The LA Swim Club is Lethbridge's premier competitive swim team, providing professional instruction and a positive environment for swimmers of all ages.
Founded in 1950 by former Olympic swimmer Stan Siwik, LASC is a presence at the provincial, national, and international level of competition. Our program is designed to assist athletes in all aspects of competitive swimming, creating the framework for long-term health, wealfare, and steady development. The development of proper tednical skills, solid work habits, good sportsmanship and an appreciation of teamwork are all essential elements of the goals set forth for each LA Swim Club team member.
With programming from the learn-to-swim level to elite performance, LASC promotes athletic excellence through progressive holistic training.
LASC is governed by Swim Alberta at the provincial level, Swimming Canada at the national level, and FINA at the international level. Our coaches are certified, recognized professionals, trained specifically to work with athletes at various physiological and psychological stages of development. The club offers year-round training for competitive swimmers at the University of Lethbridges Max Bell Regional Aquatic Center.
Mission Statement: To achieve personal and athletic development through aquatic sports.
LASC Club History
Competitive swimming in Lethbridge was started in the late 1930’s when the Penguins (girls) and Tarpons (boys) swim clubs were organized by Pearl and Ev Borgal. Club competitions were held in Raymond and Waterton due to the lack of regulation facilities in Lethbridge . In 1939 the teams were unified to become the Tarquins and the team hosted competitions at the newly constructed “swimming pool” in Henderson Lake .
By 1950 it was clear to Stan Siwik, a former Olympic swimmer with Poland , that competitive swimming in Lethbridge needed to be formally organized and the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club came into being. Under Mr. Siwik’s formidable guidance, the Club grew both in size and reputation. Mr. Siwik’s archives show that by 1954 Club members held more than 100 provincial and 16 Canadian records. Over the succeeding years Siwik worked tirelessly to implement program instruction and to improve swimming facilities for Lethbridge swimmers. His contribution to swimming in Lethbridge was recognized in the naming of the Stan Siwik pool in 1975.
Succeeding Siwik in the pool were many dedicated and talented coaches: Dr. Bob Kastings, Father R.T. Chauvin, Keith Ferguson, Dan Gyulai (‘81-’83), Bob Schrag (‘84-’87), Uriy Toudjarov (‘87-’92), Bill Barton (‘92-’95), Ken Fitzpatrick (‘95-’00), and Andrew Moss ('00-04'), Lori Melien ('04-05'), Brad Mori ('05-12) and Peter Schori (2012-current).
Swimmers of the LA Swim Club ranged over the years from beginners to world class swimmers. The Club has placed swimmers on Provincial and Canadian National Teams.
In 2010 Rachel Nicol won Gold at the Olympic Youth Festival in Bejing China. Kyle Troskot became a World University Games Team Member in 2011. 5 LA Swim Club Members competed at the 2009 Canada Games.
In 1993 LA Swim Club member Dean Kondziolka recorded the 3rd fastest 50m (SC) time in the world. In 1996 and 2000 the Club secured the Swim Alberta small team titles attesting to the overall excellence of Club swimmers.
The Club has for many years provided excellent competition opportunities for Alberta and Canadian swimmers. In addition to hosting yearly invitational meets, the Club has hosted Senior Provincials, Canadian Youth and Junior Nationals, and Canada West University Championship.
The LA Swim Club is proud of this rich history of swimming excellence and with the support of dedicated coaches, parents and most importantly, swimmers, the Club plans to build on this success.
