The Whistler Seawolves Swim Club season will start its second year this fall, after a successful first season. Swimmers from the club attended various regional meets, and in the end-of-season finale every swimmer attained a personal best in one of the various race categories.
Two of the club swimmers, Samantha Ellis and Kerry-Anne Hamilton, age 11 and 7 respectively, also competed during the summer against some of the top young swimmers in the province.
During the 2001 season they improved on their personal best times and made final after final. They also netted a few podiums at various swim meets.
At the B.C. regional championships in Squamish, Hamilton was first in the 50-metre breast stroke, and second in the 100 metre individual medley, the 100-metre freestyle and the 50-metre back stroke. In the races she finished second she was racing against an 11-year-old because of the B.C. Summer Swimming racing rules.
She qualified for the B.C. provincial championships at the University of British Columbia, but had to miss that for a family holiday.
Ellis was outstanding at the regionals, finishing second in the 50-metre fly, third in both the 100-metre individual medley and 100-metre freestyle, and fifth in the 50-metre breast stroke.
She also qualified for the provincial championships, where she got a chance to meet Canada’s top swimmers from the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.
Against the top juniors in the province, she missed the finals but still managed to rank in the top 20. She was 16 th in the individual medley, 19 th in the fly, and 18 th in the freestyle.
"Head Coach Brandi Higgins has done an amazing job in her first year, nurturing an incredible bed of young talent," said Seawolves administrator Craig Hamilton.
Whether your goal is to swim two lengths of the pool or to compete at the provincial level, Hamilton says the club’s main priority is to introduce kids to the fun and fitness aspects of swimming, and showing how the sport can contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
The club will be recruiting new members and signing up old members at Strut Your Stuff this weekend, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the gym at Whistler Secondary. The Seawolves schedule for practices will also be announced.
