Last weekend, three swimmers from the Campbell River Killer Whales Swim Club attended a regional training camp in Duncan run by Swim BC.
Kaya Lathangue, Martina Montana, and Summer Wenger were selected for the camp based off 200m Individual Medley times they achieved last season.
Regional Technical Coach Peter Wilkins took the athletes out of their comfort zone during training sessions by encouraging long underwater glides after pushing off from the walls, counter to the usual practice of underwater dolphin kicks.
“The goal,” says Lathangue, “was to get us to wait a bit before underwater dolphin kicks so we could maintain speed off the walls.”
Other valuable parts of the camp included a presentation by Olympian and former Killer Whale Alec Page, who talked about the trajectory of his swimming career.
“He started off as the slowest swimmer in his group, but he kept on working and ended up competing at the Olympics. His talk was very inspiring,” says Wenger.
At the end of the camp, select athletes got to race against Page in a 50m butterfly, his specialty stroke.
“The kids selected to race got to wear fins,” Lathangue says. “One kid actually beat him.”
In addition to the pool sessions and the presentation from Page, athletes attended a session with a nutritionist in which they learned the optimal time to hydrate and eat during training and competition. Our Killer Whales learned that constant hydration is necessary during practice because they can’t feel themselves sweating while they’re in the pool.
These athletes represented the Killer Whales and Campbell River well, and they are looking forward to further opportunities to advance their swimming skills.
For more information about the Campbell River Killer Whales, please visit www.crkw.ca
