By Robb Fenton
The season is winding down for the Lloydminster Riptides Swimclub, but they definitely aren’t slowing down.
The club was in Saskatoon in April and Edmonton recently and performed very well, despite being up against bigger clubs from the area.
One thing head coach Natasha Wobeser was pleased to see, was how her team adjusted from a few changes that were made in Saskatoon.
“We had a meet in the middle of April in Saskatoon. They’ve changed from a 25 metre pool to a 50 metre pool, so that was the second meet they went to with a 50 metre pool. It’s a little different, fewer turns, you have to use your legs more rather than the wall to push off,” Wobeser said, adding her team performed well despite the change. “A lot of kids had improved times on that one.”
While it may not sound like a big difference, swimming 50 metres rather than 25, Wobeser said there are some changes you must make to your swimming patterns to be successful.
“From the 25 to the 50 they have to use their legs a lot more because of the fact there is one less turn per 50 metres. It’s always technique, but it’s more in this situation, you can’t rely on your push off to make it,” she said.
This past event, held in Edmonton, the Riptides impressed both themselves and their opponents by only sending a small number of swimmers, but coming away with good times.
“It was good. This past weekend we ended up seventh out of 17 teams. We only had eight kids there and we were swimming against clubs that have a lot more. I was impressed,” Wobeser said.
Another highlight for the Riptides, was the performance of swimmer Cole Hancheryk, who was selected to participate in a pretty prestigious event.
“Cole was chosen to Best of the West which took place in the middle of April which basically, they take the top eight swimmers in the age group 13-14, so he was chosen,” Wobeser said. “They did a swim camp in Kamloops for a few days and a swim meet, so it was exciting for him because I don’t believe anyone from this team has made anything like that.”
There are only a couple more swims on the Riptides calendar, but there is one event everyone is very excited for that takes place in June in Red Deer.
Wobeser said it will be a challenge for her team for more than one reason, but the team is looking forward to the trip.
“In two weeks, we have our first outdoor meet. We’re so excited about that one. We’ve been trying to get into that one for a few years and we finally got in. Hopefully it’ll be warm weather,” she said. “This meet, I entered them into events they usually have swam before. A lot of 100, 200 metres instead of 50 and 100 metres. We’ll be concentrating more on the longer distances.”
With swims they aren’t used to, the team will have to refocus in practice to prepare for their trip to Red Deer.
“They will need a little bit more endurance, being able to keep the same stroke the whole time, for a long time. We practice the 200 freestroke every time, but backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly are a little different. The butterfly, you have to keep your head above water and not lose your rhythm or you’ll be screwed,” Wobeser said of the new swims the team will have to get used to.
“It’s repetition. More swimming to get the body trained. A lot more focussed on the longer distances.”
According to Wobeser, it’s not easy to participate in the Freeze or Fry event in Red Deer because it is one of the more popular events near the end of the season.
She said she made sure her team would have a chance to take part by booking early in the season.
“We’re very, very excited. I asked them in January if they could hold 12 spots for us. The meet is very popular and it always fills up and I’ve always had the entries ready a bit too late. So I told them we are coming this year,” she said with a laugh.
With only a few weeks left in the season, the Riptides are looking to finish strong and set themselves up for a strong year next year.
“The club closes Friday, but we’ll still be training,” Wobeser explained. “Our premise will be different next year.”