Over the weekend, 298 swimmers participated in the annual Dolphins Swim Meet.
The Elk Valley Dolphins Swim Club hosted the sanctioned swim meet with all times going toward the swimmers’ ranking in Canada.
The Dolphins have two swimmers who are ranked in the top 50 in Canada while eight are in the top 50 in British Columbia in at least one event.
The girls 11 and under relay team is ranked 15th in Canada. Last weekend they achieved the fastest relay time in the 200 metre free relay in the province.
The meet started on Friday afternoon and ran until Saturday afternoon. There were 44 events in total, counting the relays. Swimmers competed in all four strokes and most swimmers competed in six events and two relays.
“I love the energy in the Fernie Aquatic Centre,” said Emma Dressler, president of the Dolphins swim club. “I love seeing all of the swimmers try their best and there is nothing like watching the team spirit.”
Young athletes came from across the region to participate. Seven teams participated and of the 298 swimmers, 226 were from Calgary with the rest hailing from the Elk Valley, Cranbrook, Nelson and beyond.
The annual meet raised funds for the club and allowed local swimmers to compete in the pool they train in.
Dressler said between 40 and 60 volunteers pitched in to make the event a success.
“We want to say a huge thank you to all the swim parents for being such amazing volunteers,” she said.
The Elk Valley Dolphins Swim Club is a competitive swim club that has been active in the Elk Valley for twenty years.
It offers training sessions for children aged seven to 18 years of age. The Dolphins have a professional coaching team that is committed to helping swimmers achieve excellence, encouraging them to train to achieve their goals, and to have fun at the same time.
This year the club achieved medals at both the BC AA Provincial Championships and the BC AAA Provincial Championships.
Their last regular meet of the season will be in Lethbridge from May 6-7 but they will likely have several swimmers qualify for the BC AA Long Course Championship in Richmond in June.