The 2006/2007 swim season has sadly come to an end, and although many of us are right now soaking up some sun on the beach, lounging in our backyards on our favourite lawn chair or pulling out the putter on the golf course, it's nice to stop and reflect, and take stock in some of our many accomplishments over the past four months.

The long course season saw some great breakthroughs, along with some exciting moments for the members of the Provincial 2 group.

Our first big milestone came on our very first Wednesday morning workout back from March break, as we saw almost a double in attendance from the previous six months of the season. Many of us started to realize that with only one opportunity to swim long course during the week (that being Wednesday morning), we really needed to buckle down and dedicate ourselves to a more intense and structured training regime. It was also nice to see Coach John not ripping out any more of his hair on a daily basis, trying to get us to come to workout - ha ha.

With a more rigorous training schedule in place, we had a little more confidence heading into our first meet at U of T, where we knew that our fitness was going to be a key factor in our ability to adapt to the long-course environment.

Here are some of the standout swims from the John Grootveld Invitational…

Ariella- 1:12 for the 100 free (2 second drop)
Vinny - 1:26 for the 100 fly (12 second drop)
Matt Gamelo- 1:09 for the 100 free (first time under 1:10)
Matthew Got - 1:08 for the 100 free (first time under 1:10)
Nat - 3:02 for the 200 back (7 second drop)
Andres - central regions in both 100 and 200 free
Jacki- 5:13 for the 400 free (first time under 5:13)
Evelin- 3:08 for the 200 back (first time under 3:10)
Will - :58 for the 100 free (first time under 1:00)
Patrick- 2:53 for the 200 back (first time under 3:00)
Lev -32.46 - provincial cut for 11 year old boys
Yaakov- 1:04 for the 100 free (first time under 1:10)
Katie- 1:42 for the 100 breast (first time under 1:45)
Tommy- 1:04 for the 100 free (first time under 1:05)
Sarah- 1:09 for the 100 free (first time under 1:10)
Ozgu- 3:12 for the 200 fly (first ever 200 fly)
Radu- 1:15 for the 100 fly (inching closer to his provincial cut)
Ronny- 3:05 for the 200 breast (first time under 3:10)

The Swim-A-Thon on April 14 provided us with a nice opportunity to test both our physical and mental toughness as we swam a timed 5000, where our goal was to have everyone under 1 hour and 25 minutes. Our goal was attained, with special mention going to Jacki for achieving the fastest female time in the group of 1 hour and 12 minutes, along with Yaakov swimming 1 hour and 16 minutes for the top male time. Special thanks to all the parents who bravely counted laps for their swimmers at the very reasonable time of 5:15 am, where I am sure many of them are loosing sleep at night waiting in anticipation for next year's swim-a-thon - ha ha.

Three of our young gentlemen were chosen to represent our group at the Division One Team Championships in Ottawa over the weekend of April 20-22. Yaakov, Ronny and Radu all had some great races and provided some much needed help with our boys 13 and 14 year old relays. All three boys were very excited as they had the opportunity to race some of the best swimmers in the province.

The May 12/13 weekend saw us back at U of T for the May Performance meet. Here are some of the highlights…

Tina- 1:43 for the 100 fly (10 second drop)
Ariella- 2:37 for the 200 free (10 second drop)
Vinny- 5:36 for the 400 free (12 second drop)
Matt Gamelo-1:06 for the 100 free (2 second drop)
Matthew Got- 2:53 for the 200 IM (first time under 3:00)
Andres-1:09 for the 100 free (first time under 1:10)
Jacki- 2:52 for the 200 IM (8 second drop)
Evelin- 1:25 for the 100 back (4 second drop)
Will -26.94 for the 50 free (first time under :27)
Patrick-2:40 for the 200 free (7 second drop)
Lev -6:03 for the 400 free (20 second drop)
Yaakov-2:43 for the 200 back (5 second drop)
Katie-3:27 for the 200 breast (first time under 3:30)
Tommy-5:47 for the 400 IM (first time under 6:00)
Sarah- 1:15 for the 100 fly (first time under 1:20)
Ozgu- 2:37 for the 200 free (first time under 2:40)
Radu-2:55 for the 200 IM (first time under 3:00)

June 9/10 was a very exciting weekend for our group as we were part of NYAC's repeat winning performance at Summer Team Champs out at the Etobicoke Olympium. Here are some of the swims that helped bring home the title…

Ariella - :31 for the 50 free- 2nd place
Evelin-1:21 for the 100 back - 3rd place
Patrick- 5th in the 100 back, 6th in the 50 back
Katie - 1:37 for the 100 breast - 4 second drop
Ozgu- :32 for the 50 free - 2 second drop

The very next weekend we were back at Etobicoke for our second championship meet which was Central Region Long Course Champs. Not only did this meet give us an opportunity to race some great competition but also tested our ability to race fast in the morning and give us the chance to make finals at night. Here are some of the outstanding swims from the meet…

Matt Gamelo- 29.2 for the 50 free (1 second drop-12th place)
Matthew Got-29.2 for the 50 free (1 second drop -7th place)
Andres -3rd in the 100 free, 6th in the 200 free
Jacki- 19:54 for the 1500 (4th place, first time under 20:00)
Will - 6th in both the 50 and 100 free
Lev - 10th in the 100 free
Yaakov- 10th in the 50 free
Tommy- 1:06.2 for the 100 fly - provincial cut - 2nd place
Sarah - 30.6 for the 50 free (first time under :31)
Radu- 1:12.0 for the 100 fly- provincial cut- 2nd place
Ronny- 5th in the 100 breast, 6th in the 200 breast, 7th in both the 50 and
200 free

Our last meet was Mayor's Cup on June 23/24 weekend. This meet gave us an opportunity to swim some "off" events and put the final touches on a great season. Here are some of the standout performances…

Ariella- 1:33 for the 100 fly (2 second drop)
Vinny - 1:30 for the 100 back (3 second drop)
Matt Gamelo- 2:37 for the 200 free (10 second drop)
Matthew Got - 2:52 for the 200 IM (1 second drop)
Andres- 1:26 for the 100 back (3 second drop)
Jacki- 1:30 for the 100 fly (3 second drop)
Evelin- 2:56 for the 200 free (first time under 3:00)
Will - 35.5 for the 50 back (1 second drop)
Patrick - 2:35 for the 200 free (5 second drop)
Lev- 1:31 for the 100 fly (2 second drop)
Yaakov- 2:45 for the 200 IM (2 second drop)
Katie - 2:48 for the 200 free (11 second drop)
Tommy- 1:27 for the 100 breast (first time under 1:30)
Sarah Spitz- 1:41 for the 100 breast (4 second drop)
Ozgu- 1:31 for the 100 back (first time under 1:35)
Ronny- 1:27 for the 100 back (first time under 1:30)

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the swimmers in the Provincial 2 group for a great season. Your hard work, dedication and tenacity not only at meets, but on a daily basis at workouts is greatly appreciated, not only by myself but all the coaching staff and board members throughout NYAC. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work with, not only great athletes, but also great people day in and day out.

I would also like to send out a big thank you to Steve Lim, Olga, William Williams, Gina, Sabrina, Diego and Murray for all their help and support over the past year.

Hope everyone has a great summer - see you in September…

John

John Calnan
Provincial 2 Coach