BY GIANNI UBRIACO
for northern life
The Valley East Waves Swim Club is definitely living up to its name and making not only big waves in the local swimming community, but also a big splash on the provincial and national scene.
In fact, the club recently sent eight of its swimmers to the Youth Cup in Etobicoke and one of them, sixteen-year-old Ian Blechta, returned home with a third place finish in the 50-metre breast stroke. That was enough to qualify him for the Eastern Canadians, which is a national youth level competition that's one step below Olympic trials.
"I was really impressed with my performance," he said.
"Getting third there was very exciting."
He also managed to finish ninth in the 100-m breaststroke and
eighth in the 200-m breaststroke. His next big event will be
the Short Course Provincials in London, but he's hesitant to
make any predictions at this point.
"I just enjoy swimming because it keeps me in good shape and
I like the feeling of winning."
Over 1,000 young swimmers from not only the rest of the
province, but the rest of the country, competed in the annual
event.
Meanwhile, results varied for the rest of the local swimmers, but most of them achieved personal best times, including 14-year-old Justin Leclair, who had a strong fourth place finish in the 50-m backstroke, as well as a sixth place showing in the 100-m backstroke.
"It feels good to see that all my hard work and all the practices paid off," he said. "I went hard the whole way. I did my best, so I don't regret anything."
Leclair first started swimming eight years ago because he simply loved the feeling of being in the water, but now he has big plans for the future.
"I want to make it to Olympic trails and go to Olympics in 2020," he proclaimed.
His fellow club member, 14-year-old Colin Hirschfeld, has been swimming for six years and earned an 11th place finish in the 200-m butterfly.
"I was pretty proud because it was a personal best time and I got my provincial time, so I qualified to compete all around Ontario," he said. "Overall, I just really enjoy competing and overcoming challenges."
Then there was 14-year-old Denis Villeneuve who stroked his way to personal best times in all of the events he took part in, including the 200, 100, and 50-m butterfly, as well as in the 400,100, and 50-m freestyle, in addition to the 50-m breast stroke.
"I felt pretty good out there," he said. "I event took 10 seconds off the 200 m butterfly."
Blechta, Leclair, and both Colin and fifteen-year-old Spencer Hirschfeld, now have their sights set on the Junior Provincials in London at the end of February. Leclair will also be competing in the 100-m and 200-m backstroke at the Age Group Nationals in Calgary in July, while Blechta will hit the water in the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke. Over 1,000 swimmers are expected to compete at that event.
Overall, the club's head coach, Sharon Leger, was pleased with everyone's performance and believes it's a testament to the quality of the club.
"Going against the best in Canada and introducing them to swimmers from other provinces, it showed that even though they're coming from a small town, they can still compete against kids in the big cities," she said. "It meant a lot to me to see them face the new challenge and overcome it."
She also mentions that all 20 of their beginners, as well as six of their competitive swimmers, were involved this past weekend in the Top Fish Meet held at the Howard Armstrong Recreation Centre in Hanmer. Over 100 swimmers from around the north competed in the event and everybody who participated received a medal.
The club was first started over 20 years ago and is home to the Junior Waves Program, which serves as an introduction to competitive swimming by teaching kids under the age of 11 various techniques and endurances. They also have a competitive program made up of 40 kids under 17 years of age. Leger, who's swam and coached for over two decades, is happy with the club's status and just wants to see it continue to grow.
"I just want to continue to offer a challenging program that measures up to others in Ontario," she said. "We can do challenging training in a friendly atmosphere and a self-motivational way."
