For some, the Canmore Coho Invitational was a first crack at competitive swimming.
More than 350 swimmers took part in the Canmore Coho Invitational swim meet on July 25-26, at Elevation Place, with over 50 representing the Bow Valley. This was the second time the Coho meet has been held at Elevation Place, with participants ranging in age from five to 18.
“We did really well and had the most kids out for a swim meet that we’ve had all year and we had a lot of the little swimmers taking part in their very first swim meet,” Canmore Coho head coach Ben Bronsch said. “A lot of kids had really hard swims thanks to a lot of hard work at the pool.”
Some of the wins included Carter Beamish winning his 400-metre freestyle, Isaac Wilson winning his 400m freestyle and Rosie Wilson placing first in her 100m fly.
“They had a lot of fun during the day and were camping outside with their friends. A lot of them have been training together so they’ve become really good friends,” Bronsch said. “We all train at Elevation Place, with the kids, training two to five times a week depending on the group they’re in.”
This was 15-year-old Rosie Wilson’s ninth year with the Cohos, hitting the pool since she was seven.
“I love Coho because there’s a great team atmosphere, the little kids hang out with the older kids and the older kids help the younger kids – it’s kind of like a family,” Wilson said.
“I did the 100-metre butterfly, 50-metre butterfly, the 50-metre freestyle and the 100-metre freestyle. My favourite event is the 50-metre freestyle because it’s fast and I’ve been getting pretty good at it – it took awhile, but its paying off
“I did one event on Friday – the 100(m) fly and the other three the next day.”
Wilson trains five times a week for an hour and a half, and says she adds in a little extra on dry land.
“Basically, you just try and improve on little things. You work on getting your catch down to perfection and breathing right and all that fun stuff,” Wilson joked.
Rosie’s brother Isaac took part in the 400m freestyle, 200m individual medley, 50m back stroke, after starting a year after Rosie. “He’s been swimming for eight years now and we just never stopped,” Wilson said.
The Wilsons and other Bow Valley swimmers will head to Calgary’s Talisman Centre for regionals on Aug. 9-10, which will decide who qualifies for provincial championships.
