Great Achievement for OSSC Newcomers

 

The Olympium Synchronized Swimming Club (OSSC) welcomes newcomers and this year’s 10 & Under Provincial (10UP) team has achieved a lot in four short months of training together given how new these swimmers were to each other and provincial competition. These six determined swimmers, Christopher, Madeline, Nadia, Ria, Sophie, and Gabriela have a combined skill set of swimming from age six onwards to being on recreational, novice and/or other provincial teams.

On January 27, 2018, they proudly placed 7th of 13 teams at the 2018 Waterloo Regionals. The ability to rank midway with one swimmer absent last minute and two teammates new to a provincial stream is a testament to their coaches, Jenn Knobbs and Diana Selemeneva. The team is grateful for the guidance received and this shows in their continued ability to respond to coaching. The team expresses their sentiments to Jenn and Diana with, “thanks for all your patience and support”, “thanks for helping me improve from last year” to heartfelt messages like “you are amazing coaches and make practices a lot of fun!”

These athletes have set personal goals including being stronger syncro swimmers, trying more figure extensions, being flat with their splits in the water, achieving an award during competitions all the way to reaching for a spot on an Olympic team! They have room for growth and will continue to reach higher goals through such talented coaching and dedication to their team. With comments like “I was new to the team and you all made me feel welcome”, this team will continue to bond as friends and teammates as the season progresses.

Two of the 10U team swimmers performed in a duet competition for the first time. Christopher and Madeleine achieved 4th place in the10U duet at the Waterloo Invitational in January 2018. It is an exciting time for these two young swimmers. Madeleine shared, “I used to do gymnastics and dance. I was a strong swimmer, but I didn’t want to race. So my mom suggested synchronized swimming…a sport that incorporated all my skills” and Chris enthusiastically added, “To all the boys out there-you should try it, it’s fun!”

 

Written by: Madhu Jain, OSSC Club Reporter