April/May 2023 Newsletter

May 24, 2023


Letter from Coach Aidan:

This club just keeps growing! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we had the goal of breaking 100 swimmers. Now, in the last session of the 2022-23 season, we have hit over 200 registered swimmers! We’ve especially built up our Pups program and are excited about the young talent. We also know we’re filling the important role of teaching Fernie’s youngsters to feel comfortable and confident in the water. Every time you see tired swimmers role over on their backs and kick while catching their breath, you’re seeing children who have learned a crucial survival skill.  We’re so excited to see the Fernie Aquatic Centre full of young swimmers, and we’re grateful to our excellent team of Junior Coaches.

The number of club records we’re breaking shows that we’re not just growing in numbers! See the news links below for the long list of recent record breakers. Way to go, Dolphins!

A lot has happened in the last couple of months, most notably our home meet. Huge thanks to all the parent volunteers! With over 400 competitors total (and over 100 Dolphins competing), this meet broke all our attendance records, and we couldn’t have done it without parent support. We hope our young swimmers, having gotten a taste of competition, will be keen to try some out-of-town meets next year. You can read more about the meet’s successes in the newspaper link below. On an emotional note, our three senior swimmers swam their last home meet as Dolphins before they head off to university next year. Congratulations to Kiera Hansen, Leah Soetaert, and Olivia Howse (pictured below with Abbi Wannamaker). It’ll be hard to say goodbye, but we appreciate all you’ve contributed to the club in your many years, and you’re welcome to join us for a practice whenever you’re home or to come say hi on deck when we’re competing near you.

Of course, our biggest recent challenge has been pool closures. We hope the worst of that is behind us, and we want to express gratitude to the swimmers and parents who rolled with the punches. Our athletes showed great reslience – whether putting in a workout in Sparwood’s 20 meter pool, traveling to Elkford or Cranbrook for a swim, or simply finding other ways to stay active – and they couldn’t have managed it without their parents’ support. Thank you! Here are some of our athletes making the best of an unfortunate situation:

The resiliency paid off: despite the disruptions to training, we had two more good meets this month. For more details on how the younger kids did in Nelson and the more experienced kids made out in Lethbridge, see the news link below.

Our Masters’ swimmers have also been busy. Coach Angie went to Alberta Provincials at the end of March and placed first in all six of her events. Plus, she made her goal of breaking the BC provincial record in her 1500 free. Way to go, Coach Angie! Four of our Masters’ swimmers (Elin Holvik, Kerri Wall, Aidan Barnes, and Angie Abdou) will be competing in Nationals at the Repsol Centre in Calgary on the last weekend of May. Last year, we had one Master swimmer compete (Angie in Quebec City), so if we keep that growth trend, we’re looking for sixteen to race nationals next year! 😉 Great job, Masters.

Over the long weekend, we gave the Blue Pod swimmers a little challenge. We told them that the following week we’d do a set of 40 x 100 on 2 minutes all out, but they could knock off 1 x 100 for every mountain each of them climbed and for every major bike trail they rode over the weekend. They enthusiastically jumped at the challenge and stayed active (though reportedly there were moments when they wondered if it would’ve been easier to just do all the 100s!). Great to see our athletes bonding in these fun, memorable team-building activities.

If you haven’t yet, remember to sign your swimmer up for a swim-a-thon fundraising page: Register for the EVDSC Swim-a-thon | DoJiggy. No firm date for swim-a-thon yet but it’ll be towards the end of June. More news soon.

With just a few meets left, we’re approaching the end of the season. Ten swimmers will be competing in Medicine Hat at the end of May, and then over 20 swimmers travel to Missoula Montana on the weekend of June 19th. Then we only have Man/Sask Championships at the start of July. Regular training finishes at the end of June. Also, watch for one more home time trial before the end of the season. 😊 Stay focused, Dolphins! Let’s end this great season on a strong note.


Dolphins in the news

More than 100 Dolphins Compete in Fernie Fox Invitational - The Free Press

Busy weekend for the Dolphins - The Free Press


Clothing Swap Check out the Elk Valley Dolphins Gear and Clothes Swap Group on Facebook. Are you looking for some gear or clothes for your swimmer? Do you have gently used gear or clothing that have been outgrown? That’s your place!


Contacts

 

Aidan Chudleigh -  headcoach@evdsc.com (cell: 250-946-7472)

Spencer Robertson – coachspencer@evdsc.com

Angie Abdou – coachangie@evdsc.com

General inquiries info@evdsc.com

Registration questions registrar@evdsc.com     

Equipment and clothing orders equipment@evdsc.com

 

**Please feel welcome to contact us with any questions or concerns at all!**

You can also catch coaches outside the Fernie Aquatic Centre before or after practice.


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