Kelowna’s AquaJets SnowFest was a training gauge for the KISU swim club.
Last weekend’s meet provided a chance to qualify for higher meets. KISU coach Tina Hoeben said her swimmers did great, especially Julia Veidt, Theo Oliver, Myah Nackoney and Belize Souch-Tremblay, who all reached new time levels.
“It was very positive in that sense,” said Hoeben.
Veidt qualified for age group nationals in the 200-metre breaststroke, Oliver made his first AA time in the 1,500-m freestyle, Nackoney earned her first AAA time in the 50-m freestyle and Souch-Tremblay earned a AA time in the 50-m freestyle.
Veidt, 17, said she was surprised at her performance as she didn’t think she was going fast. Part of the reason she performed well came from knowing some of the swimmers and the stage wasn’t big.
“I felt my stroke was good,” said Veidt, who has recovered from knee problems that bothered her in the fall. “I worked hard to have a good race.”
Veidt used the SnowFest as a chance to work out her issues and it helped her gain confidence. Nackoney also felt good about her performance and reaching her goal. It was her intention to earn a AAA time, which she accomplished in 32.27 seconds.
“I feel I did as best as I could,” she said. “I have been training hard. I want to get AA or AAA time in other events.”
She has noticed improvement in her freestyle swim and has been putting more time into that and her backstroke.
Hoeben said there is work to do with the group. Among the areas the swimmers must work on is their fitness levels as well as their skills. Hoeben will have the swimmers focus on how they push off the walls.
“Pushing off the walls is a skill,” said Hoeben. “They are getting beat in the underwater stream line. Confidence plays a role as well as breathing control.”
Fitness is another area as Hoeben plans to work her swimmers with a 10-kilometre swim to be completed in three hours. The next meets on the radar for KISU is the AA provincial meet to be hosted by Chilliwack in the middle of February, while AAA provincials are in Surrey the following month.
