The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows swim club, Haney Neptunes Aquatic club, participated in modified regionals this year and the outcome was a successful season, according to swim executive Dave Chamberlain.

“With all the craziness and chaos of the last two years around the world, it was so nice to see the smiles, hear the cheers, and once again have the kids competing and racing in the pool…albeit in a somewhat modified way,” he said.

With many other Lower Mainland regions not having pools open, or having pools open but not being able to host events, the clubs turned to a virtual format via a product called Swimmingly that the region invested in, early in 2021. Through this app, each club was able to hold time trial in their pool and then all those times were uploaded to the Swimmingly app that would tabulate the results.

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“So our athletes were able to compete but in a modified format for the early part of 2021. Then as restrictions started to change, by mid-summer we were able to look at the possibility of having more than one swim club at an event, that is when things were looking up for a “live” regional meet in Agassiz, BC,” said Chamberlain.

This regional meet went off without a hitch on the weekend of Aug. 14 and 15, during which the Haney Neptunes Club sent roughly 50 to 60 atheletes. While Mission Marlins club took the first place, Haney Neptunes Club placed second in the boys, girls and combined team rankings, followed by Abbotsford Whalers Swim club.

“The athletes have thrived on the competition aspect again and it has been incredible to see so many of our swimmers going faster than ever in the pool,” he said.

“The Haney Neptunes have been a swim club for over 60 years in the Maple Ridge community, offering various disciplines including speed swimming, synchro, and water-polo. With the pool shut down for almost two years, and of course COVID since early 2020, we had been running modified programs during that shutdown and COVID, but are quickly building back all three sports,” Chamberlain explained.

The club is now heading into the Fall and Winter sessions, which are maintenance programs that include only two hours of instruction per week.

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Is there more to the story? Email: priyanka.ketkar@mapleridgenews.com