Richmond Swimmers Reach New Levels at Vancouver Swim Meet

February 1, 2012

                It was a great weekend of friends, fun and fast swimming at the Canadian Dolphin’s New Year’s Invitational.   With 300 swimmers in attendance at the three day meet hosted at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre there were lots of opportunities to meet new people and to get to know team mates better.

                The Richmond Rapids Swim Club brought 52 swimmers to the meet with them and the coaches were very impressed with their swimmers’ ability to swim fast and be consistent throughout the three day meet. 

                Rapids’ Provincial Age Group Coach Alex Pettifer was extremely happy with the progress of her athletes and the way in which they swam.   “This weekend was about trying to qualify for the next level in swimming.  For many of the swimmers it was about reaching the next qualifying time or the next big time breakthrough.”

                The Rapids had 3 new BC AA championship qualifiers at the meet.  Joshua Quon (9) achieved his time in the 100 butterfly,   William “BearCat” Dekker (12) who qualified both the 400 IM and the 400 freestyle and Christopher Lam (13) who qualified the 100 breaststroke.  The BC AA championships will be held in Chilliwack in February.  

The Rapids’ new BC AAA Provincial qualifiers was Austin Berry (11) in the 400 free and Nicholas Huen (13) who achieved his time in the 200 butterfly. 

“Having 5 new qualifiers in a meet is a great result,” says Pettifer, “it shows that swimmers are hungry to succeed and want to be the best at what they do.”

Richmond Rapids swimmers who achieved podium finishes this weekend were:
Austin Berry (11) gold 400 free, bronze 200 IM/200 breaststroke
Jaylene Berry (13) silver 200 back, bronze 400 IM
Sam Bhandal (11) gold 800 free
Ethan Chan (10) bronze 50 back
Kyle Chan (11) silver 200 butterfly, bronze 400 IM/50 fly
Arvin Chua (12) gold 200 IM/100 breast/50 butterfly, silver 400 IM/200 free/400 free, bronze 200 back
Brandon Crawford (14) gold 100 free, silver 800 free/200 free, bronze 50 free/400 IM
Matthew Crawford (10) silver 50 back, bronze 1500 free/100 fly/50 free
Hau-Li Fan (14) gold 200 breast/400 IM/100 back/200 fly/400 free
Jeremy Fung (10) silver 1500 free
Samantha  Gosel (13) silver 50 free/400 free, bronze 50 back
Michael Guo (15) silver 100 breaststroke
Leo Hong (14) bronze 100 fly
Nicholas Huen (13) gold 50 back, bronze 100 back/100 free
Patrick Kell (14) bronze 100 breaststroke
Christopher Lam (13) bronze 200 IM/200 IM/50 fly
Justin Lui (15) 200 fly,
Ryan Murray (11) gold 400 IM, silver 200 free/400 free/50 fly, bronze 100 free
Melissa Quon (13) silver 200 fly, bronze 100 fly
Richard Rakchtis (11) gold 200 breaststroke, silver 200 IM/400 IM, bronze 200 back/100 back/400 free
Eva Ryder (13) silver 100 fly/50 breaststroke
Maximilian Schaffler (13) gold 800 free/200 IM/200 back, silver 100 fly/50 free/200 free/100 back/100 breast/200 fly
Kelsey Shaw (15) silver 800 free, bronze 100 back
Ekaterina Vinarskaia (16) silver 200 fly, bronze 400 free
Nicole Welsh (14) bronze 100 fly
Nini Weng (10) bronze 50 fly
Kevin Ye (12) gold 200 free/50 breast/200 back/100 back/200 fly/100 free
Delbert Yip (15) gold 200 fly, silver 100 fly
Mike Zhang (13) gold 100 back, silver 200 breast/200 back
Kevin Zheng (15) silver 200 back/50 fly, bronze 200 breast/100 back
Selina Zhou (13) bronze 800 free/400 free
Steven Zhou (12) bronze 400 free

The upcoming month will be a busy one for the Rapids as they are gearing up for Championship season with Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg, MN on February 16-19, BC AA Championships in Chilliwack February 10-12 and BC AAA Provincial Championships March 1-3 in Surrey.  In total over 50 athletes will be travelling to championships throughout the months of February/March from Richmond. 

The club offers programs for children who wish to learn the sport of competitive swimming or who are wishing to stay fit throughout the school year.   For more information on the Richmond Rapids Swim Club or an assessment visit www.richmondrapids.com or call 604-265-7946.