The hard work and time away from home has paid off for Mackenzie Dahl.
The Estevan synchronized swimming star was named to the Saskatchewan team for the 2015 Canada Winter Games last week.
Dahl, 17, was one of only two athletes from outside Saskatoon and Regina to make the team, along with Yorkton's Madison Neufeld, her duet partner with the Saskatoon Aqualenes.
Dahl, who was a longtime member of the Estevan Mermaids before moving to Saskatoon to train with the Aqualenes this past year, said the accomplishment is symbolic of her growth as an athlete and person.
"It means so many different things to me, it's actually quite hard to explain. It's been extremely satisfying knowing that I accomplished what I set out to do, and now I get to have this amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience.
"But it's also the knowledge that I've become stronger than I was before, both mentally and physically, as well as the importance of the characteristics and values I've acquired along the way."
Dahl said she never would have imagined getting to this point when she was young, as she wasn't in it to be competitive.
"When I was young, I swam purely because of the fact that I had friends in the sport, and I loved the water. I really didn't have a competitive bone in my body, and although I loved it, it took me a lot of years to become serious about the sport."
That's where the Mermaids came in. Dahl spoke highly of the club's role in developing her abilities.
"They have been absolutely crucial in helping me get better. They not only gave me all the base skills of the sport, but encouraged me to believe that I could go so much further. The Mermaids are brilliant at creating an environment full of camaraderie, encouragement, positive thinking and support, in which it is forbidden to say, 'I can't.'
"I know that they definitely became my second family and the pool my second home. The Mermaids took me from a young girl who only joined the sport because of friends, to a young athlete strong enough to pursue her goals."
Last year, with her sights set on the Canada Games, Dahl made the decision to move to Saskatoon and train with one of the top clubs in the province. She certainly doesn't regret that decision now.
"In order to improve to the level that I needed to be swimming at, I needed more coaching time and pool time in order to achieve my goal," she said.
"Extended hours spent in the pool and being coached were crucial to my improvement. It was also the fact that the coaches and athletes were all extremely welcoming and supportive of me; they pushed me and challenged me to do what I needed in order to improve."
Dahl and her Saskatchewan teammates will be busy between now and February. In July, the team will participate in a week-long training camp in Prince George, B.C., where the Games will be held.
Throughout the summer, there will be training camps scheduled every month where the Regina and Saskatoon teams will meet to work with coaches on their routines.
"There will be land workouts with trainers scheduled once a week to improve endurance and strength," Dahl said. "Also, we will all be required to have a food log to ensure that we are eating not only the right thing but enough of the right thing."
Dahl also recently received two awards at the Aqualenes' awards banquet. She was named most improved and most dedicated among the team's national stream athletes.
The other team members are Saskatoon's Alana Hargreaves, Claire Hargreaves, Jasmine Kowbel and Katie Willie, and Regina's Emily Dietrich, Koralee Lindquist, Kenzie Priddell and Sage Sunley.
