Four members of the Tsunami Swim Club competed among some of the top swimmers in BC at the AA Provincial Championships in Chilliwack on Feb. 17-18.
Corynn Ayres, Coral Ridinger, Logan Jager, and Anamika Giesbrecht all qualified for the meet with a minimum of two provincial time standards.
Leading the Port Alberni team was 13-year-old Ayres, who has only been swimming with the team for four years. She has not had any prior lessons, but always had an interest in the sport. She finished the weekend in her age category with a gold in the 400m-free, a silver in the 800m-free, and a bronze in the 200m-free.
“At first I didn’t like it and it was a challenge, but I have been in a lot of competitions and it is fun,” Ayres said. “We practice a lot so I’m doing pretty good.”
Veronique Jager coaches each swimmer three to four days a week and said they performed beyond her expectations.
“It was a very successful meet considering we get so little practice time compared to most other BC clubs,” Jager said. “Coral, Corynn, and Logan achieved many best times. Corynn and Logan, in particular, had some tremendous swims both earning AAA times.”
As a result, Corynn qualified for the AAA Championships on March 4.
Corynn’s mother, Heather Shobe said she is proud of her daughter for leading by example.
“She didn’t swim at all until she was about five and a half years old,” Shobe said. “She hated to put her face in the water. When she finally started though, she just took off.”
All four swimmers have achieved Top 50 placements in Canada and Top 20 in BC in their age categories for the past three seasons.