Vancouver Pacific Wave Synchronized Swim Club (VPW) is gearing up to send its strongest team ever to Synchro Canada’s National Qualifier Championships in Quebec City — March 15-20.
Athletes from the Richmond-based club have been training hard this week in a final push towards the championships — teaming up with Victoria Synchro for an intensive training camp in order to have a strong showing for BC. back east.
Leading up to Qualifiers, VPW captured gold in all of the Junior events at the National Stream Provincial Championships in Surrey last month.
The junior team achieved a club-best routine score of 75.0333. This group includes: Mallika Basra, Stefanie Dickinson, Zara Herbert, Lisa Koyama-Wong, Leah McTaggart, Angelica Rossi, Maleka Rostami, Katie Stirrat and Shaleigh Lachance. They are led by 2015 national team member Stefanie Dickinson from North Vancouver.
Her success at Junior National Team Trials and at the US Open last season has been inspirational for her teammates. Head coach Kara Kalin Zader also brings a wealth of experience from coaching at the national and international levels, providing these athletes with her tools for success.
This year, VPW is thrilled to welcome a partnership with another strong BC swimmer — Luiza Vasylyeva.
The Victoria native made it to Phase 4 of the 13-15 National Team Trials last season so a duet partnership with Dickinson was an obvious choice.
The pair dominated the Junior Duet event at Provincials, qualifying as the top BC duo. They have set their sights high, with the goal of making it onto the national podium this season.
While in Victoria, Vasylyeva is coached by Tara Gant and her coach/mother Olena Foshchevska, from Victoria Synchro. Vasylyeva will also be competing at qualifiers in the Junior Solo event in which she captured gold at provincials.
VPW’s talent extends beyond the Junior category.
Kendall Stirrat and Grace Milley qualified first at Provincials in the 13-15 National Stream Duet event and are looking forward to improving on their success at National Qualifiers.
VPW is also sending two 13-15 soloists to Quebec — Shaleigh Lachance and Hannah Kryworuchko, who qualified by placing third and fourth respectively at Provincials.
VPW’s junior athletes have teamed up with the 13-15 duet to compete in the Free Combination Routine event, coached by Rosilyn Tegart and Shelby Harding.
This event features routines with 10 athletes who swim team sections as a whole group but also features solo, duet and trio sections. It is fun for the athletes since it displays spectacular highlights which involve lifting or throwing one or more out of the water all without touching the bottom.
The girls are motivated by the opportunity in this event to swim alongside one of their coaches, Rosilyn Tegart, who previously swam with the Kamloops Sunrays, University of the Incarnate Word in Texas and Team USA.
VPW won gold in this event at the Provincial Championships.
