Eight members of the Estevan Mermaids and two members of the Weyburn Synchro Stars will represent the Southeast Connection district in the 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games in February in Prince Albert.
The Mermaids will be represented by Kelsey Potoma, Eden Palmer, Taylor Kuntz, Tracy Irwin, Brooke Kruger, Alyssa Wieting, Danika Poirier and Hannah Whitman. They will be joined by Savannah Pohl and Jillian Harder from the Weyburn club.
The athletes took part in a season-long trial process, using results from four provincial meets during this season. The steep competition for this team brought out the best in all of the athletes, as they were driven to obtain the spot on the team.
The coaching staff for the district team has also been announced. Tess Rensby will coach the team and Mermaids head coach Brenda Lyons will be the team manager. Rensby spent nine years with the Mermaids and was a Saskatchewan High Performance athlete for four years before being sidelined with a knee injury.
"We have a group of dedicated and motivated young ladies that will be representing our district. The team is made of eight athletes from Estevan and two athletes from Weyburn. Joining two clubs together for a district team is very exciting for all of us. The girls are looking forward to getting to know some new teammates.Weyburn has a strong program and we are looking forward to working alongside their club this year," said Lyons, who has been coaching for six years.
Synchronized swimming will be part of the Winter Games for the first time after moving from the Summer Games. It will also be the first year that synchro will have representation from eight of the nine provincial districts.
"We are ready to face the best athletes from across the province at the games. This team is packed with talent and determination. I know that they will represent our district very well," Lyons said.
The team will have a two-week break and then start land training in July. They are scheduled to be back in the water training at the end of August.
