The University of Victoria will be hosting the 4th Annual Vikes Championship Breakfast on September 27, 2011, from 7:15-8:45am on campus in the McKinnon Gymnasium. It is a great way to support the swim team and give back to current varsity swimmers.

The registration package and practice schedule are now available for download from the Registration page.

Day 5 of the FISU Games saw individual events raced by both Nicholas Sinclair and Mackenzie Downing.

For Downing, it was the 200 Fly, her top event; Downing’s morning swim earned her a spot in the finals, where she pulled a time of 2:12.96 to take 8^th place.

Nicholas Sinclair had another strong swim in the 200 Freestyle, moving up 3 spots from where he was seeded to come 17^th with a time of 1:51.62.

Richard Weinberger came first in the Olympic test event in Hyde Park in London today, which is the same course that will be used for open water swimming during the 2012 Olympics.  He was competing in a field of 20, all of whom qualified from the World Championships where Richard came 17^th just three weeks ago; 8 of the top 10 swimmers from Worlds were there. 

Stefanie Schmidt is currently competing in an exciting close to her season, at the Western Canada Games in Kamloops, BC.  Western Canada Games takes place every 4 years and is seen as a stepping stone to Canada Games and international swimming.

UVic-PCS swimmer Richard Weinberger took another giant step in his open water swimming career today to win the gold medal in the Men’s 10K marathon swimming test event for the 2012 Olympics in the Serpentine at Hyde Park in London.  This is the same venue that will be used for this event at the 2012 Olympic Games.  Sixteen men and 18 women completed their respective 10km swims, swimming six laps of the 1.67km circuit.

LONDON – Richard Weinberger of Victoria, BC, got his invitation card to race the 2012 Olympic 10km Open Water course in Hyde Park next weekend following his performances at the 2011 FINA World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai last month.

Weinberger, 21, was Canada’s top performer in the 10km Open Water race in Shanghai, and his 17th place finished earned him a valuable opportunity to race the six lap course for next year’s games.

UVPCS swimmer and Vikes alumni Mackenzie Downing was announced as the flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremonies of the FISU Games in Shenzhen, China, this Friday night.  The Opening Ceremony will launch the start of the World University Games, which is comprised of athletes from over 150 countries, with Canada being represented by 349 athletes, an all-time high for FISUs.