The Yorkton Storm Speed Swimming Club recently hosted the Provincial A Short Course Speed Swim Meet at the Gallagher Centre Water Park lane pool. Club media relations officer Mike Haczkewicz explains that Yorkton wasn't originally scheduled to host the event. Prince Albert typically hosts this particular swim meet. However because of problems with the water in P.A., the Yorkton Storm club volunteered to host the meet. "It would be a lot of water to boil to fill their pool so we stepped up as a club," Haczkewicz quips. Yorkton hosted the meet with the help of all the other clubs involved.
Yorkton Storm head coach Ashley Benko says Yorkton had 11 swimmers taking part in the meet. Many are trying to set AA times to qualify for provincials in Winnipeg in two weeks. The Yorkton club speed swimmers have been preparing for this meet since last September. The event marks the end of the short course season. Swimmers will now move from a 25 metre pool to a 50 metre pool, Benko reports. "We don't have one in Yorkton (a 50m pool) so we just pretend," Benko notes.
This year the Yorkton Storm Speed Swim Club boasts about 70 members, says Benko. Only 11 members qualified for the meet with a provincial A qualifying time, she points out. Yorkton swimmers did well at the meet, some achieving the desired AA times while others came very close, Benko reports.
Benko wishes good luck to Jennifer Haczkewicz, Jessica Sanfleben and Jayden Lang who will compete at the upcoming ManSask Swim meet in two weeks.
Yorkton coaches include head coach Ashley Benko, Ashley Sim and Lindsey Schmidt.
Trevor Baker the speed swim meet manager who is a Yorkton parent volunteer. It's the parent volunteers who put together swim meets, Baker explains. While Yorkton has hosted swim meets for about four years, it's the first time the club has hosted a provincial meet. "We were pretty excited to be able to host it. P.A. couldn't have because of water issues, so Yorkton was happy to step up to the plate and bring this event to the city," Baker elaborates.
It takes a lot of volunteers to run the event. Baker points out. He offers a special thank you to local parent volunteers as well as all the parents of visiting teams who've pitched in to help. "We couldn't do it without the help from the parents of visiting teams and from our own parents. It takes a lot of manpower to put on one of these, but it's a great event for the kids," Baker states.
Yorkton will continue to host its own regular swim meet each year. Now that the club has hosted a provincial meet, Baker believes it is ready to help other clubs with speed swim meets.
Baker says Yorkton has a great facility for speed swimming. He says visiting club comment on the facility. They liked it and enjoy it, he says. "It's nice to be able to kind of show off Yorkton and have events in facilities like this," Baker closes.
