For many, swimming presents an opportunity to travel.
For 15 teenage swimmers from across Canada, the cold of winter gave way to the warmth of Barbados between November 3rd – 11th.
The 9-day Pan Provincial Open Water Camp brought together the promising young swimmers to Bridgetown, Barbados for training and two days of competitive racing. Swimming Canada Distance and Open Water Coach Mark Perry led six coaches who were also taking part in the coach development opportunity while the swimmers were introduced to developing open water skills and tactics in a competitive racing environment. The camp aligns with Swimming Canada’s distance strategy to enhance the performance and international representation of Canadian swimmers in distance events.
The opportunity was made possible by Swim Ontario through the OHPSI program funded by the Ministry of Sport of the Ontario government and Quest for Gold.
Athletes and Coaches
- Gillian Archer of Olympian Swim Club, coached by Lesley Serediak
- Claudia Boily of Pointe-Claire Swim Club, coached by Phil Garverick
- Isabella Cooper of Lakeshore Swim Club, coached by Tristan Vowles
- Peyton Leigh of Brock Niagara Aquatics, coached by Dave Ling
- Delphine Piatera Mercier of Club de Natation de Sherbrooke, coached by Amelie Poirier
- Stella Robinson of Grande Prairie Piranhas, coached by Alex Dawson
- Mia Thomas of Toronto Swim Club [shown above], coached by Bill O’Toole
- Zoe Tomory of Lakeshore Swim Club, coached by Tristan Vowles
- Annabelle Turcotte of Club de Natation Région de Québec, coached by Pierre Lamy
- David Cortez of CAMO Natation, coached by Claude St-Jean
- Zachary Johnson of Grand Prairie Piranhas, coached by Alex Dawson
- Dominik Kwiecien of Grand Prairie Piranhas [shown above], coached by Alex Dawson
- Xavier Lavoie of Natation Gatineau, coached by Salim Laoubi
- Renaud Trudel of CAMO Natation, coached by Claude St-Jean
- Paul Zeleni of Markham Aquatic Club, coached by Sean Baker
“It was definitely a positive experience for them. Some of them have done open water in the past, it’s been either in a rowing canal or in a lake. So definitely a little nerve-wracking for them at first, but once we got in and we did a couple sessions, it was a lot better. You could see that they were improving as the week went on, and they definitely are going to bring home some new experiences through this,” said Coach Andrew Miller of Calgary’s Cascade Swim Club.
We worked on sighting and drafting. When you’re working in a pack, being able to see kind of where you’re going, picking a target further out, and using that as your waypoint as you move through the camp. Drafting either on the hip or the feet of the person in front of you just to kind of conserve your energy and be able to feel the motion of the water. If there was any kind of current, be able to use that to your advantage. With drafting and working in a pack you don’t always have to be the leader.“
The camp proved beneficial to those with no experience and those with a bit of experience.
David Cortez
David Cortez from Montreal’s CAMO Natation came to the camp with no prior experience in open water. Despite his lack of familiarity with the discipline, he won the men’s 10 km. He appreciated the opportunity to learn and race, “I had never done any competitions in lakes or anything. So it was my first time. It was a really nice experience, especially that it was in the sea. “The highlight of the week was definitely the 10 km, because it was my first time. I’ve never swam that long before in one shot. I learned a lot during the race. It felt really good because I wasn’t expecting (to win) at all. I was actually pretty scared in the beginning to lead because I’ve never led a pack.
This training camp definitely helped me with experience because I had none before. I know a little bit about what it’s like to swim in open water now. My goal this season is definitely to compete in my provincial competitions, do open water and take what I learned from this camp and apply it for big meets and open water.”
Dominik Kwiecien
Dominik Kwiecien of the Grand Prairie Piranhas won the 1.5 km race, but had entered the camp with more open water experience.
“Before this camp, I’ve been to two other camps really similar to this one in Spain. And then I also had the opportunity to go to the World Junior Open Water Championships a few years ago. I’m definitely not the most experienced (open water) swimmer, but I’ve gotten a fair bit of racing back. The highlight was just swimming in that pack and getting a feel for it and getting more and more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Also, dealing with the ocean, and the environment around it that you’re not really able to get in a pool setting.
I would say it’s worth a try. It could help you in pool swimming. It could help open more doors, and it could be just a fun break from the pool.”
Delphine Piatera-Mercier
Delphine Piatera-Mercier won both the 1.5 km and 10 km races. She offered her perspective to swimmers who may be hesitant about trying open water. “I would tell them that it is a very good experience. It is very different. There is more strategy and analysis during the race.”
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