Mark your calendars and plan to attend our Fourth Annual Welcome Back Barbeque on Friday, September 9th!
This is the chance for the club to say "thanks" to everyone for last year and "welcome" to anyone just starting. It is also a chance to fill out your registration package and turn it in.
The Barbeque is after work on September 9th -a Friday night- and runs from about 5:00pm until dusk at the Beaver Lake Picnic Shelter (Map). The club supplies the food, you just need to show up!
If you're a returning family, or thinking about joining us, this is a chance to mingle and talk with other families, athletes and coaches. Registration forms will be available. See you there!
The final day at Far Westerns ended with more exciting racing and fast swims.
The Girls 13-14 400M Freestyle was the first final of the night. Nicole Crawford battled the entire race, just getting edged out and taking the silver. Nicole was closing fast but ran out of pool. Jayme Weimer swam a personal best time in the race and finsihed 7th.
Records fell in the Girls 11-12 200M IM when Alyssa Bakken hit the water. Not only did she win convincingly, she set a new Provincial record, and picked up another Senior National time. In the Girls 11-12 50M Freestyle Alyssa went 28.64 and just missed the medal with a fourth place finish.
In one of the highlighs of the night, Nicole and Jayme swam as part of the SwimBC team in the Girls 13-14 400M Freestyle Relay. The lead changed numerous times until SwimBC out touched at the end to win by 11/100's.
Alyssa ended up the meet as the top point score for 11-12 Girls, while Nicole finshed 7th overall for 13-14 Girls.
In summing up the meet Jayme commented "It was cool to compete in a meet I've never been to before. I didn't know what to expect. We had to adjust to some things like how hot it was. I learned that I have to be flexible in my meet preparation. It was fun."
Alyssa Bakken attacked the course on Day 4 of the Far Western Championships in Concord, California. In the Girls 11-12 200M Backstroke, Alyssa went out fast to set a new National Age Group Record (11-12 Girls) of 2:24.11, surpassing an existing 12 year old record. Congratulations to Alyssa and coach Rod Barratt! Alyssa also won the Girls 11-12 100M Freestyle.
Jayme Weimer qualified for finals in the Girls 13-14 10M Freestyle and swam to a 6th place finish in a time of 1:00.65. Nicole Crawford joined Jayme as part of the SwimBC 200M Medley Relay which swam to a second place finish.
Day three at the Far Western Championships saw more medals for UVPCS athletes.
Alyssa Bakken continued her winning ways in the Girls 200 11-12 Butterfly. Alyssa came down the course in a time of 2:26.46 for first place. Nicole Crawford continued to be a dominant force in the Girls 13-14 800M Freestyle, as she took 1st place and lowered the club 13-14 record to 9:15.11.
Jayme Weimer joined forces with Nicole and two other SwimBC athletes to easily win the 4 x 100 Medley Relay in a time of 4:34.41.
It was a HOT!! day at day two of Far Westerns in California. The temperature at the nearest weather station stated a high of 33C, but on the pool deck it was closer to 37C. As at all meets finding volunteer timers is an issue, so a call went out and the Swim BC team, including three UVPCS athletes, jumped up to help so the meet could carry on.
In finals Alyssa Bakken started the night off with a victory in the Girls 11-12 100M Backstroke. Ten meters from the finish Alyssa found herself up on the lane ropes. After the race she commented "We don't swim outdoors very much and I was really surprised when I got up on the lane ropes, I just had to get off it and go as fast as I could to the finish!" Aylssa also won the Girls 11-12 400M IM.
Jayme Weimer reached the podium in the Girls 13-14 100 Back with a solid third place finish.
In the Girls 13-14 200M Freestyle final both Jayme and Nicole Crawford advanced. Jayme finished 5th in the final, while Nicole finished 7th.
The Swim BC 200M Freestyle Relay team, which includes Jayme and Nicole finished 2nd, just out-touched at the wall.
Tomorrow is expected to be another HOT day both in and out of the water!
Swimming this morning in the final heat of the Women's 200M Breaststroke, Christin Petelski swam her way into a berth in Semi-Finals. Her time for the morning swim was 2:30.75, which was faster than her entry time.
In the evenings semi-finals swim, Christin placed 16th and did not advance to tonights final. She will next be racing in Sundays 4 x 100 Medley relay.
Earlier in the week Christin swam the 100M Breaststroke and just missed qualifing for the Semi-finals. Her time of 1:09.94 was her fastest swim at the distance in five years and a new club record!
Wednesdays racing started for UVPCS athletes right where the Canadian Club Nationals ended. On the podium!
In the morning session, racing her third ever 1500M freestyle Nicole Crawford swam in the fastest heat of the timed final and held on for a second in the Girls 13-14 category. "I wasn't very happy with my race" Nicole commented, "I was thinking about everyone else and forgot to think about what I was doing in my lane. This will definitely help me to focus better in my other races this week."
In this highly competitive field, Alyssa Bakken raced to second place finishes in both the Girls 12 and under 100M Butterfly and 50M Backstroke. Alyssa's time in the 50M backstroke was a new club record of 32.16 while her 100M Butterfly time was 1:07.39.
Nicole and Jayme Weimer were 1/2 of the Girls 13/14 800M Freestyle Relay which won by over 20 meters in a time of 8:47.32.
Over 900 swimmers are attending this Championship Meet from the USA, Canada, Mexico and China.
The UVPCS athletes are swimming as part of the SwimBC Provincal Select Team. Live Results are not available for the meet so check back regularly for updates.
The Canadian Club National Swim Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba wrapped up today with another strong performance from the UVic-Pacific Coast Swimming Association. UVPCS finished fourth of more than 100 teams from across Canada attending the meet, and was #1 amongst BC teams.
Alyssa Bakken started the night easily winning the Girls 12 and under 200M IM, setting a new meet record in the process. She also claimed a Bronze medal today in the Girls 12 and under 800M Freestyle. Alyssa leaves Winnipeg with four gold, two silver and three bronze medals over the four-day meet.
Nicole Crawford showed her dominance in distance freestyle events at the National Age-Group level by winning the Girls 13-14 800M Freestyle. Nicole’s time qualified her to swim this event at the Commonwealth Games Trials to be held in Victoria this November. Nicole won the 400M event and finished fifth in the 200M freestyle earlier in the meet.
Athens Olympian Nathan O’Brien finished up the meet with a silver medal in the Men’s 18 and over 50M Backstroke. Mackenzie Downing swam her last preparation race prior to representing Canada at the World University Games next month in Turkey, with a fifth place finish in the Women’s 800M Freestyle.
First year rising star Nicholas Sinclair finished the day with a fourth place in the Boys 13 and under 200M IM and a sixth place finish in the 1500M freestyle. Jamie Weimer just missed the podium in a tight fourth place finish on the Girls 13-14 50M Freestyle. Craig Dagnall finished seventh in the 14-15 Boys’ 1500M freestyle event, while Julia Schmidt finished eighth in the 12 and under Girls’ 800M freestyle.
Alyssa, Jayme, and Nicole and UVPCS coach Rod Barratt head to San Francisco, California for the Far Western Championships next weekend, as part of the Swim BC Championship Team; Rod is Team Head Coach. These athletes are the only Vancouver Island athletes to be included on the eight athlete select squad.
Congratulations to the whole team for their accomplishments at this meet: coaches Peter Vizsolyi and Rod Barratt and swimmers Alyssa Bakken, Ryan Clouston, Nicole Crawford, Craig Dagnall, Stephanie Dixon, Mackenzie Downing, Alison Hooper, Nathan O'Brien, Jovanna Ruffolo, Hollis Roth, Julia Schmidt, Nicholas Sinclair, Tyler Smith, David Vizsolyi and Jayme Weimer.
Day three of the Canadian Club National Swim Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba, ended with the UVPCS Girls’ 14 and under 400M relay taking nearly four seconds off the Provincial Record. The team (Jayme Weimer, Alyssa Bakken, Jovanna Ruffolo and Nicole Crawford) were in a virtual tie at the halfway point, however on the last two legs they moved away from the field to win handily.
Paralympian and World Record Holder Stephanie Dixon raced able-bodied women today in the 200 Backstroke and left the pool with a new S9 World Record, breaking her own previous record set this spring in Vancouver.
Alyssa Bakken felled another Provincial Record, her third of the meet, in the Girls’ 12 and under 200M Backstroke. Alyssa won the race by a 6 second margin. Shortly after the Backstroke Alyssa hopped back into the water and swam to a silver medal in the Girls’ 12 and under 100M Butterfly. Alyssa has been the dominant 12 and under swimmer at this meet, tonight upping her medal haul to three golds, two silvers and two bronze in individual events and a gold and bronze in relays.
Athens Olympian Nathan O’Brien swam to a gold medal in the Mens’ 200M backstroke; Nathan swam to semi-finals in this event at the Olympic Games.
In his first National meet Nicholas Sinclair continued to stake his claim on the Canadian scene with a silver medal in the Boys’ 13 and under 100M butterfly and a fifth in the 200M backstroke.
Mackenzie Downing, who will represent Canada at the FISU University Games in Turkey in August, swam to a bronze medal in the Women’s 100M Butterfly.
Tyler Smith swan to a competitive eighth place finish in the Boys’ 13 and under 200M freestyle in his first National final. Nicole Crawford and Jayme Weimer, both medalists in earlier competition, placed fifth and sixth respectively in the 13-14 Girls' 200M Freestyle final.
Good luck and fast swimming for the final day of the meet tomorrow!
MONTREAL- After more than five hours of swimming, the women’s 25 kilometre open water race at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships went down to a photo finish. Edit Van Dijk of the Netherlands beat her arch rival Britta Kamrau of Germany at the line in the gruelling event held under a hodge podge of weather conditions including high winds and light rain in the morning then blistering heat in the afternoon.
The two Canadians gave a spirited and determined performance which was appreciated by the small crowd. Karley Stutzel of Victoria, one of just a handful of swimmers to do all three open water events, barrelled through self doubts late in the competition to complete the race in 12th spot out of 19 entries. Kathryn Rosberg of Burnaby, B.C., in only her second open water race, was 14th. Stutzel posted her best result this week after finishing 15th in the 10 kilometre on Wednesday and 14th in the five kilometre Sunday.
“At the beginning it seems like you’re going to be swimming for ever,” she said. “Then when you’re 100 metres from the finish it’s the best feeling in the world. Still I’m not entirely happy with my result but I had a good final two laps so that’s what I’ll take away.”
The open water swimming competition is being held at the Olympic rowing basin. The swimmers did 10 laps around the course built for the 1976 Games. On the eight lap, Stutzel faced her toughest challenges. “The eighth lap was the worst one ever,” she said. “I had a horrible feeling of self doubt but I worked through it. I just kept telling myself I’m not going to quit, I can’t quit, I’m not a quitter. And then when you finish and you know you won’t have lift your arm over your head anymore it is just a great feeling.”
Rosberg clocked 5:50.42, a half hour faster than her time at the team trials in June. The 19-year-old was here to get valuable experience. “I’m hurting quite a bit,” said Rosberg, a psychology student at Simon Fraser University. “But generally I feel good. My main goal was just to finish and to take that much time off is very satisfying. Just being here has been quite an experience and to be swimming against the great names in the sport is overwhelming.”
Open water swimming ends Saturday with the men’s 25 kilometre.
UVPCS turned up the heat on day two of the Club National Championships... Athens 2004 Olympian Nathan O’Brien, who usually specializes in the 200M backstroke and butterfly events, won gold tonight in the Open 100M Backstroke. World Record Holder and multiple Paralympic medalist Stephanie Dixon picked up her second medal of the meet with a gold in the Women’s Multi-Disability 100M backstroke. Dixon is pre-qualified for the Commonwealth Games, to be held next Spring 2006 in Melbourne, Australia.
After eclipsing a 31-year-old BC Provincial Record last night, Alyssa Bakken won a gold medal in the 12 and under 100M backstroke, breaking her own Provincial Record and setting a new meet record in the bargain. Bakken’s record last night erased one set by Olympic bronze medalist Shannon Smith, who in 1974 was coached by none other than UVPCS' own Ron Jacks. This evening Alyssa also swam to a bronze in the 400M freestyle, increasing her haul over the first two days to two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Medalists tonight also included Nicole Crawford, who won a close race in the 13-14 400M Freestyle. Nicole was in third place at the half way point but turned it on to win in a time fast enough to qualify her to compete at the Commonwealth Games Trials in November. Nicholas Sinclair picked up his third medal of the meet with a silver in the 13 and under 100M backstroke, already an impressive first trip to the Championships. Nick also placed seventh tonight in the 400M freestyle.
UVPCS displayed an impressive depth of athlete talent in the evening’s finals - in addition to medalists, our finalists included Julia Schmidt, fifth in the 12 and under 200M butterfly; David Vizsolyi, seventh in the 14-15 200M butterfly; Hollis Roth, fifth in the Open 200 butterfly; and the Girls 14 and under 400 Medley Relay of Jayme Weimer (bronze medalist last night in the 13-14 100M Freestyle), Jovanna Ruffolo, Alyssa Bakken and Nicole Crawford finished fifth.
Day one at Club Nationals saw some tremendous swimming from UVPCS.
Starting the night off, Alyssa Bakken won Gold in the Girls' 12 and under 400IM, breaking a 31-year-old Provincial Age-Group Record previously held by Shannon Smith, who went on to win a Bronze Medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Alyssa’s time was also fast enough to qualify her for the Commonwealth Games Trials to be held this November at Saanich Commonwealth Place. Shortly after this race Alyssa took the Silver Medal in the Girls’ 12 and under 100 Freestyle.
Meanwhile, Nicholas Sinclair, completing his first cycle of year-round swimming, was busy taking 10 seconds off his prelim swim, already a personal best time, for the Silver Medal in the Boys 13 and under 400IM. Nick was seventh in the 100 Free, also a personal best time.
Jayme Weimer, the third individual UVPCS medalist of the evening, won a Bronze in the Girls 14-15 100 Freestyle, in another personal best time.
The Girls' 14 and Under 200m Freestyle Relay of Jayme Weimer, Jovanna Ruffolo, Nicole Crawford and Alyssa Bakken also won a Bronze Medal.
Rounding out the evening's medals, World Record Holder and multiple Paralympic Medalist Stephanie Dixon won Silver in the Women's Multi-Disability 100 Freestyle.
Congratulations everybody and fast swimming for tomorrow!
MONTREAL- Jarrod Ballem of Calgary likely ended his open water swimming career Wednesday by posting Canada’s best ever result in a men’s 10 kilometre at a World Aquatics Championships with an 11th place finish.
Ballem and Elliot Rushton of Surrey, B.C. finished 11th and 16th respectively in 1:47:39.5 and 1:47:55.6.
“That was probably my last open water race,” said Ballem, 27, also 11th on Sunday in the five kilometre. “The training is starting to take its toll. I’m pretty honoured to go out with the best result and hopefully Elliot can improve on that soon. Open water is still a small sport in Canada but this event here is going to give it a lot of exposure.”
Ballem was slightly disappointed with his final result. The fast pace took its toll.
“It was more of a mental battle than physical,” said Ballem, 18th in the event at the 2003 Worlds. “You spend so much of the race trying to keep calm and conserve energy. And today it was incredibly fast. I couldn’t believe the speed in the final two kilometres. It was as fast as at the beginning of the race.”
Rushton, 21, completed his first world championships and learned some valuable lessons.
“I’ll take away a lot of experience from here which should help me in the future,” said Rushton. “What stood out for me the most was the pack dynamics. I wasn’t use to the close quarters and being jostled around so much.”
In the women’s 10 kilometre race, Karley Stutzel of Victoria was in the thick of the battle for three quarters of the way but struggled on the final lap and finished 15th in 1:57:29.
“It just wasn’t my day,” said Stutzel, 14th in the five kilometre on Sunday. “As I expected, the girls set a very past pace and I had a great start but I didn’t feel too well at the end. I was expecting a much better result than that. Usually as the distances get longer I get better.”
Stutzel will now prepare for the 25 kilometres on Friday, one of a handful of swimmers to do all three open water events.
Ron Jacks of Victoria, the Canadian open water swimming coach was pleased with Canada’s showing.
“This is the first time we’ve had an open water swimming event at worlds in this kind of facility and it makes it a totally different race,” said Jacks. “I was really pleased with the efforts by the Canadians in both races. A top-12 result is an exceptional result for us against this field and we got one 11th and the other two were close.”
The women’s 25 kilometre race is on Friday and the men’s 25 kilometre which concludes open water swimming here is on Saturday.
It wasn’t only the weather that was hot at Moses Lake this past weekend!
UVPCS took 15 athletes to the Moses Lake Sizzlin’ Summer Invitational, and everyone seemed to rise up to this International meet. The 300 swimmers faced windy and cloudy weather on Friday, however temperatures moved through 30 degress on Saturday and hit 36 on Sunday. Definitely a sizzler.
Two of coach Mark Lancaster’s out-of-water highlights for the trip were the team dinner, with 34 people tasting hot and spicy Mexican food, and Sunday when UVPCS sang our National Anthem to open the meet.
In the water, top UVPCS performance went to Even Letkeman (10) who placed second in every event, except for the 100M Freestyle which he won. He also won the second place overall Aggregate Trophy for his age group. Not too far behind this effort were Niv Hack (10) and Jordan Gybels who finished third or better in all of their events. Jordan also picked up the seventh place Aggregate Trophy.
Brittany Fox placed 2nd in the 50M Freestyle, 100M Backstroke and 100M Breastroke, and 3rd in the 200M IM, 200M Freestyle, while Jana Murphy (13) placed 2nd in the 100M Breast, and Nigel Erving (12) placed 3rd in the 100M Breaststroke..
Other Aggregate Trophy winners were Genna Bertrand (9) 7th place, and Savannah Barratt (8), Cole Barratt (12), Karine Hack (8) who all recieved eighth place trophies.
Other swimmers who attended and had great performances were Kelsey Elliot, Chemene Gybels, Bernadette Simas, Emma Smith and Lynn Wang. Congratulations all!
The Canadian Swimmer with a Disability (SWAD) National Team is completing the 2004-2005 competitive season at US Disability Nationals in Portland, Oregon July 15-17th followed by Club Nationals in Winnipeg July 21-24. Teams from all over the US as well as the National Teams from Great Britain, Australia and Japan are also in attendance.
The first day of competition was a solid one for the Canadians with strong performances in the 400 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke and the 200 Butterfly. The women’s team had an excellent 400 Freestyle with Danielle Campo S7,Andrea Cole S8 and Darda Geiger S9 all of London Ontario, won Bronze medals in their respective classes; Chesley Gotell S13 of Antigonish Nova Scotia won a Silver and Stephanie Dixon S9 of Victoria BC won a Gold. On the men’s side Donovan Tildesley S11 of Vancouver BC won gold and Brad Sales S9 of London Ontario was 5th.
The women’s 100 Breaststroke saw Chelsey Gotell S13 won a gold medal and in the men’s 200 Butterfly, Andrew Haley S9 of Toronto Ontario won a silver medal, Benoit Huot S10 of Montreal Quebec won a Gold medal and Brian Hill S13 of Nanaimo British Columbia also won a gold.
“Overall the results of the first day were very good and we look forward to swimming faster over the next two days in Portland and then in Winnipeg next weekend,” says National Coach for Swimmer’s with a disability, Craig McCord. “The preparation of the team at the staging camp in Vancouver went very well and we are starting to see the results here.”
And on Day 2...
Canadian swimmers continued to improve on the strong day one performance with a Pan-American record and a Gold medal for S9 Andrew Haley in the 400 Individual Medley.
Also collecting Gold medals during day 2 of the US Nationals were Jessica Tuomela S11 of Sault Ste. Marie in the 100 backstroke, Adam Purdy S6 of London Ontario in 100 backstroke, Donovan Tildesley S11 of Vancouver BC in the 100 backstroke, Anne Polinario S10 of Montreal Quebec in the 50 free, Jessica Tuomela S11 50 free, Stephanie Dixon of Victoria BC S9 in the 200 IM.
Swimmers picking up silver medals on day two were Danielle Campo of London Ontario S7 50 Free, Stephanie Dixon S9 50 free, Chelsey Gotell of Antigonish NS S13 50 free, Andrea Cole of London Ontario S8 in the 200 IM and Anne Polinario S10 a Bronze in the 200 IM.
Other swimmers placing in the top 8 were S9 Darda Geiger of London Ontario, 6th in the 50 free and Brad Sales S9 of London Ontario with a 4th in the 100 back and 6th in the 50 free.
“The weather plays a part in the morning swimming as we experienced some Pacific Northwest cloud and coolness in the morning. It was a big contrast to yesterday’s all day heat. The swimmers swam well enough in the morning to get second swims in the afternoon and we had a warm sunny final that allowed for some excellent performances,” said National Coach Craig McCord. ``Some of the performances were very close to times done in Athens a year ago and that is a great sign for the future``
And on Day 3...
The final day of competition at the 2005 US National Disability Championships saw the Canadian National team continue with strong performances and set themselves up for further fast swimming at next week’s Club National Championships in Winnipeg.
Winning medals for the Canadians today were S13 Chelsey Gotell of Antigonish NS with a gold in the 200 backstroke; S7 Danielle Campo of London Ontario with a Silver in the 100 freestyle; S9 swimmers Stephanie Dixon of Victoria BC and Darda Geiger of London Ontario with a gold and a silver in the 100 free; S10 Anne Polinario of Montreal Quebec with a gold in the 100 free; S11 Jessica Tuomela of Sault Ste. Marie with a gold in the 100 free and S13 Brian Hill of Montreal Quebec with a gold in the 100 free.
The butterfly events also yielded medal winning results with S6 Adam Purdy of London Ontario with a bronze medal in the 50 butterfly; S8 Andrea Cole of London Ontario with a gold in the 100 fly; S9 Stephanie Dixon with a gold in the 100 fly; S13 Chelsey Gotell with a silver in the 100 fly and S13 Brian Hill with a gold in the 100 butterfly.
Other finalists included S9 Brad Sales of London Ontario with a 6th in the 100 free and S9 Andrew Haley with a 5th in the 100 butterfly.
“We had some great performances this weekend and I am looking forward to more fast swimming by the National Team and the younger swimmers at Club Nationals,” said National Coach Craig McCord.
MONTREAL-Tanya Hunks of New Westminster, B.C., is still learning the ropes in the world of open water swimming but she showed on Sunday she has the potential to be among the very best after a seventh place finish in the women’s five kilometre race at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships.
“I’m pretty excited to have my best open water result ever,” said Hunks. “I’m still learning about the open water competition and the more I do the better I’ll get at it. Every race is different because of the course, the weather and the fact that field tends to pick it up at different points. So you have to be ready.”
While the waters on the Olympic basin appeared calm there was lots of turbulence as competitors jockeyed for positions.
“We’re all trying to fight for the best line so you have keep your head on your shoulders because you know you’re going to get bumped and bruised,” said Hunks.
Karley Stutzel of Victoria was 14th in 56:24.3.
“My main priority here is the 10 kilometre and 25 kilometre races,” said Stutzel, fourth in the 10 kilometre at the 2001 worlds, the best ever open water result by a Canadian woman. “But this was a good test to see where I am. The start was pretty physical, you get kicked and elbowed and wonder what’s accidental and what’s intentional.”
Jarrod Ballem of Calgary was 11th in 51:59.7 and Elliot Rushton of Surrey B.C., 12th in 52:01.4.
Ballem, 28th in the event two years ago in Barcelona, was battling for a medal up until the last turn when he got tangled in traffic.
“I’m pretty disappointed because I was really doing well,” said Ballem, 24, who grew up in PEI. “Coming around at that last corner I just got beat up. It got very congested and people swam on top of me and kicked me in the head and suddenly I’ve dropped down to 15th. I went in that turn very relaxed and in great shape to make a charge to the finish.”
Rushton, 21 was making his world championship debut.
“This was the roughest race I’ve ever been involved in,” said Rushton, born in Scotland whose parents swam for Britain at the 1972 Olympics. “There’s such a tight pack all the time. But I’m very happy with my result and this going to help me get ready for the 10 kilometres.”
The men’s and women’s 10 kilometre races are on Wednesday.
UVPCS sent a small and stalwart group of ten AAA swimmers, with coaches Rod Barratt and Peter Vizsolyi, to the Provincial Championships in Prince George, July 7th-10th. These ten swimmers came home with numerous best times, top-8 swims and medals.
Marija Kopac, Annemarie Schmidt, Britney Steele and Andrea Vizsolyi each set personal bests in one or more swims. Jacob McKee, Kristina Phillips and William Yolland were finalists in multiple events, while Jovanna Ruffolo, Julia Schmidt and Nick Sinclair brought home an impressive haul of eight medals amongst the three of them.
Finally but definitely not least, congratulations to William Yolland, who achieved his first Club National qualifying time, in the 200 Backstroke.
As always, complete results are available at our Results Page.
While most families are thinking about how to enjoy their summer vacations, four UVPCS athletes and one coach are preparing to partake in the highest levels of swimming competition.
Swimmer Karley Stutzel starts things off on July 17th with a 5K race in the Open Water Competition at the Montreal World Aquatic Championships. Karley will be swimming in the Olympic Rowing Basin for this race as well as the 10K and 25K races later in the week.
PCS Director of Swimming Ron Jacks is also the Canadian National Open Water Coach and will be Canadian Head Coach at the open water events at the 2005 World Aquatic Championships in Montreal.
Christin Petelski is in Montreal the following week for the pool swimming component of the Championships. Christin's first race will be on July 25th in the 100M Breaststroke. Later in the week she will also race in the 200M Breastroke event.
On August 11th, UVPCS and UVic Freshman swimmer MacKenzie Downing will represent Canada in Ismir, Turkey, at the World University Games (FISU). FISU is an international cultural festival and multi-sport competition, considered to be second in importance to only the Olympic Games.
From July 15-17th, Stephanie Dixon will be wearing her Team Canada suit as she competes at the U.S. Paralympics National Swimming Championships. In the final International event of the season, Dixon will be taking the measure of some of the competitors she may face at next year's Commonwealth Games.
Press the link on the athletes' names to download a fact sheet on each, and visit this site for updates on their races.
Hang on to your hats and forget summer holidays next summer!
UVPCS was today awarded the right to host SwimBC's TAS BC Long Course Open Championships in July 2006. SwimBC commented "The thoroughness of your application and your history of hosting excellent competitions were significant in this decision by the Swim BC Nominations Committee."
We will host this meet July 6-9, 2006. In addition we will host our 4th Christmas Cracker this December 9-11th, the Wavemaker Invitational Meet May 27-28, 2006 and the VIR LC Championships June 9-11, 2006.
To see a list of all future events press the more button at the bottom of the Upcoming Events on the right of the main page.
Seven UVPCS swimmers traveled to California this past weekend, with coach Ron Jacks. Christin Petelski attended the Santa Clara International Meet, as part of her preparation for the World Aquatic Championships later this year. Alyssa Bakken, Ryan Clouston, Nicole Crawford, Craig Dagnall, David Vizsolyi, and Jayme Weimer competed at the Silicon Valley International Age Group Invitational Meet in San Jose, California. The small contingent returned with 12 Gold, 10 Silver and 4 Bronze medals – not bad for one weekend’s work!
In Santa Clara, Christin Petelski reached the A final in both of her events, finishing 6th in the Women’s 100 Breaststroke and 7th in the 200 Breaststroke.
In San Jose, Alyssa Bakken struck Gold in 5 events and set a New Provincial Record in the 11-12 Girls 100 Freestyle, with a time of 1:00.60. Congratulations to Alyssa and to her coach, Rod Barratt! Alyssa also placed 1st in the 100 and 200 Backstroke, 100 Fly, and 400 IM.
Nicole Crawford, Craig Dagnall and Jayme Weimer each added 2 more Gold medals to the haul. Nicole Crawford finished 1st in the 13-14 Girls 400 and 800 Freestyle, 2nd in the 200 and 1500 Freestyle, and 4th in the 100 Freestyle. Craig Dagnall was 1st in the Boys 13-14 800 and 1500 Freestyle, 2nd in the 400 Freestyle and 200 Fly, and 6th in the 200 Freestyle. Jayme Weimer was 1st in the 13-14 Girls 100 and 200 Freestyle, 2nd in the 100 and 200 Backstroke, 3rd in the 50 Freestyle, and 5th in the 400 Freestyle.
Ryan Clouston also added 1 Gold medal – a 1st in the Boys 15 and Over 400 IM. Ryan also placed 2nd in the 800 and 1500 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke and 200 IM, and 3rd in the 400 Freestyle. David Vizsolyi was 3rd in the 15 and Over Boys 800 and 1500 Freestyle; 4th in the 200 Butterfly; 5th in the 400 Freestyle, and 8th in the 100 Fly.
23-Jun-05 (reposted with permission from http://www.teamdolphins.com/Bellingham/Default.asp)
By Alyssa Fell, 11 I really liked the pool. It was huge. And at least it was clean. I really liked how they put the 50’s on one side of the pool and the 100’s + on the other side. I thought that a lot more people should have came. The pools location was great. They had probably 3 pools in one place. The cool down pool was warmer than the actual meet pool. I thought most people should have came because it would have been a lot more fun. Also they would have liked it just as much as Simone, Julie and I did. It was one of the best meets I have been to, not including Jim, Simone and Julie being 20 minutes late. (9:00am ferry was full) The best part about the meet was the finals. They did a good job of controlling the finals and all the kids that made it. They are really nice people and I would like to go to Victoria again.
By Julie Siegfried, 10 On Saturday, June 4, 2005 Simone, Aly and I all went to the Wave Maker meet. Simone and I carpooled and we met at the Silver Reef Casino with her parents and Coach Jim. Since the meet was in Victoria, B.C. we had to cross the border to get there and that is where the real trouble began!
When we got to the border it all went fine until they told us to go inside to Immigration. Eberhard went in and the person asked him to get me. When I got into Immigration the first thing she asked me was, “How are you?” I said, “Fine” but I actually felt really scared because I had no idea what they were going to ask me. Anyway she asked my mom and dad’s name and if I had any siblings. She asked the name of the meet and what events I was swimming and then she asked me where we met to carpool. Of course I said, “The Silver Reef Casino” but I didn’t know what her reaction would be. She actually smiled and then pretty much let us go.
In the car to the ferry we talked about the border and how funny it actually was and then we got to the ferry. When we got our tickets the person said that the nine o’clock ferry was full and the next ferry wouldn’t get us there until 11:45. Warm-ups started at 12:00! On the ferry we mainly just hung-out until we were about fifteen or twenty minutes to the dock. Simone and I went to change and in the restroom there were three Japanese ladies in line but they let us go in front of them. One saw Simone’s suit and said, “Pudu!” and did a horrible breaststroke pull. We nodded. About five seconds later one of them pointed to my curly hair and laughed and they all started laughing. I guess they never saw curly blonde hair before. Then it was our turn to change. When we got out we were ready to swim so we went to the car to wait for the ferry to dock.
Around 20 or 30 minutes later we arrived at the meet. Aly was with another team since we were late. We jumped into the pool and began warm-ups. This was a prelim and finals type meet and also they didn’t arrange the swimmers by their previous times. (Circle Seeding. A method of seeding swimmers when they are participating in a prelims/finals event. The fastest 18 to 24 swimmers are seeded in the last three heats, with the fastest swimmers being in the inside lanes. (I.e.) Lane 4 in the final 3 heats.) The meet started with the 400 Free. Simone was in the first heat for that event so she hurried up to the blocks. She did an amazing job pacing herself and won the heat. I was so excited that she got first, I was kind of wound-up. I kept talking and talking until it was time for the 100 Fly. All three of us were in that so we pretty much went up together as if it was a relay. I swam pretty well and felt great. ; My next two events went by really fast. As soon as one race ended another race began. There was no time to warm-down. After prelims there was break for lunch. Simone and I were tired and Eberhard and Jim were hungry so we went to Starbucks. Simone and I fell asleep right away in their comfortable chairs. When we woke-up it was time to leave for finals.
The events were in the same order but since there were only a few people left in finals, all of my events were on one page of the heat sheet. Again, 100 Fly went well. I got 5th place but I had a better time. It was now time for 50 Back. I asked Jim if I could go to the blocks and he said that there was another heat first but they actually combined two heats. Soon I heard my name being called from Lane 6 so I ran into the pool and put my hands on the bar. I heard the beep and took-off. I really worked on my technique and I swam to 4th. I was really mad that I didn’t get third because I was only 0.06 seconds behind the person who did. Jim told me to focus on my next race so I did. It went great except for then I was really mad since I got 4th again. When we were done Irene rushed us out of the shower so we wouldn’t miss the ferry.
It was really cold outside, especially on the ferry! It was very windy but we didn’t mind. We went inside to get food and we talked while we ate. When we were finished we watched animal bloopers of dogs and cats for awhile then went outside so Jim could take pictures of us. The ferry ride went by really fast so pretty soon we had to go to the car. Again we had to stop at the border, this time for what they called a “random inspection”. They searched through our car and they asked me more questions until finally they let us leave. We met back at the Silver Reef Casino again and said our goodbyes.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I had a great experience and next time maybe more people could come so that we could swim Sunday, too.
By Simone Prince-Eichner, 10 Team Dolphins "made waves" at the "Wavemaker" swim meet in Victoria. That is to say, we all had fun! Why getting there is half the fun!
The ferry to Vancouver Island is one of those big fancy ones. The one we came back on had a snack bar, cafeteria, and a rather fancy restaurant.
We had unfortunately missed the ferry we had hoped to get, and so we had to wait for the next one (an hour later) which made us get to the swim meet a little bit late.
We walked into the building, through a big entry way, and the first thing I saw, to the side, was the library. Yes, a library in the same building as the pool.
To get to the pool, we walked down these stairs with a glass dome in front of them that looks down at the pool. It was really neat.
Then there was the pool itself. Fifty meters long, with starting blocks on both ends, a big scoreboard, another really big pool for playing in, and just the whole facility made me feel like I was in the Olympics. Actually, it was Team Dolphin's first international swim meet! When I looked up at the scoreboard, before the first event of the day, my name was on it for that event.
Warm-ups were fine, and then came.....Preliminaries! I swam the 400 Freestyle for the first time in a meet, (I've swam it many times in practice, though), and placed first in my age group. (10 and under) I also swam the 100 Butterfly, 50 Backstroke, and 50 Freestyle, placing first in those as well. But that was only prelims. It's the places in Finals that really count. Since I placed within the top eight, I was able to go on and swim it again in Finals. Actually, we all swam in Finals!
Coming back later on that day for Finals was even more exciting. It seemed kind of solemn to me. The meet hosts introduced us, because we were the only team from the United States.
The second time I swam the 400 Free I placed second. The 100 Fly went well, and I placed first. I also placed first in the 50 Backstroke. The meet was so small, it went really fast, so I hardly had any rest in between my 50 Back and 50 Free. I placed second in that.
All in all, I think that meet was one of the most fun meets I've ever been to. Everyone was very nice and had very good sportsmanship. For example, at the end of each of my races, my competitor in the next lane, and I, exchanged "Good Jobs" with each other, and after one race we shook hands. Hopefully, next year everyone will come, because this meet is such a good experience, and so much fun!
A small group of UVPCS senior swimmers travelled to Vancouver with coaches Ron Jacks and Peter Vizsolyi for the Mel Zajac International Swim Meet from June 17-19. World Aquatics Canadian Team member Christin Petelski made it to heats on the first day, but was stricken by a virus the rest of the weekend - hope you are completely better by now, Christin! The rest of the team all made Finals, with Canadian FISU team member Mackenzie Downing winning Gold in the Women's 100 Fly and Silver in the 200 Fly; while World Aquatics Canadian Team member Karley Stutzel took Bronze in the Women's 1500 Freestyle; David Creel was 4th in both Men's 400 and 800 Freestyle, 5th in 400IM and 8th in the 1500; and Hollis Roth was 7th in the Women's 200 Fly.
Compete results, as always, are available at our Results Page.
It was an exciting weekend at Saanich Commonwealth Place as 224 swimmers competed in the 2005 Vancouver Island Region Long Course Championships. UVic-Pacific Coast Swimming fielded a team of 33 swimmers who acheived the meet requirement of AA times or better in their age group.
Ten and under swimmers made great strides at this meet. Evan Letkeman and Jason Bradbury were top-8 in all their events and Stefanie Schmidt in eight of nine events (and she won four of them). Jamie Bennett was a top-8 finisher in three of his six events, Genna Bertrand in four of six events and Brendan Ward was top-8 in two events, with two Bronze medals. New AA qualifier Aidan Thirkell swam two races and was a top-8 finisher in the 50 Breaststroke, while Niv Hack finished top-8 in 50 Backstroke.
Amongst those 11 year of age and older, Alyssa Bakken, Ryan Clouston, Nicole Crawford and Craig Dagnall all placed third or higher in all their events (and Alyssa and Craig won all their events). Avi Kunen, Jacob McKee, Jovanna Ruffolo, Julia Schmidt and David Vizsolyi were top-8 finalists in all of their races. Nicholas Sinclair won eight medals, three of them Gold; Tyler Smith won six medals, again with three Gold; and William Yolland won three Bronze medals with eight top-8 finishes in eight events. Jayme Weimer brought home three Gold and one Bronze medals, and Alison Hooper was a top-8 finalist in 5 of 8 entries with two Bronze medals. Jordan Gybels took heaps of time off all his races, finishing with 3 top-8 placings and 100% best times. Chris Kennedy was top-8 in 4 of 5 races, Britney Steele was 8th or better in 5 of 7 swims. Kristina Phillips won Silver in the 200 Breaststroke, while Bronte Wakefield took five seconds off both her best 100 Butterfly and 200IM times, and Kristen McKinney took a whopping 30 seconds off her 400 Freestyle.
Not least, Jacob McKee made his first Club National time - congratulations Jacob! Alyssa Bakken reached a best time in the 100 Backstroke for 12 and under Girls, which also set a new Provincial Record - congratulations, Alyssa!
Congratulations to all swimmers and coaches on a stellar Regional Championships!
Medalists: Alyssa Bakken, Ryan Clouston, Nicole Crawford, Craig Dagnall, Alison Hooper, Jacob McKee, Kristina Phillips, Jovanna Ruffolo, Julia Schmidt, Stefanie Schmidt, Nicholas Sinclair, Tyler Smith, David Vizsolyi, Brendan Ward, Jayme Weimer, William Yolland.
Additional Top-8 Finalists: Jamie Bennett, Genna Bertrand, Jason Bradbury, Jordan Gybels, Niv Hack, Chris Kennedy, Marija Kopac, Avi Kunen, Evan Letkeman, Annemarie Schmidt, Britney Steele, Aidan Thirkell and Andrea Vizsolyi.
Congratulations to all the athletes, and Canadian National Open Water Team Head Coach (also UVPCS Head Coach) Ron Jacks, on the Canadian showing at the US Open Water Nationals. Congratulations as well to UVPCS swimmer Karley Stutzel, who qualified for all three Open Water events at the upcoming World Aquatic Championships in Montreal. The following story is from the Swimming-Natation Canada web site.
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Canadian Open Water swimmers fought through the weather and were successful in winning seven medals in Fort Myers, Florida. The meet was used by both the Canadian and Americans to pick their open water teams for the upcoming World Championships in Montreal this summer. Silver medals were won by Tanya Hunks, Hyack (5km); Elliot Rushton, Surrey Knights (10km); and Andre Couturier, University of Laval (25km). Veteran Karley Stutzel from University of Victoria / Pacific Coast Swimming won bronze medals in both 5km and 10km events. Kathryn Rosberg from Simon Fraser University and Malcolm Lavoie from the University of British Columbia also were bronze medalists in the 25km.
Eleven Canadians, who had made the pool qualifications, competed in the stormy weathered Trials and all were able to make top 10 positions. In addition to medalists above, placing were: Jarrod Ballem University of Calgary 6th-5km and 5th-10km, Charles Rodrigue CAMO 5th-25km, David Creel University of Victoria-Pacific Coast Swimming 6th-10km and 10th-5km, Simon Tobin University of Laval 6th-25km.
For the first time ever Canada will have a full team participating at the World Aquatic Championships. The Open Water events will take place July 17- 23. Swimmers who have met qualifying standards for Team Canada for the World Aquatic Championships Open Water in Montreal:
Women Tanya Hunks (Hyack) - 5km and 10km Kathryn Rosberg (Simon Fraser University) - 25km Karley Stutzel (UVPCS) - 5km, 10km and 25km
Men Jarrod Ballem (University of Calgary) - 5km and 10km Andre Couturier (University of Laval) - 25km Malcolm Lavoie (University of British Columbia) - 25km Elliot Rushton (Surrey Knights) - 5km and 10km
We had a great time over the weekend at Saanich Commonwealth Place with the PCS 12 and Under Wavemaker Invitational! In line with a "Summer at the Beach" theme, officials (and some coaches) doffed their whites in favour of some truly astonishing Hawaiian shirts. Swimmers enjoyed random prizes throughout the heats and beautiful floret ribbons for top-3 finishes in finals. Best of all, Pacific Coast Swimming, Richmond Rapids and Team Dolphin 12 and unders enjoyed the excitement of a heats and finals events designed especially for them. Thanks to all our volunteers who make it happen, from food to timing to cleanup, and congratulations to all the swimmers and coaches for great swimming!
Congratulations to UVPCS swimmers Karley Stutzel and Dave Creel for their performances at the US Open Water National Championships in Florida this weekend. While our 12 and Unders were making waves at Saanich Commonwealth Place, Dave and Karley, with Coach Ron Jacks, were making Open Water waves on the beach in Florida. Karley was third in the 5km and third in the 1500m Dash for Cash; Dave was tenth the Men’s 5km. 10km results are not yet posted – check our results page soon.
Tomorrow, June 4th, don't miss CBC’s one hour show on the Paralympic World Cup, held in Manchester, England, from May 12-15th, 2005. The show will be presented at 4:30 pm EST - watch CBC Sports Saturday show for more details (starting at 1pm EST).
Thirteen Canadian athletes in Athletics, Swimming and Track Cycling competed, earning 12 medals at this largest international elite-level disability competition other than the Paralympic Games.
Canadian swimmers include UVPCS's Stephanie Dixon, and Andrew Haley, Benoit Huot, Brad Sales, and Donovan Tildesley.
The final day at World Trials in Montreal - add another medal ... and UVPCS finishes the meet with six medals!
Mackenzie Downing earned her third medal and second Silver of the meet for the 50 Butterfly this evening. Congratulations, Mackenzie!
Other UVPCS finalists tonight were David Creel, fourth in the men's 1500 Freestyle; Christin Petelski, sixth in the 50 Breaststroke; and Nathan O'Brien, eighth in the 400 Indivdual Medley.
Congratulations to our swimmers and coaches, with special congratulations to our medalists, Mackenzie Downing (3), Christin Petelski (2) and Nathan O'Brien (1). More superlatives go out to Christin Petelski, who will represent Canada on the National Team for the World Aquatic Championships in Montreal this July, to Karley Stutzel, pre-selected for the National Team in Open Water competition at the same World Aquatic Championships, and to Mackenzie Downing, named to the Canadian FISU (World University Games) Team on its way to Izmir, Turkey this August.
We look forward to more fast swimming from everybody in the months to come. Train hard ... go places!
Manchester, England - Stephanie Dixon (UVPCS) and Donovon Tildesley (UBC) joined three other swimmers as Canadian representives at the inaugural VISA Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, England.
Dixon posted three silver medal performances behind South Africa's Natalie Dutoit. Dixon started the finals session with a 1:06.05 in the 100 freestyle, a 1:10.94 in the 100 backstroke and finally a 31.07 in the 50 freestyle.
Donovon Tildesley faced some very strong competition in posting a fifteenth place finish in the 100 Free with a 1:02.41 and a fifth place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:15.79.
The UVPCS Masters Program is run by qualified and experienced coaches who can help you improve your technique, endurance and speed through structured workouts. Whether you are looking to improve your Triathlon or Masters training or would just like some personalized instruction, this Masters Program is for you - we’ll help you get focused and motivated to achieve your personal best. All ages and abilities welcome.
Tuesday and Thursday nights 8-9 pm, outdoors at the UVic Ian Stewart Complex
Session 1: May 24th to the end of June $30 members, $33 non-members
Session 2: July 4th to Sept 1st $45 members, $50 non-members
Coaches: Jennifer Blattler Danielle Gudgeon
Register at the UVic RECPLUS office. For further information, please feel free to contact Jennifer at 744-6005 or email jblattler@pacificcoastswimming.com.
Friday May 13th at World Trials, day four and the UVPCS medal count climbed to five.
Christin Petelski, Gold medalist in the women's 100 Breaststroke two days ago, took Silver today in the 200 Breaststroke and met the qualifying standard for the Canadian Team at the World Aquatics Championships in Montreal this summer! Christin has represented Canada at two Olympics, the Commonwealth Games, the Pan-Pacific Games and the International University Games (FISU).
Other finalists tonight were Mackenzie Downing, sixth in the women's 800 Freestyle, and Nathan O'Brien, fourth in the men's 200 Backstroke.
Congratulations to our swimmers and coaches, and fast swimming for tomorrow, the final day of the meet.
Add another National medal, this one Silver, to Mackenzie Downing's collection. After her Bronze medal on the opening day of competition in the 100 Butterfly, Mackenzie claimed the Silver in the Women's 200 Butterfly this evening! Congratulations to Mackenzie, and fast swimming to all our swimmers and coaches for the remaining two days of competition.
Two days, three medals for UVPCS at the World Trials in Montreal.
Tonight, two UVPCS swimmers stood on the medal podium. Two-time Olympian Christin Petelski brought home Gold in the Women's 100 Breaststroke, in a time of 1:10.34. Nathan O'Brien, who was on the Canadian Olympic team in Athens this past summer, took Bronze in the Men's 100 Backstroke with a time of 57.20. Yesterday, Mackenzie Downing took the Bronze in the Women's 100 Butterfly. Congratulations swimmers and coaches!
Good luck and fast swimming to UVPCS at the Canadian World Aquatics Championships Trials - David Creel, Mackenzie Downing, Greer Jacks, Nathan O’Brien, Christin Petelski and Hollis Roth, with coaches Ron Jacks and Peter Vizsolyi, will be competing in Montreal from May 10-14, 2005. Karley Stutzel is pre-qualified for the Canadian Open Water Team competing at the World Aquatics Championships in July in Montreal.
Day One: Congratulations to Mackenzie Downing, who took the Bronze Medal in the Women’s 100 Butterfly in a time of 1:00.81!
Canada's swimmers with a disability completed a sensational performance at the Disabled Sport England swimming championships.
The Canadian team collected 37 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze at the three-day event.
UVPCS swimmer Stephanie Dixon continued her winning ways with another Gold Medal, in the women's S9 50m Freestyle event.
"We're heading in the same direction as we were coming out of the Athens Paralympics," said Canadian national team coach Craig McCord. At the Paralympics last year, Canadian swimmers won 40 medals including 15 gold. "There's still a long way to go but we we're well set up for the rest of the long course season."
Next Saturday, five Canadian swimmers will compete at the inaugural multi-sport Paralympic World Cup event in Manchester, England. They are Benoit Huot, Stephanie Dixon, Donovan Tildesley, Brad Sales and Andrew Haley.
SHEFFIELD, England- Benoit Huot of Montreal and Stephanie Dixon of Victoria won two gold medals apiece on Friday to highlight a strong performance for Canadians at the 25-country Disability Sport England swimming championships.
The Canadians compiled eight gold, three silver and two bronze.
Dixon, who led the Canadian swim team with eight medals at the Paralympics, won the 400 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke events in the women’s S9 category.
"Stephanie and Benoit did a good job to set the tone for the rest of the team," said Canadian national team coach Craig McCord of Vancouver. "It was our first time together since the Paralympics and everybody fed off their performances."
Thanks to everybody for their contributions to this year’s Silent Auction. As with last year's inaugural event, more than one hundred people attended and we had a very relaxed, enjoyable evening with good food, friends and conversation.
Notwithstanding the collegial atmosphere, there was fierce bidding on several items, including the Speedo Chefs’ Dinner for Four and the Seafood Dinner at the Jacks’ House. Last year’s Seafood Dinner recipient has let it be known that she regrets telling everyone what a terrific evening they enjoyed!
We raised approximately $6500 at the Silent Auction! Thanks to the Waveside Café for a wonderful pasta dinner, and to our members for another sumptuous dessert table. Thanks as well to the Silent Auction organization group and the set-up and tear-down volunteer crew, and especially to all our donors and participants for their generosity.
OTTAWA- Benoit Huot of Montreal and Stephanie Dixon of Victoria, two of Canada’s biggest stars at last year’s Paralympic Games, lead a strong Canadian team to two major competitions for swimmers with a disability starting next week in England.
From May 6-8, the British Disability Swimming Championships are scheduled for Sheffield England. On May 14, it is the inaugural Paralympic World Cup, a multi-sport event for athletes with a disability, which includes a swimming competition.
In Sheffield, Canada fields a 16-member team with Huot, who won five gold and set three world records at last year’s Paralympics in Athens, leading the men’s side along with Brian Hill of Nanaimo, B.C., Brad Sales of London, Ont., and Donovan Tildesley of Vancouver.
Huot has decided to focus primarily on the sprint events (50 and 100-metres) over the upcoming 12 months. He holds the world record in the 50 and 100 freestyles and the 200 individual medley. His long term goal is to earn gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. The Commonwealth Games have integrated events, including the 50 and 100 freestyles for swimmers with a disability.
“I’ve trained like a sprinter this year spending a lot of time in weight rooms since the Olympics and I’ve gained 15 pounds.’’ said Huot, 21, a finalist for male athlete of the year at the Canadian Sport Awards last month. “So I’m a lot stronger and a lot more explosive now but with less endurance. I hope to approach my world records in England. I’ll be rested but not fully prepared. I think I’ll probably reach my peak for this year in July at the U.S. and Canadian nationals in July.”
Dixon, who led the Canadian team with eight Paralympic medals last year, is joined on the women’s side by Valérie Grand’Maison of Montreal, Geneviève Ouellette of Quebec City, Anne Polinario of Toronto, Jessica Tuomela of Waterloo, Ont., Danielle Campo of Calgary, Darda Geiger of Sarnia, Ont., Andrea Cole of Thunder Bay, Ont., Chelsey Gotell of Antigonish, N.S., Rhea Schmidt of Winnipeg, Stephanie MacDougall of Vancouver and Elisabeth Walker of St. Catharines, Ont.
Five Canadian swimmers were also invited to the Paralympic World Cup event: Huot, Sales, Tildesley, Dixon and Andrew Haley of Toronto.
“These are our first major competitions since Athens,’’ said Craig McCord of Vancouver, head coach of the Canadian Paralympic swim team. “The international field should be very strong with no Paralympic or world championships this season.’’
In July, Canada’s swimmers with a disability have two more competitions. From July 14-17 they’ll compete at the U.S., Nationals for swimmers with a disability and from July 21-25 it’s the Canadian Club Championships which will also serve as the national championships for swimmers with a disability in Winnipeg.
UVPCS swimmer Stephanie Dixon was honored as Victoria's Female Athlete of the Year last night at the 38th annual Victoria Sports Awards banquet.
Dixon, UVic's Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year, received her award for her remarkable season in the pool. Dixon picked up eight medals while representing Canada at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. In March she was named SportBC's Disabled Athlete of the Year and in January was recognized as one of Canada's Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity. At the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Swimming Championship in March, Dixon broke three World Records and was named an honourary All-Canadian.
Congratulations to PCS finalists Tyler Smith, on achieving his first Club National time in the 400 Freestyle, Andrea Vizsolyi on her AAA qualifying swim in the 200 Breaststroke, and Jacob McKee for his 200 Backstroke 2nd place finish on Sunday night – after completing the Times-Colonist 10K Run Sunday morning!
PCS first place finishers included Ryan Clouston, Nicole Crawford, Craig Dagnall, Mackenzie Downing, Christin Petelski and Jayme Weimer; finalists also included David Creel, Alison Hooper, Marija Kopac, Brian MacArthur, Hollis Roth, Jovanna Ruffolo, Julia Schmidt, Nick Sinclair, David Vizsolyi and William Yolland.
Last but not least, congratulations as well, and again, to Alyssa Bakken, who seems to be making a habit of setting Provincial Records – this weekend, in addition to winning the 200 Backstroke and 400IM, Alyssa set a new Girls 12 and Under Provincial LC Record in the 100 Backstroke! (She won the race, too.)
For complete details, as usual, see our meet results page.
Congratulations to Pacific Coast Swimming's Alyssa Bakken on a new Long Course (50m) Provincial Record for Girls' 12 and Under 200m Backstroke. Alyssa set the record this past weekend during a Team BC Training Camp and Dual Meet held in Kamloops with Team Alberta.
The Province honoured Stephanie Dixon along with 75 of British Columbia's other top athletes for their outstanding achievements in sport and provided $50,000 in funding for the new B.C. Sports Hall of Fame exhibit, the 2000s Gallery - Road to the Olympics, at the annual Premier's Athletic Awards ceremony, John Les, minister responsible for sport announced today.
"The recipients of the Premier's Athletic Awards have proven themselves not just as athletes but as individuals committed to excellence, competition and sportsmanship," said Premier Gordon Campbell. "They are an inspiration to all of us and it is important the we celebrate their achievements as part of our efforts to build a culture of sport and fitness in communities across B.C."
The Premier's Athletic Awards recognize the top female and male athletes from each sport participating in the B.C. athlete assistance program.
"The athletes we are honouring today are role models for all British Columbians," said Les. "They have followed their dreams and through hard work, sacrifice and determination have excelled in their sport. I have no doubt some of these athletes will be featured in the new 2000s Gallery at the Sports Hall of Fame."
The 2000s Gallery - the Road to the Olympics, will incorporate the major achievements of British Columbia athletes on the world stage from January 2000 to the present and will be updated annually until the year 2010. The exhibit, at the entrance to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, will also depict the road to the Olympics with monthly updates showing the construction of facilities, the progress of potential championships in training and the Olympic story as it develops, leading to 2010.
The athlete assistance program provides financial support to athletes who demonstrate the potential to represent British Columbia and Canada in athletic competition. Eligible athletes are those participating in major competitions: the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, World Championships and Canada Games.
Photographs and a list of awards recipients' achievements are displayed at the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in B.C. Place Stadium for one year.
Past award recipients include Paralympic wheelchair basketball athlete Marni Abbott, and Olympic athletes wrestler Daniel Igali and runner Diane Cummins.
The University of Victoria held their annual athletics awards banquet last night at the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria and swimmers from the Vikes took home two awards.
Stephanie Dixon (Toronto, Ont.) was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year at the University of Victoria. Dixon is in her second year at UVic and was also named the Outstanding Athlete in her rookie year. Dixon began this year bringing home eight medals from the 2004 Paralympics including gold in the women’s 100 backstroke. She went on to break three world records at the 2005 CIS Swimming Championships and was named an honorary First Team All Canadian for the second year in a row.
Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award, given for contribution to the team both in and out of competition. Stutzel was a three-time medalist at the Canada West swimming championship and is a coach with the Elementary Schools Programs. This was Stutzel’s fifth and final year with the Vikes.
Both Dixon and Stutzel will continue to train with their club team, UVic – Pacific Coast Swimming for upcoming competitions. Dixon is off to England at the end of April to compete in an international SWAD (Swimmer with a Disability) competition while Stutzel will be swimming at the World Championship Trials in Montreal. Stutzel will also compete for Canada at the World Championships this Summer in the Open Water competition.
The fourth Sunday Stroke Camp of the year will take April 10th, at UVic pool from 8:00-11:00am. The emphasis for this camp will be on Backstroke Technique and Turns.
Senior Swimmers will be aiding the coaches to ensure a very low coach to athlete ratio.
Video Imaging and analysis will be utilized as well as a selection of drills designed to develop these two specific areas.
Attention BCSSA families: This camp is perfectly designed for summer swimmers who want to improve their strokes and get a head start on the season. It consists of an hour of dryland drills, and 2 hours in the water...keeping swimmers within their "2 hours per week" quota.
Cost: $20.00 UVPCS member / 30.00 non members
For more info, email: rcole@pacificcoastswimming.com
UVPCS to proud to partner with Saanich Recreation in offering the Lightning Fast Swim Series at Gordon Head Pool. This is now the third pool in Victoria to offer this exciting "new" method of learning to swim.
For the summer, Lightning Fast will be offered in four sessions, each lasting for two weeks.
July 4-15
July 18-29
Aug 1-12
Aug 15-26
For information on the program view the Lightning Fast web page. To register call Gordon Head Pool @ 475-7100
Swimmers from across Vancouver Island packed their Speedos and headed to Duncan’s Annual All-Level Swim Meet last weekend. Local Victoria club, Pacific Coast Swimming swam to some very impressive results and earn a truckload of ribbons. Katherine Fretz was the star swimmer of the meet--walking away with three ribbons, and best times in 200 free (3:49.56), 50 breast (1:02.61), and 100 IM (1:59.78). Jamie Bennett also took home some ribbons as he earned two new AA times in 200 free (3:29.01) and 100 back (1:43.09). Savannah Barratt placed second in breaststroke, and touched in at (1:10.10). Pacific Coast Swimming’s girls 10 and under individual medley relay (Kelsey Elliot, Katherine Fretz, Rachael Besler, and Alexandra Armstrong) swam four breakthrough swims for a total time of (3:53.66) PCS swimmers will train hard in the next few weeks as they get ready for the annual Swim-a-thon to raise money for Victoria athlete development.
Swim BC named its Youth (15-16 year old) and Junior (18 and Under) Long Course Provincial Teams following results from Western Canadian Championships and the Canadian Inter-University Sport (CIS) Swimming Championships. Age Group (12 and Under) and Prospect (13-14) Teams were identified earlier in February based on results from the Provincial AAA Championships.
UVPCS swimmers named to the Youth and Junior Teams: David Vizsolyi – Butterfly (Youth) Mackenzie Downing – Distance Freestyle (Junior) Hollis Roth – Butterfly (Junior)
David, Mackenzie and Hollis join Alyssa Bakken (Age Group) and Nicole Crawford and Jayme Weimer (Prospects) on the 2005 Long Course (50m) Team BC. Congratulations all!
University of Victoria Vikes rookie swimmer Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yuk.) won her fourth silver medal on the final day of competition at the 2005 CIS Swimming Championships. Downing clocked 8:47.72 in the women's 800 freestyle to add to her collection of silver medals. Downing was later honored as a CIS Second Team All Canadian and selected to the Canadian Team which will compete at the FISU Games in Izmir, Turkey - August 11th to 21st, 2005.
In their final CIS Swimming Championships Vikes swimmers Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) and David Creel (Vernon, B.C.) swam in the finals of the distance freestyle events. Creel picked up a bronze in the men's 1500 in 15:47.19 while Stutzel finished 4th in 8:50.30.
Stephanie Dixon (Toronto, Ont.) broke her third world record of the weekend in the 200 backstroke preliminaries. She clocked a time of 2:22.72 to break her own record set back in 2002. Dixon was awarded an Honorary First Team All Canadian award for her performances and received a standing ovation from the swimmers and spectators at the Kinsmen Sport Centre.
The Vikes women finished in 6th position (200.5) overall while the men's team was 12th (61). Both the men's and women's championship titles were won by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
Day two of the 2005 CIS Swimming Championships just finished in Edmonton, Alberta and the University of Victoria Vikes added two more medals and another world record to their tally for the weekend. Stephanie Dixon (Toronto, Ont.) set another world record, her second of the weekend, clocking a personal best time of 1:08.82 in the 100 backstroke.
Rookie Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yuk.) won two more silver medals on day two in the 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle. Downing finished the 400 freestyle in 4:15.17 just behind Carla Guerts-Coel (UNB) the returned to the pool in the 200 butterfly in 2:15.33 finishing behind Audrey Lacroix (Montreal).
Other Vikes in the finals tonight included Greer Jacks (Victoria, B.C.) in the 400 free finishing 4th in 4:00.29. David Creel (Vernon, B.C.) finished second in the consolation final of the 400 free in 3:58.72 for 10th overall. Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) also swam in the women's 400 freestyle final finishing in 7th position. Kaere Ballman (Regina, Sask) finished in second spot in the B final of the 200 breaststroke in 2:37.58.
The Vikes 4x200 freestyle relay finished in 5th place clocking 8:25.12. Also of note Lauren Daniels (South Africa) qualified for her first Senior Nationals posting a time of 1:04.58 to finish second in the consolation final of the women's 100 backstroke.
The Vikes women currently sit in 7th position with 137.50 points while the men are in 12th with 40 points.
University of Victoria Vikes Rookie swimmer Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yukon) won the silver medal in the women's 100 butterfly this evening tying for second place in a time of 1:01.37. Her time was also a Vikes Record eclipsing the old time of 1:01.79 set by Pamela Rai in 1986. Downing also led the Vikes women's relay to a 6th place finish.
Current UVic Athlete of the Year and Paralympian Stephanie Dixon (Toronto, Ont.) broke her own world record in the women's 100 butterfly clocking a time of 1:12.49. Dixon qualified for the CIS Championships by achieving the overall time standard earlier in the season. Her record is for swimmers with a disability S11 classification.
Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) had a busy night swimming in the 200 freestyle consolation final placing 4th and then again in the 400 IM consol placing 7th. Greer Jacks (Victoria, B.C.) also swam in the 200 freestyle B final placing 3rd for a 11th overall position.
After the first day of competition UVic currently sits in 11th place overall on the combined team scores. The Vikes women team is 9th with 50 points and the men are 12th with 18 points.
Competition continues on Saturday at the Kinsmen Sport Centre in Edmonton.
The last day of Western Championships dawned early for athletes and coaches. Competition concluded on Sunday with the 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 400 Individual Medley, 100 Butterfly and distance events 1500 Freestyle for women and 800 Freestyle for men.
In the morning’s distance event timed finals, Alison Hooper (13 years old) placed 12th in the Women’s 15 and under 1500 Freestyle, while Mary-Clare Zachernuk (19) was 14th in the same event for Women 16 and over. In the Men’s 16 and under 800 Freestyle David Vizsolyi (15) was 14th and Craig Dagnall (13) was 20th, both with new best times. Ryan Clouston (17) had a great swim in the men’s 17 and over 800 Freestyle, taking 13 seconds off his previous best (missing a National qualifying time by only 0.1 second) for a fourth place finish.
Evening finals saw Christin Petelski take the Silver Medal in Women’s 16 and over 100 Breaststroke, in a closely contested race for the first two placings. Christin finished in the medals in all three Breaststroke races this weekend, with silver in 50 and 100 meter races, and Gold in the 200. Congratulations Christin! Also in A finals were Hollis Roth (16), finishing sixth in the 400 IM and seventh in the 100 Butterfly for women 16 and over, Ryan Clouston with a fifth place finish in the men’s 17 and over 400IM and Andrew Bell (19), 8th in the men’s 17 and over 100 Breaststroke.
From B finals, Jayme Weimer (14) finished 10th overall in the 15 and under women’s 200 Free, Mary-Clare Zachernuk was 16th in the 16 and over 400IM, and Patrick Waters was 13th in the men’s 17 and over 400IM.
High Point Open Female swimmer of the meet was our own Christin Petelski, 1996 and 2000 Canadian Olympic team member, for her 200 Breaststroke Gold Medal swim on Saturday. Of 48 teams at the competition, UVPCS was 6th in women’s competition, 16th for the men, and 11th overall.
Congratulations to everybody at Westerns, and good luck to our University athletes at the upcoming Canadian Inter-University Sport (CIS) Swimming Championships!
20-Feb-05 Katherine Dedyna Victoria Times Colonist
As a world-champion swimmer, Stephanie Dixon knows all about going for gold in the pool. About drawing deep within herself for every last drop of endurance. Of facing the fear of failure in front of millions in order to chase her dreams. And catch them.
And if she has only one leg and one hip, well, big deal. Everyone has something they should be trying to rise above and beyond.
Otherwise, we risk just going through the motions in life.
With this message, the petite 21-year-old powerhouse in a pink vest and jeans drew a standing ovation and tears from nearly 300 people attending the UVic Women's Network conference this week.
"No ability or disability is a blessing or a burden unless you treat it like that," she told them. "I decided I didn't want to be a victim of my circumstances."
The fact that she has won 15 Paralympic swimming medals at Athens and Sydney, six of them gold, pretty well settles that.
Dixon has always wanted to define her life her way, go after what she wanted and make the most of what she was given. And while she's an athlete to the core, she's studying psychology at the University of Victoria because she recognizes the power of the mind in determining make or break attitudes.
"Struggle and adversity is something I have always faced," she says in her lilting, rapid-fire way. "Being challenged at some point turned into something I loved. I just loved seeing what I could do."
Her battle for acceptance was physical, but she believes psychological struggles can be equally fierce.
"A lot more people have internal struggles," she says, munching a muffin following her hour-long motivational speech. For her grounding in self-acceptance, she's quick to praise her parents, Joanne MacDonald of Toronto and Mark of Brampton, Ont.
"Not all kids have that," she says. "They may have been told, 'you can't do this; you can't do that.' I'm only this way because of the way I've been raised. They didn't let me use my disability as an excuse."
She hopes to work with children some day and already enjoys volunteering with an eight-year girl who wears leg braces.
"I go with her to swimming lessons -- she reminds me of what it's like to have fun in the pool."
Dixon's positive take on life is combined with drive, determination and very hard work.
She can't remember a time when she wasn't fighting for her place in the world on her terms, not the world's.
Not only was she born without a limb but "all of my insides were on the outside in a bubble of skin.''
Even in babyhood she adopted a "move it or lose it" attitude to crawling around, building up tiny arms that would one day land her on the medal podium.
Her parents, hard as it must have been at times, always made her pick herself up when she fell, 10 times in a row if need be. And rather than retire to the background, she strove to be the centre of attention.
There was no way she was going to let two-legged doctors set limitations on what she could do. If they said seven-year-old Stephanie would never ride a two-wheel bike, she proved them wrong.
When a well-meaning two-legged swimmer in the next lane made sympathetic "poor-you" comments prior to a race, she determined to beat her and did.
"This was definitely one of my defining moments. She can still hear her competitor marvelling: "Do you realize that girl has only one leg?"
Dixon didn't get competitive about swimming until age 13, and then embraced it as her destiny. "I felt really free in the water. I always felt I was meant to be a mermaid."
Earlier in life, when curious strangers told her how sorry they were about her missing leg, she demurred. Now she's likely to bluntly say: "It's nothing to be sorry about .... It's like asking you -- wouldn't you rather have three legs?"
Once in a while, she's thrown out some outrageous responses: "A shark bit it off" or "my psycho grandmother chopped it off." Let's face it. A girl could get awfully tired of explaining, of pitying looks, of diminished expectations.
Her artificial leg isn't the easy accessory to put on every day. "It's uncomfortable, if I think of it." So she doesn't dwell on it. And that's a choice we all have -- to dwell on the bad or focus on the good.
Ironically, it was when she reached the pinnacle of the Sydney Paralympics that she found herself "scared out of her mind." A lifetime of confidence and strength seemed to evaporate. She dreaded losing in front of millions. Shaken, she finished two seconds over her best time "I let the fear take over and it was really, really hard to deal with. I was devastated. Then it clicked. This is my time to shine."
The next race was different. "I dove into the water with all the strength and determination and courage I had."
She beat her personal best by two seconds and set a new world record in winning the gold medal. She went on to win another four gold medals in Sydney.
She believes her attitude determined the outcome of those races -- "from failure and devastation to one of the proudest moments of my life."
Similarly, last year in Athens, she faced Natalie Du Toit, a South African swimmer who had lost her leg in an accident in 2001 and then began dominating Paralympic swimming. "Natalie was smashing all sorts of records -- mostly mine," she laughs. "I competed in six events and in the first five, I came second to Natalie.''
But come the 100-metre backstroke, Dixon's best event, it was a different story.
She plays the video at the conference. And dabs her eyes. "My coach told me, 'use her to bring out the best in yourself but don't let her beat you.' "
Dixon beat her rival for the gold medal and set a new world record in the process. And to put it in perspective, her time of one minute 10.01 seconds was barely 10 seconds slower than the two-legged Olympic champion.
Back in Victoria at the women's conference, Stephanie told the crowd: "If we face our fears and overcome them, we often realize there was nothing to be afraid of in the first place.
It was a "two-hanky" talk as far as Michele Favarger was concerned, who was openly moved by someone so young understanding the power of passion translated into action.
"You're amazing," offered a kilt-wearing older woman, touching her arm.
"Oh, she's an inspiration -- my son is special needs and it's so hard to overcome stereotypes and prejudices," added Spanish teacher Alicia Ulysses.
Dixon takes it in her stride. She's very level-headed. She loves rock climbing; is immersed in the autobiography of Nelson Mandela and goes dancing in the clubs with her friends.
And then there's swimming.
Even gold medalists are in the pool by 5 a.m. even in February if they're swimming with the UVic Vikes and the Pacific Coast Swimming Club. She spends five hours immersed most days.
Still, she's not sure about her future in competitive swimming. "I don't think you choose it; it chooses you. It's not told me I'm done with it."
Day 3 again saw some stellar performances from the UV-PCS athletes.
Christin Petelski took an early lead in the Girls 16 and Over 200 Breaststroke and then stayed in front to win Gold. With a 2nd place earlier in the 50 m Breaststroke, look out for Christin tomorrow in the 100 m event.
In the Wonen's Open 400 Medley Relay, the UVPCS team consisting of Alyssa Bakken, Christin Petelski, Hollis Roth and Mackenzie Downing brought home the Silver Medal.
Alyssa Bakken (12) had another impressive swim in the Girls 15 and Under 200 m Backstroke just finishing out of the medals in 4th place. Alyssa has shown all that she will be a force to be considered in upcoming years.
Hollis Roth (16) improved by 3 seconds over her previous 200 Butterfly best time to qualify for the Girls 16 and over A final. In the evening she shed another 6/10’s to finish 4th in a close race.
Burning up the pool in the Girls 15 and Under 100 Freestyle, Jayme Weimer (14) finished just off her lifetime best and ended up in 4th place, 2/100’s of a second out of the medals.
Adam Slater had a solid performance in the Boys 17 and Over 200 Backstroke finishing 6th. Patrick Waters duplicated this performance in the Boys 17 and Over 200 Fly, also finishing 6th.
Rounding out the swimmers in A Finals was David Vizsolyi (15) in the 16 and under 200 Butterfly. After a tie in preliminaries for 8th place, David had to race a swim-off to gain entry to the final. Winning this by nearly 4 seconds David qualified to the A final where he swam to an 8th place finish.
Other swimmers getting a second swim where Andrew Bell and Ryan Clouston (17), finishing 10th and 13th respectively in the Mens 17 and Over 200 Breaststroke.
Day 2 at the Western Canada Championships saw UV-PCS make 10 second swims in evening finals.
The top result for the day was Alyssa Bakken (12) finishing third in the Girls 15 and Under 100 m Backstroke. In a very close race to the wall Alyssa touched 7/100’s ahead of the fourth place finisher. Alyssa also finished 4th in the B final of the Girls 15 and Under 200 m IM.
In the Girls 15 and Under 400 m Freestyle Nicole Crawford (13) finished on the other side of a 7/100's margin. With a slim lead coming into the wall Nicole was out-touched by this time and finished 4th.
In the B final of the Girls 15 and Under 50 m Freestyle Jayme Weimer (14) lead from start to finish, ending up with a new personal best time. Had she made the A final Jayme would have finished 5th overall with her swim.
These three swimmers also teamed up with Hollis Roth (16) in the Girls 400 m Freestyle Relay. Despite their young age the relay finished 12th overall. Watch out for this grouping in coming years.
Other swimmers in the evening swims were Ryan Clouston (17) finishing 11th and 13th respectively in the Boys 17 and Over 400 Freestyle and 200 IM, Hollis Roth (16) finishing 11th in the Girls 16 and Over 400 Freestyle, Adam Slater finishing 11th and 13th respectively in the Boys 17 and Over 200 IM and 400 Freestyle, and Patrick Waters finishing 15th in the Boys 17 and Over 100 Backstroke.
Day 1 of the Western Canadian Championships saw 14 UV-PCS athletes hit the water.
MacKenzie Downing (18) made it to the podium twice, coming second in the Girls 16 and Over 800 Freestyle, and third in the Girls 16 and Over 50 Butterfly. With no entry time in the 800, MacKenzie had to swim in the final heat and race only the clock.
Christin Petelski came second in the Girls 16 and Over 50 Breaststroke improving over a second on her entry seed time. In the Girls 15 and Under 800 Freestyle, Nicole Crawford (13) placed second. In her heat of the fastest entry times, Nicole was the only swimmer who was not 15! Jayme Weimer (14) took 9 seconds off her previous best to finish 8th in this same event.
Rounding out the top 8 finishers was Ryan Clouston (17) who finished 5th in the Boys 17 and Over 1500 Freestyle.
Two other athletes had significant improvements in their personal best times. Jovanna Ruffalo (14) dropped 14 seconds in her Girls 15 and Under 800 Freestyle, while Mary-Claire Zachernuk dropped 11 seconds in her Girls 16 and Over 800 Freestyle.
It is also an apt description of what Sooke swimmer Tyler Smith did at the AAA Shortcourse Provincials, which were held recently at Commonwealth Place. The Pacific Coast Swimming member posted personal bests in all six of the events he competed in, coach Rod Barratt said. His performance included besting by more than a minute the 1500-metre freestyle time he recorded in December.
"At that meet, he kind of went ballistic and took off a lot of time," Barratt said.
Smith also contributed to a trio of relay teams. Individually, he swam the 1500 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 freestyle 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly. Smith has been swimming with Pacific Coast for about three and a half years and it is exciting to watch him develop, Barratt said.
"He has a great feel for the water," the coach said.
The young man and his parents' dedication and commitment to the sport is evident.
Smith spends about 20 hours a week practicing. Those practices start at 5:15 a.m., which means many early morning trips into Victoria. As well, his parents (Tim and Marion) assist the club in various ways. They took care of a variety of duties when the club hosted the provincials.
Last weekend's all level swim meet in Qualicum was extremely successful for the 24 junior athletes who attended from UVic-PCS. Eight year old Lauren Sheeran just missed qualifying for an AA regional standard in 50 meter freestyle, with a new best time of 43.41. Connor Bryan (10) had a fantastic 50 meter freestyle, narrowly missing the AA standard by three tenths of a second, with a new best time of 43.98. Shaving 6 seconds from her previous best, Savannah Barratt broke out her secret weapon (flip turns) during the 50 meter freestyle and best timed with 56.26. Another of the swimmers from the team who swam all best times at the meet Jamie Bennett had a great time at the meet is celebrating his 10th birthday on Feb 15th. Happy Birthday Jamie! There were also other great swims by the junior athletes which displays the rising success of the team's young swimmers.
Congratulations and thanks to everyone at UVPCS for hosting an amazing Provincial Championships. We all worked hard, and were cheerily greeted and well fed. It was a terrific four days of competition.
Everybody pitched in to help, including junior swimmers and their parents, senior swimmers and their parents, University students, friends, relations and individual volunteers from other clubs. In addition, we are indebted to the Langley Olympians, Vernon Kokanees, Ravensong, Hyack, Nanaimo Riptides and UBC Dolphins for their Clubs’ support.
Thanks to Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard and Swim BC Executive Director Mark Hahto for their gracious welcoming speeches at the Opening Ceremonies, Nicki Solis for singing the National Anthem, and Anthem Swimmers Savannah Barratt, Alicia Besler, Rachael Besler, Nadia Masri, Lauren Sheeran, and Emma Ullrich.
UVPCS had twenty-three athletes competing at the 2005 Provincial Championships. Our team finished 4th in overall point standings of 38 teams attending the meet, with a 3rd place finish for the Girls and 8th in Boys’ standings. Two of the three teams placing ahead of us had two to three times the team size (54-69 athletes), so we did very well indeed!
Three UVPCS swimmers won Gold … Alyssa Bakken (12 years old) was second highest overall point scorer among girls at the meet. She received Gold Medals and broke Provincial Records in the 12 and Under Girls 100m and 200m Backstroke and is closing in on the National Age-Group Record for 200 Backstroke- maybe next time! Alyssa also took Silver Medals in the 12 and Under Girls 200m Free, 200m Butterfly, and 200m and 400m IM, and Bronze in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events. In recognition of her achievements, Alyssa received the Speedo High Point Award and was named to the 2005 BC Long Course (LC) Provincial Age Group Team for 11-12 year-olds. Nicole Crawford (13 years old) won two Gold Medals in the 14 and Under Girls 400m and 800m Freestyle events and Silver in the 200m Freestyle. Her time in the 800 Freestyle event qualified Nicole to attend the Senior Nationals, held in Montreal later this year. Nicole also received the Speedo High Point Award and was named to the 2005 BC LC Prospects (13-14 years) Provincial Team. Jayme Weimer (14 years old) was 9th in overall number of points scored among girls at the meet. She won the 100m and 200m Freestyle events, was 2nd in the 400m Freestyle, 3rd in the 50m and 800m Freestyle events, and was also named to the 2005 Provincial LC Prospects (13-14 years) Provincial Team.
Craig Dagnall (14 years old) won Bronze in the 14 and Under 1500m Freestyle and 200m Butterfly events; Craig also came 7th in the 400m Freestyle. Hollis Roth (16 years old) took the Bronze Medal in the 17 and Under 200m Butterfly; she was 5th in the 100m Butterfly, 7th in the 200m IM, and 6th in the 400m IM. Ryan Clouston (17 years old) came home with four Bronze Medals in 17 and Under 400m Freestyle, 1500m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, and 400m IM. Ryan also made finals in the 200m Breaststroke (4th), 200m IM (5th), and 200m Backstroke (8th). Hollis and Ryan were members of the 2004-2005 Provincial Short Course Team. The Provincial Long Course Team for their age groups will be selected later this month at Western Canadian Championships, February 17-20, 2005.
Other UVPCS swimmers who competed in finals … Alison Hooper (12 years old) was 6th in 12 and Under 100m Free, 5th in 200m Free, 4th in 400m Free, 4th in the 200m Backstroke, 5th in the 200m Butterfly, and 7th in the 400m IM. Julia Schmidt (12 years old) came 5th in the 12 and Under 100m Butterfly and 4th in the 200m Butterfly, with a new Club National qualifying time. Jovanna Ruffolo (14 years old) was 7th in the 14 and Under 200m IM and 8th in the 400m IM. David Vizsolyi (15 years old) finished 5th in the 17 and Under 200m Butterfly, 6th in the 400m Freestyle, 4th in the 1500m Freestyle, and 8th in the 400m IM. The UVPCS Girls’ 14 and Under Relay Team, consisting of Jayme Weimer, Jovanna Ruffolo, Alyssa Bakken and Nicole Crawford, won two Silver Medals, for the 200 Freestyle and 200 Medley Relays.
Jacob McKee, Kelly Winn, William Yolland and Jeremy Ziemianski swam 100% best times at the meet. Marija Kopac, Avi Kunen, Iza Labbe, Brian MacArthur, Kristina Phillips, Nick Sinclair, Tyler Smith, Aaron Thomas, Andrea Vizsolyi, as well as Kurtis Vallee (swimming Unattached), all achieved at least one best time, and usually more. Thanks to swimmers Cole Barratt, Evan Letkeman and Jordan Gybels, who rounded out our boys’ relay teams.
Congratulations to our coaches and athletes! For complete results, see our results page.
How have you been there? I have been doing ok in japan. I just wanted to say hi to you. I will be so happy if you come over here and swim with Japanse swimmers, that would be so wonderful!! If you are interested in, just let me know eh!
It is just before the end of short course season and a biggest swim meet, Jr.Olympics in Tokyo is coming up soon in March. IT's maybe like Canadian Club National.
Hope everybody is having fun with PCS coaches at pool!!
Congratulations go out to Alyssa Bakken (12) and Nicole Crawford (13) who were named as 2005 Speedo Award Winners at the 2005 TAS AAA Championships.
Winners were determined by selecting the top performance in each age group using Swim BC point charts. Winners received a gift Package from Speedo Canada.
Bakken won for the 12 and Under Girls with 852 Points for her 2:20.34 performance in the 200 Back. Crawford tied with Tiana Gale (UBC) in the 14 and Under Girls at 850 Points for 9:05.09 in the 800 Free.
Bakken and Crawford were the only Victoria based athletes honoured with the awards.
MacKenzie Downing is surprisingly modest and soft-spoken, considering she just won four gold medals at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Canada West Swimming Championship in January.
Those who witnessed the feat knew they saw something special that weekend. The 18-year-old UVic student was subsequently named Canada West's female Rookie of the Year in swimming.
Competing in her very first major championship meet as a Vike, Downing won the 100-metre butterfly (in a time of one minute, 1.89 seconds), the 200-metre freestyle (2:01.72), the 200-metre butterfly and the 400-metre freestyle events. The rookie's explosive come-from-behind performance in the 200-metre freestyle event set a new University of Victoria record, as she shaved four-tenths of a second off the mark previously held by Danielle Bell.
"I was really excited," Downing said with a laugh, when asked about her initial reaction to the Rookie of the Year announcement.
The events the young swimmer excelled in at the Canada West meet were her specialities. She also swims in relay events with her UVic teammates. Following last month's championships, the University of Victoria's women's team was ranked No. 10 overall in the country.
Downing grew up in Whitehorse - a place not normally associated with top-calibre swimmers. But the first-year humanities student says she's been swimming for as long as she can remember. She started swimming competitively when she was just 12, developing her skills in the northern community under the tutelage of Albert Burgund before moving to Victoria to attend university.
"He was a really great coach and he brought me up to the national level," Downing says of Burgund. "We had a decent team for the size of the town."
Training in Whitehorse's only 25-metre pool, the swimmer was soon competing in regional and national events - including events in Southern B.C., where she caught the eye of Pacific Coast Swimming coaches Ron Jacks and Dr. Peter Vizsolyi (both of whom work closely with the UVic swim program). "They're really good (and) they know how to motivate you," Downing says of her new coaches. "They had seen me swim before I came here, and they knew my old coach."
Swimming for the Vikes took a bit of adjustment at first. When she was living in Whitehorse, Downing often had to fly to meets alone or with only one or two other people, so she found the environment and dynamics of a much bigger team to be quite a change.
"It's different to swim on a team," she explains, "because I was one of the only ones in Whitehorse who was swimming at the level that I'm swimming at."
But the support that Downing has received from her new UVic teammates and coaches this season has provided her with a big boost. It's made her a better swimmer, in part because she's working with people who are just as competitive. "It's easier in training sometimes, because everybody else is going through the same thing and they can support you and motivate you," she explains. "There are always people who are pushing you (to be faster)."
Despite her success at the Canada West meet in January, Downing concedes her performances earlier in the season were below her usual standard.
"I haven't actually been swimming that well this year. My freestyle had been doing pretty well (but) my butterfly hasn't been where it should," she notes. "This was the first meet where I've got down to the times I've wanted to." Downing now has her sights firmly set on the 2005 CIS Swimming Championship (scheduled for Feb. 25-27 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton), but she has loftier ambitions as well.
In November, she wants to try to qualify for the Canadian national team that will compete in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia - a goal she believes is within reach. Her best long-course times for the 200-metre butterfly is around 2:14, but Downing figures she'll have to break 2:10 to make the Canadian team's time standard.
The names Weimer and Crawford are quickly becoming synonymous with excellence on the Provincial swim scene. 14 year old Jayme Weimer of University of Victoria Pacific Coast Swimming won two of three sprint freestyle events in the Girls 13-14 years old category this weekend at the Provincial Swimming Championships. The championships were hosted by University of Victoria Pacific Coast Swimming which placed 4th overall.
Weimer’s results placed her on the British Columbia Age-group Provincial Team. In the 200 m Freestyle she knew she would have to be tough to stay ahead of teammate Nicole Crawford. When asked how she managed to come out on top she replied, “Well, I decided to experiment a bit. I pushed myself to stay in front of the other girls.” In the 400 m Freestyle the roles were reversed with Nicole Crawford taking first over Weimer. Crawford also dominated in the 800 m Freestyle and in that race achieved her first Senior Time Standard. The two wins placed her on the Provincial Team alongside of Weimer and younger teammate Alyssa Bakken.
Bakken may be younger but her youth doesn’t slow her down a bit! At the Regional Championships two weeks ago Bakken established new Provincial Records in the 100 m and 200 m Backstroke events. This weekend at Commonwealth Place she lit up the spectators by eclipsing her previous 100 m time by more than a full second. The next evening, in the 200 m her goal was to crack the existing National Age-group record. At 100 m into the race she brought a roar from the spectators and athletes alike as she went through under record pace. In the final 50 m she fell short of the pace to finish less than a third of a second over the mark set in 1998. Her backstroke race established her as the third University of Victoria Pacific Coast Swimming athlete to be selected to the Provincial Age-Group team.
In two weeks Bakken will join Crawford and Weimer, along with 20 University of Victoria Pacific Coast Swimming teammates, at Commonwealth Place for the Western Canadian Championships and take another shot at the National Age-group Record.
A glimpse of a few potential Canadian Olympians can be had this weekend at Saanich Commonwealth Place. More than 560 of the best young aquatic athletes in B.C. will take part in the 2005 Provincial Age Group Swimming Championship Feb. 3 to 6.
"You can expect to see a number of swimmers in younger age groups who hold provincial records, so they are the fastest who have ever gone (those times) in this province," says meet manager Margaret Penning.
Hosted by Pacific Coast Swimming and Swim B.C. (the sport's governing body in this province), the meet is for kids aged eight to 17.
A number of swimmers in action this weekend have already attended national and international events.
One group was at the 2005 Pan Pacific Junior Swimming Championships in Hawaii in early January.
Another contingent just returned from the Australian Youth Olympic Festival swim meet that took place Jan. 19-23. Swim B.C. has embarked on a project to get provincial swimmers involved in the Canadian team programs at a variety of age levels, notes Penning.
Some of B.C.'s best young swimmers have already attracted the attention of national and university-level coaches. Participants had to meet strict time standards to qualify for this championship meet, Penning says, so the competition this week will be tough. She's expecting to see lots of energy at the pool between now and Sunday - both in and out of the water.
"This is a major meet," Penning emphasizes. "This is the only time of the year when all of the clubs really get together, bring their swimmers and have them compete against one another."
Apart from Vancouver Island, virtually every other region of the province (as well as the Yukon) will be represented. "The swimming that takes place at the provincial championships is really (as) exciting as at national meets," Penning points out, adding that the public is welcome to come out to the pool and cheer on all of the athletes. Each day's competition is broken up into two main sessions: the preliminary heats (in the mornings) and the event finals (in the afternoons).
Penning's 17-year-old son Ryan Clouston (who attends Claremont secondary) is competing in this year's championship.
Although his mother will certainly be cheering him on, she says she gets just as excited watching all the other young swimmers getting an opportunity to compete at such a high level while further developing their skills.
The contributions of parents and volunteers are crucial in hosting a major provincial event such as this, but Penning notes that all of that hard work offers its own rewards for the people who get involved behind the scenes.
"It's just fabulous to be able to do something (to) nurture that kind of talent," Penning says. "It's an exciting event with high levels of achievement - and lots of fun."
UVPCS sent thirty-three swimmers to a very successful Vancouver Island Regional Championships over the 21 -23 January weekend in Nanaimo. Congratulations to everybody on a cascade of new best times! Our thirty-three swimmers included seventeen medalists representing every age group from 10 and under through 15 and over, and a further eleven top eight finalists.
Congratulations to Alyssa Bakken (12 years of age) and Jayme Weimer (14 years old) who set new Regional Records during their many swims. Congratulations as well to new AAA provincial qualifiers Kristina Phillips, Jacob McKee, Tyler Smith and Kurtis Vallee, and to Provincial Virtual qualifiers Avi Kunen, Andrea Vizsolyi and Jeremy Ziemianski.
Highlights included the following accomplishments.
Genna Bertrand (9 years old) won a bronze medal in the 50 Butterfly and lowered her best time by two seconds in the process. She was also a top-8 finalist in 50 and 100 Backstroke races
Sarah Kahale (10 years old) achieved best times in 100 Backstroke and 50 Butterfly races
Avi Kunen (12 years old) set best times in four of his six events, and finished in the top-8 for all four of those races
Evan Letkemann (10 years old) was eighth in the 200 Freestyle
Jacob McKee (13 years old) was a top-8 finalist in seven of his eight races
Jeff Phillips (15 years old) took 27 seconds off his 800 Freestyle previous best time to finish fourth; he also lowered his 400 Freestyle best by seven seconds
Lowell Rockliffe (16 years old) took bronze in 800 Freestyle, losing seventeen seconds in the process (we understand he also sings a terrific National Anthem)
Julia Schmidt (12 years old) took bronze in the grueling 200 Butterfly, lopping seven seconds off her previous best time
Stephanie Schmidt (9 years old) won six medals, including Gold in the 100 Backstroke
Nick Sinclair (13 years old) climbed on the blocks for nine races, and finished third or higher in eight of those races
Tyler Smith (13 years old) was top-8 for all his eight races, with a bronze in the 200 Butterfly, dropping a whopping eighteen seconds from his previous best
Aaron Thomas (14 years old) struck 800 Freestyle Gold and took Silver in the 100 Breaststroke
Andrea Vizsolyi (13 years old) took five seconds off her previous best 200 Breaststroke time
Bronte Wakefield (11 years old) achieved 100% best times in her four races
William Yolland (14 years old) won five medals, including a Silver in 1500 Freestyle, dropping nearly a minute (52 seconds) off his previous best
Jeremy Ziemianski (12 years old) took two seconds off his previous best for 100 Freestyle
The University of Victoria Vikes MacKenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yukon) was named Canada West's Female Rookie of the Year in swimming today in Lethbridge at the Canada West swimming championships.
Participating in her first major championship for UVic, Downing captured four gold medals. Her first two golds came on Saturday in the 100M butterfly and 200M freestyle and she followed up that performance on Sunday with golds in the 200M butterfly and 400M freestyle.
Downing will now return to Victoria to begin preparation with her teammates for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport swimming championships to be hosted by the University of Alberta in February.
A new star emerged this weekend for the University of Victoria Vikes swim team at the Canada West Championships. Rookie swimmer Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yukon) earned four gold medals and Female Rookie of the Year honours as she led her women's team to fourth place overall. The Vikes men's team also finished in fourth place in the team standings. The UBC Thunderbirds won the both the men's and women's championships
In Sunday's racing, Downing won the 200 butterfly in 2:14.56 more than 4 seconds ahead of the second place finisher. Later in the final session Downing took the gold in the 400 freestyle in 4:16.61. Vikes fifth year veteran Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) was third in the race in 4:22.03.
Downing also added Canada West All Star awards to her impressive haul at her first Canada West Swimming Championships. Downing was named the All Star in the Sprint Freestyle, Distance Freestyle and Butterfly categories.
On the men’s side David Creel (Vernon, B.C.) placed fourth in the men’s 400 freestyle and Adam Slater (Newmarket, Ont.) was sixth in the 200 IM.
The Vikes now have just over four weeks to prepare for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Championships in Edmonton, Alberta on the weekend of February 25th to 27th. The last chance for some members of the team to qualify for the CIS event will take place at the Western Canadian Championships in Victoria from February 17th - 20th.
The first day of competition at the 2005 Canada West Swimming Championships just finished at the University of Lethbridge with some impressive results for the University of Victoria Vikes. Fifth year veteran Karley Stutzel (Victoria, B.C.) got the team off on the right foot with a gold medal in the women's 800 freestyle. Stutzel, the Canada West record holder in the event finished in a final time of 8:50.29. Another fifth year veteran for the Vikes picked up a medal on the first day as David Creel (Vernon, B.C.) swam to a silver in the men's 1500 freestyle in a time of 15:59.80.
UVic also picked up a bronze medal in the women's 4x200 freestyle relay in a final time of 8:28.01. Swimming on the relay team for UVic was Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, Yukon), Kaere Ballman (Regina, Sask), Lauren Daniels (Victoria, BC) and Karley Stutzel (Victoria, BC). The men's team placed 6th.
In action tomorrow for the Vikes on Day 2 of the Canada West Swimming Championships look out for the reigning UVic Rookie of the Year, Stephanie Dixon (Toronto, Ont) in the women's 200 backstroke. Mackenzie Downing (Whitehorse, YK) will contest the 100 butterfly, Greer Jacks (Victoria, B.C.) in the 200 freestyle and Dave Creel (Vernon, BC) will swim the 400 IM.
It was a successful day in the pool on Saturday for the University of Victoria Vikes swim teams, as both the men and women were in action at the B.C. Senior Circuit meet hosted at the UBC Aquatics Centre in Vancouver.
UVic's Dave Creel enjoyed a terrific day, finishing in first place in the 1500 M Freestyle, 400M IM and the 200M IM and second place in the 400M Freestyle.
Teammate Jesse Jacks was also in top form, taking the top position in both the 100M and 200M Butterfly events.
Jacks younger brother Greer, a rookie with the Vikes program, earned a third place finish in the 400M Freestyle race.
Leading the way on the women's side was another rookie MacKenzie Downing who took top honours in the 200M Butterfly and third in the 100M Butterfly. Veteran Karley Stutzel picked up two thirds in the 800M and 4 00M Freestyle Events.
Yesterday's meet was the final tune-up for the Vikes teams who will head off to Lethbridge, Alberta this week for the upcoming Canada West Swimming Championship. The University of Lethbridge hosted event will take place from the 21st to 23rd.
UV-PCSA swimmer Stephanie Dixon was honoured Wednesday by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS).
Dixon, who came home from the Athens Paralympics with eight medals (one gold, six silver and one bronze), was named to the 2004 list of the most influential women in sport and physical activity.
The 20-year-old Dixon also competes in able-bodied competions in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Some of the others on the 20-women list were International Olympic Committe member Charmaine Crooks and CBC Sports executive Nancy Lee.
CAAWS recognizes women who have made a significant impact as athletes, administrators, advocates, board members, executives, medical doctors, officials, policy makers and volunteers.
The Third Annual Christmas Cracker Invitational went off with a “bang” this year. The atmosphere was festive and friendly with a large number of UVic-PCS elves helping to make the meet a success. Swimmers, coaches and officials were paid a visit by the Chief Elf himself, Santa Claus, who handed out TVs, DVD players and a host of other prizes to swimmers at both Saturday and Sunday Finals.
Fast swimming accompanied the Christmas theme as swimmers from all clubs posted best times. David Vizsolyi qualified for two Youth National events, in the 1500 Freestyle and the 200 Butterfly, while Alison Hooper and Jovanna Ruffolo swam Youth National times in the 1500 free and 400IM respectively. Nick Sinclair achieved Club National standards in the 50 and 100 Butterfly and the 100 Backstroke. Jacob McKee qualified for AAAs in the 100 Backstroke. Avi Kunen took a whopping 15 seconds off his previous 200 Breaststroke best time to make finals, where he lopped off an additional 8 seconds. Kristen McKinney came in third in the Girls’ 14 and under 50 Kick. And not least, Alyssa Bakken set two new Provincial Records in the Girls’ 12 and under 100 and 200 Backstroke events.
A great start to the holiday season for all pool people! Congratulations to all the competitors and many, many thanks to all PCS coaches, families, friends, volunteers and sponsors for hosting a terrific meet.
Monica Pinette, Canada's foremost Modern Pentathlete has joined PCS.
Although Monica only entered modern pentathlon (consisting of pistol shooting, fencing, 200m freestyle, show jumping and 3km x-country running) six years ago. In 2001 she was selected for the national team and travelled to Mexico City for the Pan American championships where she finished 9th. This top ten finish, at her first international competition, gave Monica the confidence and motivation to commit to full time training.
She qualified for the 2002 world championships after a successful season and training in Switzerland. In the summer of 2002 she moved to Switzerland to work with Philpp Waeffler, a Swiss coach, for the next two years. In 2003 she was the first Canadian to ever qualify for a world cup final. She also qualified for the Pan American Games where she finished 7th.
Monica's technical events (shooting and fencing) continued to improve, she is one of the strongest technical pentathletes in the world. In May 2004 Monica finished 10th at the Olympic qualifier in Beijing, thus making the COC's top 12 criteria. At the end of May Monica qualified for Athens through her 26th position on the world ranking list. Monica was the first female Canadian pentathlete to qualify for the Olympics and her 13th place finish in Athens is the highest finish in the Olympics ever by a Canadian pentathlete.
She plans to train througth the next four years and hopes to qualify for Beijing in 2008.
The 8th Annual UVic Women's Conference, being held on February 16, 2005, will have Stephanie Dixon, the 2004 Paralympic Champion as its keynote speaker.
The topic theme of the conference "You Can - It's All in your Attitude" was inspired by Dixon.
In the conference information Dixon states, "Everyone faces challenges in life. Some of those challenges seem easy and natural for us to overcome, while others may seem intimidating and overwhelming. How we face these challenges will determine the kind of person we become. Challenges can control us and hold us back from moving forward in life, but if they are approached with the right attitude and determination, then they can bring out strengths that we never knew we had. You can! It’s all in your attitude."
Well, I did it! Three for three races, not too bad but I'm glad that last one is done with. Let me tell you, 25km is a LONG way! The race went really well and my shoulder never bothered me. For those who haven't checked results yet, I ended up 9th place which I'm really happy with, though I was so close to catching that girl ahead of me!
I'll give a little breakdown of the race for you guys. It started up at 10am our time and was on on a 5km loop...let me tell you, this loop got old, fast. For the first 2.5 loops, the race was super close (my claim to fame is that I was leading for about 5mins at around 7km!!! ha ha ha!) but I dropped off of the pace of the pack around then. I still felt pretty good and never died in the race, which is a nice feeling, especially when you start passing people that you know are in a world of pain.
From the time that I lost the pack until the finish, I past around 7 girls. Although I was feeling pretty good compared to most of the other people swimming, I was a pretty happy girl when I finished! We had to wait around awhile for the official results though because there was this huge protest involving the touch of the 1st and 2nd place girls and a few other girls who removed these electric wriste bands that were suppose to be worn the whole race. When we did finally get to leave I went back to the hotel and had probably the best shower of my life. That water was so nasty and there were so many boats out there that I thought my breath was going to smell like motor oil! Anyway, it's about 8 hours after I finished that race and aside from being really tired and having a sore neck from looking up, I'm not feeling too bad, but I'm going to sleep pretty well tonight!
Well, I don't know how many of you have got a chance to look at the results but I came a disappointing 17th. It's not that I was swimming bad or anything, it was just seemed every positioning choice I made was wrong, but that would only become apparent after I made a move.
I felt like such an amature out there today! I'm just so relieved that my 5km went well so I made the Montreal team for sure. The race was going alright and I was feeling okay but on the last lap of the 4 lap course, I just didn't swim a good line and ended up pretty far behind for the last 1500 and couldn't really get back up there...just not a solid swim, don't really know what else to say about it.
It would also appear that I will be doing the 25km swim...I'm such a sucker for pain, I guess. I don't know, we'll see how it goes. Don't worry mom, Ron will be beside me the whole race and if my shoulder hurts, I'll stop...if I'm not too close to the finish line!
Anyway, I should get going because its late here. I miss you guys and I'm starting to really want to come home, even though it means school work :-( I guess the next time you'll be hearing from me is after the 25km fun!
The 2004 Canadian Swimming Awards Banquet, hosted by Swimming Canada and the Canadian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association, was held last night following day one of the 2004 Canadian Open and Vikes received honors in several categories.
Karley Stutzel (Victoria, BC) was named the 2004 Canadian Open Swimmer of the Year following her 5th place finish at the “10 K for the USA” this past September in Atlantic City. This is the third time that Stutzel has won this award as Canada’s top Open Water swimmer.
UVPCSA Director of Swimming and Vikes assistant coach, Ron Jacks, won the 2004 Canadian Open Water Coach of the Year Award for his work with Stutzel and Vikes teammate David Creel (Vernon, BC) over the past year.
UVPCSA swimmer, Nathan O’Brien (Texas), was named the 2004 Canadian Male Backstroke Swimmer of the Year for his near Canadian record swim in the 200 backstroke at the 2004 Canadian Olympic Trials this past summer.
Jacks was also honored for his work with reigning UVic Athlete of the Year and eight time 2004 Paralympic medalist Stephanie Dixon. Jacks picked up a Petro Canada Coaching Excellence Award and a Speedo Domestic Excellence Award for coaching a reigning National champion. Rod Barratt, UVic Assistant Coach, was also honored with a Speedo Domestic Excellence Award.
University of Victoria's fifth year veteran Jesse Jacks (Victoria, B.C.) won the men’s 200 butterfly on the third night of the 2004 Canadian Open posting a time of 2:01.83. In a close race he held off fast finishing Jonathan Schjott (Calgary, AB) who finished second in a time of 2:02.37. This is promising for Jacks who missed almost all of last season due to injury.
In the women’s 200 butterfly, rookie Vike Mackenzie Downing (White Horse, YK), won the silver medal in a time of 2:14.05 for her first medal of the competition. Downing will be one of the favorites in the women’s butterfly events in February at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Swimming Championships in Edmonton.
UVic swim team alumni Christin Petelski (Victoria, B.C.) placed fourth in the women’s 200 breaststroke won by SFU’s Kathleen Stoody in 2:28.10.
On Friday, swimming in one of her “off” events, Downing finished first in the consolation final for a ninth place finish overall. Downing, a butterfly specialist, had posted a personal best time in the preliminaries (4:23.61) and again lowered it at night in the consol posting a time that would have placed fourth in the “A” final in 4:18.34.
Another rookie for the Vikes, Greer Jacks (Victoria, BC) finished in third position in the consolation final of the men’s 400 freestyle. The Victoria native was in a battle during the entire race and posted a time of 4:02.63.
Well, as you probably got from the title, the 5km has been completed and it feels great to get one of those bad boys out of the way! We finished up a few hours ago so I don't know if any results have been posted yet, I didn't check it out. Well, the race didn't start off so hot...I was pretty much near the back of the pack most of the race, until probably about 800m-1000m left and then I just gave 'er!
I don't know how it happened but the combination of me taking an excellent line to the finish and others not so much, I ended up 7th. By far the best I've ever done at worlds in the 5km and my 2nd highest placing at worlds ever! yeah!
Top 8 also had certificates presented to them in a little ceremony, so I already have a something to bring home...along with my two new pairs of shoes...don't be mad mom! I'll tell you though; it was a freakin' hard race! The course was really simple but the waves were really choppy with a strong current going into shore, making for a hard swim. I was not sad to be finished! The 10km kind of intimidates me right now, but it's nice to get a swim under my belt.
OK, I think that's all I got for you now. I'm a little tired right now but very happy with my 5km result. I guess the next email you'll be getting from me will be after the 10km Monday afternoon for me. Hope all is well at home and I miss you guys!
After about 24 hours of traveling time, we arrived in Dubai, tired and hungry. I did manage to sleep for about 4 hours on the plane from Vancouver to Frankfurt, Germany which was super nice.
Dubai is a pretty cool place, from what I've seen so far. It's pretty, like a mini-America, with a lot of English spoken and well known food chains. There are some absolutely amazing houses here! You can tell that most the people here have money to throw around.
We did go for a swim out in the water today but it apparently wasn't the race course, so I don't know what that looks like yet. The water doesn't seem to be too warm or dirty, which is nice. We're going to be going to a 50m pool this afternoon to get some actual swimming in.
With senior coaches away at the World Open Water Championships and the Canadian Senior Short Course Championships, the stroke camp set for this coming weekend has been postponed until December 5th, 2004.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused but this delay is required so that our camps will maintain the high level of coaching standards our families have come to expect.
We both arrived on the first day of the provincial Age Group and Prospects camp, held in Victoria, Oct 29-31, very nervous but also very excited. An hour later we had been introduced to all BC Team Coaches and fellow teammates. It didn't take us long to realize the next few days were going to be very non-stop. After this first meeting we were in the water for our first team practice.
Later that night we went on a spooky ghost tour flowing by a neat pumpkin show. On Saturday we did an awesome scavenger hunt downtown, there are pictures on the SwimBC web site you can see if you click here.
During the camp we did the following main sets, timed 400’s, step test, and lots more.
The camp was a new scary experience but it was totally worth it!! Out of the camp we received new coaching techniques and drills to help improve our strokes, as well as preparations and strategies for upcoming competitions. It was great to hear things from new people and we both took away a lot from the camp like “It’s the name on the front, but not the name on the back.”
Part of the purpose of the camp was to bond with the team so we would be more comfortable when we have our Washington State duel meet. We became instant friends with many people and before we left we had a page full of new MSN accounts.
We would like to say one thing to everyone reading this, something we learnt at the camp; “Hope = Hold On Possibilities Exist!”
Thanks go out to all the parents who attended this year's Annual General Meeting.
The financial statement presented to the membership can be viewed by any club member. Please contact Dean Crawford if you wish to view this document.
Report highlights included: UVPCS is one of only two organizations in Canada to send athletes to the Olympics, Paralympics and FINA World Open Water Championships. The number of athletes registered is up over 25% from October 2003 to October 2004 in our second year of operation. We were the highest ranked Vancouver Island club, the third ranked British Columbia club, and seventh in Canada, at the Canadian Club National Championships. We finished as the third ranked club at the Provincial AAA Championships
UVPCS Swimmers from all levels of the club were out in force to partake in the second annual UVPCS awards Tuesday night.
Certificates of achievement were presented to every swimmer, based on their highest level of achievement. In addition, trophies were awarded to the top male and female athletes in each age group. These awards were selected based on the point score for the athletes' best swim, based on the world points chart.
Stephanie Dixon, recently back from the 2004 Paralympic games, received numerous rounds of applause while accepting her awards. She graciously spoke with the entire group and answered numerous questions on her experiences as part of the activities.
The evening ended with the always popular club relays. Highlights included watching numerous LFSS athletes going head to head with out senior athletes.
Top Individual Swimmers in each Female and Male age group were:
The UVPCS swimmer and recent Paralympian Stephanie Dixon is scheduled to return to Victoria on Wednesday, October 13th.
Dixon will arrive at the Victoria International Airport at 3:26PM on Air Canada flight 8073.Stephanie is returning to Victoria after a very successful showing at the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Dixon hit the podium a total of eight times. In her six individual events she captured 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze. Her other two relay medals where both silver.We would encourage everyone to join us at the airport at greet Stephanie when she arrives.
UVPCS swimmer Stephanie Dixon dipped the pool one more time at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece, competing in the 100M Medley Relay. For her efforts, Dixon along with teammates Anne Polinaro, Elizabeth Walker and Darda Geiger captured silver.
Finishing first overall was the team from the United States with Australia taking the bronze.
That silver adds to Stephanie's total, giving her eight medals at these games. In her six individual events she captured 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze. Her other two medals where both silvers from relays.
Dixon will now head back to Canada to visit with family in Toronto before returning to Victoria to begin training for the upcoming Canadian Interuniversity Sport season.
Stephanie Dixon won her seventh medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games today. Racing in the Women's S9 50M Freestyle Dixon had a slow time in the morning heat and qualified for the last spot in the final.
Swimming out of lane 8 in the evening she turned it up a few notches and won the Bronze medal with a new Canadian Record time of 30.66. Finishing ahead of her were South Africa's Natalie Du Toit in 29.52 and Russian Irina Grazhdanova in 30.63.
This was the last individual race for Dixon, who as of Saturday had accounted 1/4 of all of Canada's swim medals at the games. Her outstanding performances have set five new Canadian Records and one new World Record over the past week.
Stephanie Dixon from UVPCS defeated Natalie Du Toit of South Africa to win the Women's S9 100M backstroke gold medal. Leading the whole way, Dixon finished in a time of 1:10.01 besting the her own World Record set in 2001. Du Toit finished second in 1:11.41.
"Like all my races I just try to keep my head in my own lane and not worry abut the others," said Dixon. "Natalie is an amazing competitor but I didn't want to let that psych me out." These two athletes will again race each other, tomorrow, in their last individual event, the 50M Freestyle.
Yesterday, Dixon earned her fifth Silver medal in the Women's S9 400M Freestyle in a Canadian Record time of 4:46.57. She finished right behind Du Toit for the fourth race at these games.
Stephanie Dixon from UVPCS won her third individual silver medal of the 2004 Summer Paralympic's, all behind winner Natalie Du Toit of South Africa, in placing second Thursday in the S9 women's 200-metre individual medley in a Canadian Record time 2:41.84. Du Toit captured her third gold medal of the Games in 2:29.98 while Claire Cashman of Great Britain took the bronze medal in 2:48.07.
Dixon, born without a leg, also competes against able-bodied athletes and was named UVic female athlete of the year last spring for making the CIS national university finals. Du Toit, who lost her right leg four years ago in a motorcycle accident in Cape Town, beat out the likes of Ian Thorpe and Maria Mutola in being named the top athlete of the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games for making the able-bodied final of the 800-metre freestyle.
Including relays, Dixon has four silver medals at the 2004 Athens Summer Paralympic's. Dixon is also favoured to medal today in the 400-metre freestyle and finishes out the Games over the weekend in the 100-metre backstroke and 50-metre freestyle.
Two days in the pool and it's two silver medals for University of Victoria Vikes swimmer Stephanie Dixon at the 2004 Paralympic's.
Dixon captured her second medal of the games in the 100M freestyle, clocking in with a time of 1:05.31. This marked another personal best time for the affable student-athlete. Taking the gold medal in the event was South Africa's Natalie du Toit while Germany's Christiane Reppe took the bronze.
In the morning preliminaries, Dixon finished second in her heat in a time of 1:09.26 but managed to save enough to shave off a few seconds in the evening final and vault her to a podium position.
"I didn't have a very good morning swim in the preliminaries," said Dixon in an interview with the Canadian Press. "But I was so much more focused in the final."
Dixon is scheduled to swim in four more events during the games.
Stephanie Dixon started off her racing at the 2004 Paralympic's Games, in Athens, Greece with a Silver Medal in the 100 Meter Butterfly behind Natalie du Tout from South Africa.
The 20 year old, UVic athlete set a personal best time in the morning heat and then bettered that in the final finishing with a time of 1:12.01. This was a full 2 seconds faster then her previous best time.
Tomorrow, Stephanie will compete in the 100 Freestyle.
At the "Speedo 10K for the USA" FINA Open Water World Cup, in Atlantic City, Karley Stutzel and David Creel were the top Canadians. Both finished in fifth place and were extremely close to the leaders.
In the women's race the top 6 finishers came in within 5 seconds of each other with Karley recording a time of 2:05:09.
On the men's side David Creel finished with a time of 1:53:01 and was only 6 seconds out of third place.
Both Karley and David will now concentrate their training on the World Open Water Championships at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates later this year.
Neither rain nor wind kept Pacific Coast Swimming from its Third Annual Registration Barbeque on Friday night. It rained torrentially during set-up and break-down, but in-between it was surprisingly dry and almost balmy. We consumed more than 100 burgers, 60 hot dogs and 5 dozen corn-on-cob as families caught up on summer news and anticipated the coming season. Adults congregated under picnic and cooking shelters while the kids enjoyed the park, and a great time was had by all.
If you missed the picnic, we'll see you at the pool.
