Members of the Athabasca Rapids Swim Club are pushing themselves and reaching new heights this season.
The Rapids team is practices three days a week and is active from October to June, during which time they test their swimming skills against others in competitions around Alberta. Recently, a number of local swimmers notched personal bests at the sixth annual Nordic Chill Swim Meet in Barrhead Feb. 9-10.
The local club sent eight swimmers to the event, many of whom came back with medals to show for their efforts.
It was the first experience at a meet for local swimmers Bo Maier, Josee Lemieux-Miller, Avery Kamelchuk, and Zachary Sikora, and Rapids assistant coach Florene Ypma was impressed with their effort.
ìOur swimmers definitely raised their game for this competitionócompared to what we see in the pool from week to week, they all found another gear this weekend.î
More experienced swimmers also took part in the event and excelled, including Dylan Fitzsimmons, Timmy Fitzsimmons, Andrea Woudstra, and Jake Gerritse.
Dylan Fitzsimmons earned a bronze medal (boys, 15-16) while silver medals went to both Andrea Woudstra (girls, 9-10) and Zachary Sikora (boys, 8 and under).
All of the swimmers should be proud of their accomplishments at the Barrhead meet, and throughout the season, according to club president Irene Fitzsimmons.
ìItís a real accomplishment for all of our swimmers to have achieved so many personal best times (in Barrhead) and significant that three out of eight swimmers took home aggregate medals. We may be a small team but we have lots to be proud of.î
