestyle Relay. Congratulations, all! As well, there were many swims getting close to and ready to break through to the next level so the season is looking like it is off to a great start!!
PCS Coach Meghan Griffiths has been selected to participate in the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay! Meghan will carry the torch on Friday, October 30th, on Admirals Road from Caroline to Modeste Roads, between approximately 11:30am and noon.
Congratulations Meghan - we look forward to seeing your run!
The following UVPCS swimmers have been named to Fall Provincial Short Course teams. Selection criteria are based on year of birth and performance at long course meets from April 1 - August 31, 2009. Full selection criteria can be found at the Swim BC web site and directly at the links below.
Photo credit (l to r): Getty Images, Margaret Penning, Ron Jacks
Pacific Coast Swimming swimmers and coaches garnered several Provincial awards for the 2008-2009 swim season during the Swim BC Annual Meeting at Whistler this past weekend.
Stephanie Dixon won Para (formerly SWAD) Swimmer of the Year and David Creel took Open Water Swimmer of the Year. Head coach Ron Jacks was named ParaCoach & Open Water Coach of the Year and was one of several coaches recognised for coaching athletes to World or National records – Stephanie Dixon's S9 World record in 50 Backstroke and Nicholas Sinclair’s National Age Group record in 200 Backstroke.
The Second Annual Vikes Championship Breakfast fundraiser will take place on September 29th, 2009 at the UVic McKinnon Gym. Last year’s event raised $330,000, which helped Vikes student athletes realize success in the classroom and field of competition. This year the keynote speaker is Bob Lenarduzzi, President of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Ottawa, ON – Swimming Canada announced that effective September 1, 2009, all swimwear worn in swimming competitions sanctioned under the authority of Swimming Canada must conform to the January 1, 2010 Fina swimwear approval guidelines.
“We want our athletes to start the season on the right foot,” says Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and National Coach for Swimming Canada. “By implementing the rule in September, we are giving our athletes more time to adapt to the technology changes as they prepare for the big events this year.”
Lafontaine says that this rule will not apply to Canadian swimmers competing outside of Canada before the January 1st international deadline placed by Fina. “We do want our swimmers to compete in a fair playing field.”
This past summer, Fina, the governing body for International competitive swimming, announced new guidelines for competitive swimwear. The ruling came during the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Italy and includes the following specifications:
MATERIAL – The material of swimwear will definitively be constituted only by textile fabric(s). The FINA definition of “textile” currently is: “Material consisting of, natural and/or synthetic, individual and non-consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting, and/or braiding.”
SHAPE – MEN: swimwear shall not extend above the navel or below the knee. WOMEN: swimwear shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend below knee. No zippers or other fastening system is allowed.
USE – Swimmers shall wear only one swimsuit, taping is not permitted.
CONSISTENCY – Swimwear effectively manufactured and used shall correspond to and be fully consistent with FINA approved samples. Any modification before use (including impregnation) is prohibited. Moreover, there shall be no variation/modification for individual swimmers.
Coach Mark Lancaster and several PCS swimmers added running shoes to their repertoire on Sunday, September 13th to participate in the annual Terry Fox Run for cancer research. Lauren Crisp, Andre Prescott & Grace Thomas from C-group ran the 5 km course along with D- groupers Fionnuala McKenna & Isabella Leong, while Lia Lancaster cycled the distance and Kali Lancaster from LFSS did some scootering and some running too. These swimmers all did a great job (as did coach Mark), their parents attended as well, and it was a terrific start to a nice sunny Sunday!
Photo credit: Alan Howe, Alan Woo & Margaret Penning
It was a lovely Victoria evening at Beaver Lake Picnic area for our eighth annual Registration & Welcome Back BBQ, with inspired chefs, happy families, flying frisbees, the occasional romping puppy, signature BC recycling and even some open water swimming - a good time was had by all... thanks to everybody who helped and to Jenner Chev Olds for the Grillverado Truck.
We look forward to seeing everybody at the Eighth Annual Welcome Back & Registration BBQ (map) - everyone welcome! - on Friday September 11, 2009 at Beaver Lake Picnic area starting after work (around 530pm) or when you get there... bring yourself, we'll bring the food!
