Sea of pink at B.C. pool a tribute to kindness, compassion during anti-bullying week

As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave members Bill Blair, Debbie Dunn and Cindy Yoc – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave members Bill Blair, Debbie Dunn and Cindy Yoc – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)
As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave’s Thursday-night swimmers and coaches – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave’s Thursday-night swimmers and coaches – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)
As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave teammates Biricik Eroglu and Heike Beer – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)As others don pink t-shirts for anti-bullying day (Feb. 23), swimmers across British Columbia – including White Rock Wave teammates Biricik Eroglu and Heike Beer – are wearing pink caps as part of an initiative set up by Swim BC. (Contributed photo)

The water at Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre will be dotted with pink today (Feb. 23), throughout the week and likely for some time to come, as members of the White Rock Wave swim club take part in a provincewide twist on Pink Shirt Day.

Pink Cap Day is an initiative of Swim BC – the governing body of competitive swimming in B.C. – “to help all our members send a message that our sport does not tolerate bullying, and to emphasize that kindness and compassion are critical to making our sport a safe place to be,” according to a post at swimbc.ca

Earlier this year, the organization offered pink swim caps to swim teams throughout the province, asking those who accepted to wear the caps at their local pools all week as part of a “week-long celebration to be kind,” White Rock Wave president Linda Stanley Wilson said Wednesday.

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Stanley Wilson said the Wave’s Thursday-night swimmers donned the caps last week to promote the club’s participation on social media, and she suspects the 80-some members won’t simply shelve the silicone attire at week’s-end.

“They’ll wear it much more than just a week. They’re really nice swim caps.”

Stanley Wilson, who is on the Swim BC board, said the caps were provided free of charge, funded by monies that were allocated to conferences and other events but sidelined by COVID-19.

While it is the first time for the initiative, she suspects the pink-caps tribute will become a tradition.

Meanwhile, excitement is building for the next club-hosted event: the 2022 MSABC Provincial Championship, set for April 22-24 at the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. Stanley Wilson hopes that COVID-19 restrictions will enable them to welcome more than the current limit of 100 people on the swimming deck.

“As provincial guidelines are changing, I’m certain that that will change as well,” she said.

Pre-pandemic, a typical turnout for this masters tournament was 200-plus swimmers, she said.

Regardless, the club’s swimmers and coaches are pumped.

“The enthusiasm that we have for our ability to be able to swim, to participate in an event like this and to hold the provincials – it’s all positive,” Stanley Wilson said.

Volunteers are needed for the championship weekend. Anyone interested in getting involved is asked to email wrwaveinfo@gmail.com


tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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