Defending their turf

More than 200 swimmers were poolside for the 2010 Gander Lakers Swim Club Provincial Invitational last weekend, held at the arts and culture pool.

The host Lakers stockpiled on medals, finishing in the top three 31 times. Anna Rumbolt and Evan Foote led the way, combining for three gold, five silver and two bronze.

Eight different clubs were represented at the event, which, for a few local swimmers, was a welcomed change from travelling.

"It's great swimming at home because you know the pool," said 15-year-old Lakers' swimmer, Nick Soucy. "I know pools are the same length, but the surroundings are different, and we're familiar with the surroundings here."

Twelve-year-old Julia Pritchett, also a member of the local swim club, said some teams try to push the smaller club around when it travels to different meets, so swimming at home gives the team all of the advantages it needs to compete.

"I like it better here because it's our pool, and they can't scare us here," she said. "Because we're a smaller team, other teams think they can push us around, but not here - this is our pool."

This event was supposed to happen in March, but because of accommodation issues, it had to be postponed. Gord Wheeler, long-time head coach of the Lakers, said it's always nice to host a meet, as friends and families of the local athletes get to come out to show their support. He also echoed what Soucy said about swimming in a familiar setting. Although pool lengths are the same, the surroundings are totally different when you leave town.

"It's their facility and it's where they train. There's no reason for missing a turn...it's home. The biggest difference is they get their friends to come out to watch them swim, and that always pumps them up a little bit," he said. "This is an atmosphere they're used to. It's kind of like sleeping in your own bed compared to sleeping in someone else's bed. A bed's a bed, but it's a different setting when you're away."

As the swimmers broke for lunch on Saturday, Wheeler stayed behind to prepare the pool for the afternoon races. Although there was more racing to come, Wheeler was more than happy with how the local swimmers were doing. He said the younger swimmers continued to show improvement, and experienced swimmers continued to knock seconds off their time.

"Our swimmers are doing very well, actually. The younger swimmers are seeing better results, and a few reached finals, and the experienced swimmers are taking time off their best times," he said. "Most meets they go to all of the swims are based on their times going in. After they swim, their times are posted, age group wise, but here they swim in heats based on times, but the top six swim in the finals in one age group. It's a little better for competition."

For one local swimmer, the event meant more than times and ribbons. Although Sherry Ghali, 16, was pleased with her swims on Saturday, her main focus was improving something other than times - her health.

"I'm personally in this for exercise, so I don't really care about the times and whatnot," she said. "But I'm having a lot of fun."

The experienced swimmer was having as much fun out of the pool as she was in. While talking about the events they like to compete in, Pritchett mentioned how she reached the finals in a breaststroke event - a final Ghali also qualified for.

"My best event is either the 50-metre or 100-metre breaststroke...I made the finals in 100," said Pritchett, as Ghali piped up to say, "Really? So did I," and the two shared a high five.

All three swimmers said they enjoyed the breaststroke the most. However, their preferred distances varied. For Ghali, a better sprinter, shorter distances suit her best, but for Soucy, he prefers the longer distances.

"My best event is the 50-metre breaststroke because I can sprint really well," said Ghali.

"I find the breaststroke is my best event because the longer I go, the better I do. I seem to be better at the 150-metre to 200-metre distances," said Soucy. "There isn't much of a sprint in those distances - you just to keep going and going."

For Pritchett, the pre-teen just seemed to relish the opportunity to swim at home. At the end of the day, she was able to set a few best times, and the lifeguard didn't need to assist her.

"I swam well. I got a few personal best times, and I didn't drown," said Pritchett with a laugh. "I really come to try and set personal best times, but depending on the event, I come to win."

Lakers summary

Rumbolt and Foote won a medal in each of the five events they competed in. Rumbolt, who competed in under-10 girls, won gold in the 50-metre fly, while Foote, who competed in the male 15-16 age group, finished on top of the podium in 200- and 400-m freestyle. Rumbolt also finished second in her four other events - 200-m freestyle, 100-m individual medley, 100-m freestyle and 50-m backstroke - and Foote finished second the 200-m individual medley. He also won bronze in the 100-m individual medley and 100-m freestyle.

Four swimmers finished with a trio of medals. Melanie Flynn, female 17-and-over, won gold in 200-m breaststroke; while Ghali, female 15-16, was the fastest in 100-m breaststroke; and Tiffany Small, female 11-12, swam her way to gold in the 200-m breaststroke. Flynn captured silver in 100-m breaststroke, while Small earned second-place honours in the 50- and 100-m breaststroke. Flynn was third in 50-m breaststroke; Ghali in 100-m individual medley and 50-m breaststroke; and Cassie Gill, female 13-14, captured bronze in 100- and 200-m backstroke, and 100-m individual medley.

Three Lakers came away with a pair of medals. Joshua Kearney, male 13-14, was the quickest in 100-m fly. Kearney also captured silver in 100-m breaststroke, while his brother, Matthew, finished second in 100-m backstroke, and Soucy earned second in 200-m breaststroke. Soucy went on to capture bronze in 100-m backstroke, while Matthew finished third in 200-m individual medley.

Also winning medals were Sarah Dumaresque, silver, female under-10, 100-m backstroke; Tara Lundrigan, bronze, female 17-and-over, 100-m breaststroke; and Taylor Philpott, bronze, male under-10, 50-m backstroke.

See scoreboard for rest of Lakers results.

info@ganderbeacon.ca