Two Cloverdale athletes, Tina Naveri and Kelsey Bittner, are headed to Italy this week for the 14th FINA World Masters Championships.
Both are members of the 10-member Fraser Valley Masters Synchronized swim team, which is competing in solo, duet and team events.
Naveri is competing in the solo and team event; Bittner is competing in the team event.
This is the first time all 10 team members will be swimming together at an international competition, Naveri said.
The prospect has many team members both excited and a little nervous about competing at a high-level, international, multi-sport competition, she added.
The championships are June 3 to 17 in Riccione, Italy. The event features swimming, diving, water polo, open water, synchronized swimming and miscellaneous rules competitions.
Naveri said the team is having a great season. In April, the team won the provincial championships in Langley, and a duet placed first at the U.S. nationals in California.
The team, which formed in 2002, trains out of Simon Fraser University, and is comprised of athletes whose ages range from 22 to 32.
All have swimming, coaching and judging experience.
