John Calnan
Provincial 2 Coach

Meet report
Central Region SC Team Chamionships

February 2007

It shouldn't have come as a surprise; indeed it would have been hard for anyone present to think that the sixty NYAC swimmers knew they were to be crowned champions of the Central Region Team Champs at the Etobicoke Olympium on Sunday, February 25. With most of the crowd departed, the setting did not naturally lend itself to high drama and hysteria, but when the announcement was made one could be forgiven for thinking our beloved Maple Leafs had overcome 40 years of frustration and scored the winning goal to reclaim the Stanley Cup. Even better, one hundred and twenty small feet and arms jubilantly raced across the pool deck to wrestle their trophy from the apprehensive presenters. It was simply a very beautiful and magical moment and one that will be remembered for a long, long time.

I have spent a lifetime in competitive swimming, and as a result, most of my close friends are retired swimmers. Many were outstanding swimmers representing Canada at international meets and many were average performers, but all were fierce competitors that trained hard everyday and carried with them an enduring humility. If anyone ever slipped, prompted by a great performance, to mutter a spontaneous declaration of greatness on the deck, they were quickly reminded of their many failures both in the pool and especially in life in order to return them to their more appealing nature. The declaration that, "I really kicked butt," after a race would be instantly met with "Are you forgetting about your disaster in Brampton last month?". We understood the necessity to support each other especially that someone who was having a tough day. A great personal victory was to be celebrated internally to avoid creating an even greater burden on those around you that were not performing at their best. It is a self evident truth that in competitive swimming everyone will have those challenging days and they hurt, disappoint and anger all of us. It is of crucial importance to build personal resilience and a supportive group dynamic in swimming. These are the key factors in a long and enjoyable swimming career. When talking with retired swimmers whom you respect, and ask them to reflect on their careers in the pool and identify just what they think was important, you invariably hear them talk about a moment, a single moment when they realized that they could perform and be competitive in the pool; a moment when they knew they belonged. It struck me that many of those swimmers competing at Central Region Team Champs were experiencing a moment of spontaneous joy, loudly celebrated but more importantly, for many, deeply felt. Perhaps it was the age, or the status of most of our swimmers, or the fact that they were just starting to ascend the first few rungs of the competitive ladder, but in all my years of swimming, I cannot recall a more magical moment.
NYAC has had a long and distinguished history, filled with Olympic performers, National level champions and world record holders. Pausing to reflect where this moment fits into such a glamorous past, it occurs to me that it really represents the essence of the club. For the Administration of the club it represents their basic belief that the vibrancy and worth of NYAC rests in its most youthful swimmers, providing opportunities to grow both competitively and personally. For the dedicated coaches of NYAC, it tells us that all of the lessons that we try to teach in daily practice have meaning. For our parents it is a moment that clearly demonstrates that swimming and the sacrifices that it requires are worth it. At NYAC, we know that the enormous commitment made by parents, for the most part, is quiet and goes without recognition. For our swimmers, this moment can mean possibilities and hope for the future, make us believers in ourselves to help us meet the challenges of personal resilience and group support.

Congratulations NYAC!!!

Here are some of the outstanding individual results that took place over the weekend......

Ricki Adams- 45.48 for 50 back- 2.5 second drop

Tina Ansari-1:36 for100 fly- 4 second drop

Sara-Beth Arnold- 41.90 for 50 free- 2 second drop

Adham Assad- 2:11 for 100 fly- 37 second drop

Jonathan Brodie- 1:56 for 100 Breast- first time under 2:00

Guillaume Cadour- 1:58 for 100 free- 15 second drop

Chris Cao- second in 50 breast, second in 50 free and third in 50 breast

Janice Cheung- 1:35 for 100 breast- 2 second drop and central region qualifier

Charlotte Coffey- 1:51 for 100 breast- 3 second drop

Harry Critchley- winner in 100 fly and 100 back

Jack Critchley- 45.05 for 50 free- 1 second drop

Nicole da Silva- 1:39 for 100 fly- first time under 1:40

Vincenzo DiGiuseppantonio- third in 50 fly- 36.87

Andrea Dobrescu- first in 100 breast- 1:31- making B cuts

Jacqueline Douglas-1:53 for 100 back - 8 second drop

Nathalie Douglas- first place in 100 free- 1:25

Stephanie Farkas- 1:24 for 100 free - 5 second drop

Claire Guttentag- 1:40 for 100 back - first time under 1:45

Macalem Henley- 1:59 for 100 breast- 12 second drop

Andres Jaegerman- 1:13 for 100 free- first time under 1:15

Daniel Katz- winner in 50 breast, 200 IM and 50 free

Evelin Kovacs- 1:34 for 100 breast- new Central Region Qualifier

Emily Kraemer- :55 for 50 back - 6 second drop - first time under 1:00

Lee Ann Liberta- second in both 50 and 100 back

Gavin Lifman - high point winner for 10/11 boys - won 6 events

Fan Lin- 1:17 for 100 free- 6 second drop

Derek Liu-1:34 for 100 fly - 11 second drop

Yi Wen Li- second place in both 100 fly and 50 back - swam best times in all events

Claire Lockridge- :41 for 50 free - 2 second drop

Palmer Lockridge- :48 for 50 fly- 4 second drop

Jordan LoMonaco-:58 for 50 breast- 9 second drop

Sierra LoMonaco- 1:47 for 100 breast- 4 second drop - Central Region Qualifier

Alexander Luttor- winner in 50 and 100 free, 50 breast, 50 fly and 100 back

Sarah Lychy-second in 100 fly, 50 and 100 breast, third in 100 free, 100 back and 50 free

Thomas Lychy- 1:59 for 100 IM - first time under 2:00 - 41 second drop

Sara Macanovic- 1:28 for 100 free- 7 second drop - best times in all events

Allison Martin - winner in 50 and 100 back, 100 IM and 50 free

Kyle Martin- second in 100 fly, third in 50 fly

Jack Miller- 1:45 for 100 back- 16 second drop

Sammy Miller- :49 for 50 fly - first time under :50 - 16 second drop

Kamila Mukherjee- third in 50 fly - best times in all events

Emre Ozguven - 1:35 for 100 back- 8 second drop

Felix Pang- second in 100 back, third in 200 IM

Jake Poulton-1:38 for 100 IM - first time under 1:40

Chelsey Quarin- :48 for 50 free - first time under :50

Alison Reid- :50 for 50 back- first time under 1:00

Courtney Rider- 1:54 for 100 IM - first time under 2:00

Maggie Runnalls- third in 100 back - 1:28 - three second drop

Natalija Scepanovic- 1:57 for 100 back - 17 second drop

Emma Spitz - 1:09 for 50 back, 1:19 for 50 breast - swimming in her first meet

Matthew Suen- second in 50 fly, third in 100 back and 100 fly

Ozgu Topuz- winner in 100 fly, 200 IM and 100 breast - high point award for 12/13 boys

Jeffrey Turnock- :45 for 50 breast - 2 second drop

Mark Umansky- 1:44 for 100 free - 4 second drop - swam best times in all events

Milica Veselinovic- 1:33 for 100 free - swimming in her first meet

Sava Veselinovic- 1:53 for 100 breast - 4 second drop

Molly Wang- 1:55 for 100 breast- 4 second drop

Eric Woolven- :39 for 50 free - first time under :40

Erin Yabsley- :44 for 50 free- 7 second drop

Meghan Yabsley- 1:35 for 100 back - 3 second drop

Jason Yi- first in 50 fly, third in 100 fly