January 16, 2012

                Coming off of a two week long training camp and some tough training was no obstacle for Richmond Rapids swimmers this weekend.  Twelve swimmers attending the Hyack Icebreaker Classic swim meet in New Westminster this weekend after overcame a grueling two week training camp over the Christmas holidays and some of the toughest training in their lives.
                “It was great to see such determination in each swimmer’s racing this weekend.  Most of them are quite tired from the camp but showed a lot of guts racing,” says Rob Pettifer, the Richmond Rapids’ Head Coach.
                The goal of the weekend was not personal bests for most swimmers but for the honing and sharpening of skills learned over the past month and on being mentally tougher in the pool.  Swimmers used this meet as a chance to get some racing in before the Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg this February.  Westerns Champs brings together the fastest swimmers in Western Canada to compete.
                Top Eight finishers for the Rapids were: 
Kyle Bower (16) 6^th 1500 freestyle.
Brandon De Costa (15) gold 100 back, 5^th 100 fly. 
Nicolaas Dekker (16) gold 200 fly, silvers 200 free/200 breaststroke, 5^th 1500 free, 6^th 200 backstroke.  Hau-Li Fan (14) golds 400 IM/1500 free, silver 200 breaststroke. 
Paula Gosse (15) 5^th 100 back, 7^th 800 free. 
Celine Hong (15) silvers 400 IM/200 breast/800 free, 6^th 200 back. 
Michael Jakac-Sinclair (14) 5^th 400 IM, 6^th 400 free/200 fly/1500 free. 
Nathan Muszynski (17) bronze 400 IM, 5^th 200 breaststroke. 
Tiffany Orr (16) silver 100 back, fourth 200 IM/200 free, 7^th 200 back. 

                The next two months will be busy ones for the Richmond Rapids as they have upcoming meets in Vancouver at the CDSC New Year’s Invitational, the Winskill Dolphins LMR Meet and Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

                “Almost the entirety of the club will be competing over the next two months so both the swimmers and the coaching staff will have a lot on their plates gearing up for these meets,” says Pettifer.  “We like to make sure that everyone who joins the program has the opportunity to compete at the level that they belong to; regardless of whether it’s a learn to swim level or all the way up National or Olympic levels.”

                For more information on the Richmond Rapids or the Rapids Swim School at Minoru Pool contact 604-275-7946 or click on www.richmondrapids.com