Local swimmers continue to make waves beyond Manitoba as competitive opportunities outside the province give athletes valuable experience against stronger programs and deeper fields. One Central Plains Sea Lions competitor, Carson Pehura, recently tested his progress at a major western meet, where strong finishes and technical improvements signalled growing potential at higher levels of competition.
Sea Lions coach Rob Pehura described how the trip showed both individual growth and the advantages of racing outside the province, particularly against clubs his swimmers do not normally face during the season.
Related stories:
Pehura says the Edmonton Open, held from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, allowed qualified swimmers of varying ages to compete in the same divisions, creating a challenging and motivating environment for developing athletes.
“It was at the January 30 to February 2. We went out to Edmonton; it’s called the Edmonton Open, and that meet is an open meet where you just have to qualify, and then you swim open, so it doesn’t matter if you’re 10 or 25 as long as you hit the standard. Carson swam seven races while he was there to make it worthwhile, but he was really focusing on his butterfly races, and he was able to make the top four in both those races. At that meet they have a series of finals, so they have a top four, then they have a top ten, another top ten, and then they have a special final for kids fifteen and under because usually the higher spots are held by the older kids and this gives those younger swimmers an opportunity to do heats and a final event,” Pehura explains.
Broader competition exposure
The coach notes that events like this introduce swimmers to strong programs from across Western Canada, which often compete within their own regional circuits rather than travelling east.
“But the different thing with these top four is that they’re actually racing for money; it’s not a lot, maybe a couple hundred bucks a race, but it motivates them to make those races, and then he’s swimming against kids he doesn’t normally swim against. These are kids from all over Western Canada, from British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, and they’re from pretty big programs that have hundreds of swimmers, so it’s nice to be able to compete with those kids and be competitive with them,” he says.
Technique changes paying off
Pehura adds that one athlete’s recent adjustments to his butterfly stroke began producing results almost immediately, even though the new technique had only been practiced for about a month before competition.
“That was the first time he actually competed with his new style. He’d only been working on it for about a month, and it takes a couple of months to really get the rhythm down, so he’s swimming this weekend and we’ll see how that goes. Then he was third in his fifty fly, he swam the best time there and he was really happy about that, and he’s about point three eight away from making Canadian trials in Montreal in early July,” he adds.
Carson Pehura – PortageOnline/supplied photo
Pehura says qualifying for trials is a key goal because the national level meet would provide exposure to elite swimmers and potentially reshape the athlete’s season schedule.
“That’s kind of his focus. He wants to make that meet, and then he can call his year done a little bit earlier because if he does go to Canadian trials, then he won’t go to Mansask because they overlap. It’ll be one or the other, and he really wants to make that one because that would be his experience at a national level swimming against Olympians and national record holders, which would be a good experience for him,” he continues.
Busy stretch ahead
The Sea Lions remain in competition mode with a Grand Prix meet in Winnipeg followed by the ManSask championships in March, as well as a developmental meet in Selkirk for younger swimmers.
“We’ve got the Grand Prix this weekend and then have Mansask in March, and then there’s a meet that’s going to be, I think, the week before Mansask in Selkirk, and that’s more for developmental swimmers thirteen and under. Some of the kids might go to that, but it won’t be a lot of my group; it’ll be some of the younger groups,” he notes.
Pehura says the steady stream of meets has made for a demanding but encouraging stretch, with swimmers continuing to build confidence through each competition.