Two Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks have been selected to the provincial swim team.
On April 17-21, Jordan Ryan and Brooke Lamoureux were chosen to train and compete for Team BC at the Prospects West Training Camp and Tri-Meet in Kamloops. They both made spots on the team selected by Team BC coach Vince Mikuska. The annual camp brings together the best 13-16 year old swimmers from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The lead coach for the camp was former Canadian head coach and coach of multiple Olympians, Dave Johnson, who currently is the head coach of the Cascade Swim Club in Calgary.
Head Olympic coach Randy Bennett was also in attendance the first two days. Olympian Alec Page of Island Swimming was the guest national team swimmer, along with national medalist Eric Hedlin.
There was a great lineup of sport science speakers: Dr. Allan Wrigley of the Canadian Sport Institute spoke about starts, turns and breakouts. Eugene Liang also of CSI and the Vancouver National Swim Centre led the dryland, Carl Nienhuis of the University of the Fraser Valley led the mental performance piece and Shane Esau, physiologist, was on hand to present on hydration and personal management.
This year’s Team BC coaches were Rod Barratt (UVic-PCS), Brad Dalke (Kamloops Classics), Peter Wilkins (Kelowna Aqua jets) and Emil Dimitrov (Liquid Lightning).
The competition between provinces was fierce, and Team BC placed second overall, missing top spot by only 2-½ points. Ryan and Lamoureux were backed by a strong cheering team back in the Comox Valley as the local club raced at the Comox Valley Sports Centre.
Stay tuned for results and watch online at www.sharks.bc.ca as several Sharks travel to the Wavemaker meet in Victoria next weekend.
– Comox Valley Aquatic Club Sharks
