The Westlock Gators Swim Club hosted over 250 competitors and onlookers at their June 7 swim meet at the Westlock Aquatic Centre.
Competitors from St. Albert, Edmonton, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Devin, Whitecourt and Westlock competed to beat their own time in breaststroke, butterfly stroke, backstroke, and freestyle races with relay following.
From six in the morning to six at night, Kim Plante, the president of the Westlock Gators Swim Club, hosts the only meet in town. Setting up the hall next door to ensure teams have a place to relax before and between races.
Once the events start with the 25 meter breaststroke, participants can take part in four swims and two relays. Each meet allows them to beat their own time and train for regionals and provincials coming up in August.
It takes a lot of time and volunteers to put this event together, “All the time keepers, all the stroke and turn judges, the referee, they’re all volunteers from either within our club or other clubs in the region.”
Plante got involved with the swim club through her eight-year old daughter and her love of the water, “So for me, my daughter already had a love of swimming and then this builds a community of like-minded kids but it also provides more one-on-one coaching.”
One thing about the Gators swim club is that it is not restricted to just kids. Anyone from kindergarten to 99 years of age are able to take part in the fun and competition. Plante says that while they do not have a lot of older people, the oldest being 21 this year, other teams have 45-year-olds competing too.
When it comes to the swim club, Plante says that it is not just a way for people to get active but a way to build friendships. Having only moved here four years ago, Plante and her daughter found the Gators, “It felt like an extension of our family.”
