NKB Kicks Off the 2025–2026 Season with Celebration and Recognition
September 15, 2025
The Mighty Barracudas officially launched the 2024–2025 season with a night of celebration, reflection, and excitement for the year ahead. As always, this kickoff wasn’t just about what happens in the pool—it was about honouring the hard work, resilience, and community that define NKB.
Families, swimmers, and coaches gathered to recognize achievements from the past year and set the tone for what’s to come. From the youngest athletes to national-level competitors, every swimmer had a place in the spotlight, building on NKB’s legacy of excellence and connection.
2024-2025 NKB Award Winners
If your swimmer was recognized but did not receive their award, please get in touch with [email protected] to arrange for pickup from the NKB office.
AWARD OF MERIT
The swimmers at NKB not only swim fast but are also very dynamic individuals. The recipients of the Award of Merit are swimmers who have demonstrated in the pool that they train, race, and perform with great success. Moreover, they do it with a positive attitude. They can also be seen supporting teammates, volunteering, leading cheers, and regularly contributing to the favourable, family-oriented climate at NKB.
2024-2025 Award of Merit Winners
MOST IMPROVED SWIMMERS
NKB Swimmers are constantly striving to improve – strengthening their core, lengthening their stroke, streamlining their technique, and increasing their arm turnover. It sure feels great when we can see the results of this hard work! These swimmers demonstrated the most seconds dropped across all their events during the 2023-2024 Season.
2024-2025 Most Improved Swimmers
FIRST TIME QUALIFIERS
Throughout their careers, our swimmers will experience many firsts – their first final swim meet, their first individual final, and their first selection for the tour team. To name a few. These NKB swimmers have achieved some of those firsts during the 2023-2024 season by qualifying for their first Championships at the Regional, Provincial, and/or National levels. We know these are just the first of many accomplishments to come!
2024-2025 First Time Qualifiers
IMX CHALLENGE CHAMPIONS
Is your swimmer Xtreme? The IM Xtreme (IMX) is a challenge originally developed to identify and rank swimmers on their all-around performance in the following events:
- 10 Years & Under: 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 IM
- 11-12 Years Old: 400 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, 100 Fly, 200 IM
- 13 -18 Years Old: 400 Free, 200 Back, 200 Breast, 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM
Where did the points come from? Rankings are based on power points, a system developed by USA Swimming and Hy-Tek.
2024-2025 IMX Champions
PROVINCIAL EXTREME ATHLETES
Explanation: Building well-rounded athletes is at the core of NKB’s programming. These athletes take this to heart and push themselves to be successful in ALL strokes at ALL distances, whether it’s their “favourite” stroke or not. They recognize that every race is an opportunity to excel. As a result of this true grit, they have achieved provincial-level performances (or higher!) in EVERY STROKE at EVERY DISTANCE. All
Swimmers are considered against the Swim Ontario Championship Standards.
2024-2025 Provincial Extreme Athletes
RECORD BREAKERS
At NKB, the 2022-2023 season was filled with swimmers rewriting our record books, both with Team Records and Top Ten All-Time Performances. These swimmers topped the charts in their 2023-2024 races.
2023-2024 Record Breakers
TOP RANKED PERFORMANCES
Explanation: The swimmers of NKB not only want to achieve personal bests, but they also want to be the best at regional championships, then provincial championships, and ultimately, national championships. They never stop striving for the top. These awards recognize those NKB swimmers who ranked in the NKB Top 5 Age Group Performances, NKB Top 10 All-Time Performances and the Top 25 Canadians in their age group/event when the waves settled at the close of our 2023-2024 season.
2023-2024 Top Ranked Swimmers at the Club Level
2023-2024 Top-Ranked Swimmers in Canada
PRESIDENT’S AWARD (presented in June 2025)
Explanation: This award recognizes individuals whose respect for coaches, chaperones, teammates, themselves, and for what the club stands for inspires others to strive to be the best they can be.
Maizie Moustgaard & Jordan Schaepper
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR (presented in June 2025)
Explanation: This award recognizes individuals whose sincere efforts promote the positive growth within the organization and are representative of the vast reservoir of potential from which dreams become reality!
Cynthia Handler
FOR THE KIDS AWARD (presented in June 2025)
Explanation: The kids are the reason we are all here, but we recognize the support and sacrifices of their families that make their quest for success in the water possible. Every year, there are a few people who stand out as leaders in doing it all “for the kids.” While this award recognizes these leaders, a big THANK YOU goes out to everyone who does it “for the kids” day in and day out.
Heidi Wechselberger
ADDITIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Some of our swimmers were active during the summer in different International Competitions:
- Julie Brousseau represented Team Canada at the FISU Games
- Jordan Jolly Ssamula Represented Team Uganda at the World Juniors
- Deniz Capraz represented Team Ontario at the Canada Games
Julie Brousseau is going to be officially inducted in October into the Nepean Sports Wall of Fame, Class of 2025
Jordan Schaepper is the 2025 recipient of the Team Aquatic Supplies Dan Taylor Scholarship.
Thanks, PARENTS - the kids couldn’t have achieved what they did without the parent support
