Contributed by Angie Abdou
Elk Valley Dolphins Swim Club
On the first weekend of June, the Elk Valley Dolphins had forty-five swimmers compete at an outdoor meet in Radium, by far the biggest team the Elk Valley has ever taken to an out-of-town event. The same week, five other Dolphins competed at an elite meet in Calgary.
In Radium, young Fernie swimmers persevered through rough weather on Saturday, even racing backstroke in the pouring rain, to put in an impressive number of best swims. “We’re very happy with the growth of the club,” said Coach Chudleigh. “We like getting these young athletes to meets so they’re comfortable with competition early, and then they don’t have anxiety around racing as they get older.”
Despite the rain, the Dolphins shared plenty of smiles and laughs through the weekend. The older swimmers did a commendable job helping out the Pups new to the race environment.
The team’s highest scorers were 9-year-old Noah Dodds with 101 points, 8-year-old Dottie Nguyen with 100 points, 10-year-old Brody Dube with 98 points, 12-year-old Ethan Sauve with 95 points, 7-year-old Leo Longshaw with 94 points, and 9-year-old Layla Rella with 93 points.
For many swimmers, Radium was the last competition of the 2021-2022 season. Coaches are excited to see the racers back in the pool in September.
Five more senior Dolphins (Brock Tomlinson, Olivia Howse, Keira Hansen, Jackson Radkie, and Maddox Johnson) qualified for an international swimming competition in Calgary. Coach Aidan Chudleigh leapt at the opportunity to have Fernie swimmers at an event with some of the fastest swimmers on the continent. Chudleigh was pleased to see his athletes going best times in this intense environment.
“It’s a great experience for our swimmers to race against faster people and get beat. Getting beat is an excellent learning experience,” said Chudleigh.
Olivia Howse performed best in the freestyle, placing 6th in the 400 free and 9th in the 200 free. Brock Tomlinson did a 50 free in :25.90 to place 12th. Jackson Radkie did a best time in 50 free to make his first provincial qualifying time. Kiera Hansen did a best time in the 100 fly. Maddox Johnson placed 7th in the 100 breaststroke.
The Dolphins’ next meet is in Missoula Montana from June 17-19. Afterwards, some swimmers will continue to train into July for ManSask Provincials and BC Summer Games.
READ MORE: Dolphin swim club numbers growing
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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