Ladysmith/Chemainus Orcas Swim Club member Darby Rae has been accepted into the prestigious Ignite Athlete Development Program.
“They sent me something in the mail,’’ said Rae, 15, who lives in Ladysmith and attends Grade 10 at Duncan Christian School. “They said I’d been chosen to participate.’’
Certain conditions had to be met, and “I did what I was supposed to do,’’ said Rae.
She received the necessary letters of recommendation from DCS athletic director Tom Veenstra, Orcas Swim Club head coach Dusan Toth-Szabo and DCS coach Michelle King and sent them to PacificSport Vancouver Island in Nanaimo along with her own athletic resumé and a short essay.
An $826 scholarship was awarded to Rae to participate in the program that started at Full On Fitness in Nanaimo on Oct. 16.
The Ignite program is a multi-sports foundational athletic skills training regimen designed to develop athletes between the ages of 12 and 17. It introduces athletes to a high-performance lifestyle that works on improving all-around fitness to complement their present sport practice and competition schedules.
Rae will be going to Nanaimo three times a week in addition to her regular training with the Orcas.
“Ignite seems like a very good opportunity for me to be cross-training and trying to accomplish my goals,’’ noted Rae.
One of her goals is to make the Age Group Nationals.
“Right now, I’m a half-second off,’’ said Rae of her 50-metre fly specialty time.
If not for a shoulder injury, she probably would have made it.
“With cross-training and better fitness levels, I am hoping that it will take me all the way to nationals and possibly to medal in Montreal this upcoming summer,’’ Rae indicated.
Her other hopes with Ignite are to become a stronger, more flexible and a healthier swimmer.
Rae started swimming at the age of six with the Comox Valley Sharks. After her family moved to Ladysmith, she joined the Orcas and has been going strong ever since.
Rae has consistently participated in the AAA provincials every year with the Orcas. At age 13, she was the only Orcas’ representative in the 2010 B.C. Summer Games.
Rae has now been with the Orcas for seven seasons.
“We see this program as an opportunity for her development,’’ noted Toth-Szabo.
Rae has also been a member of the DCS swim team and played basketball.
When injuries prevented her from swimming at the end of last season, Rae still enjoyed being on the pool deck to help out some of the less experienced competitors.