Kara Kalin’s coach-of-the-year award reflected her all-round work with the Pacific Wave Synchronized Swim Club. However, it could have been for her strategy that paid off in a big way at the recent Canadian Championships in Windsor, ON.
Kalin happened to be at nationals with her Watermania-based club when she was honoured at the annual Richmond Sports Awards banquet. Team member Nancy Liu was also recognized as Youth Female Athlete of Year.
It was back in September when Kalin had to improvise her junior team selection when a number of her veteran swimmers opted to retire. Rather than just focusing on candidates in the eligible age group, she went even further, adding athletes that are still in elementary school.
“Actually, it’s pretty mind blowing. We had such a huge range of athletes from the youngest being 11 to the oldest being 17. You have pre-teens and teenagers so you are really trying to get the athletes to bond, connect and fight for each other,” explained Kalin.
“It was a full year process and not a lot of people believed we could do it. Some thought it was actually a crazy idea. We really had to work on building the belief of the team and cohesion.”
After months of training with Kalin and her sister — assistant coach Candace Kalin — the team enjoyed moderate success and managed to qualify for nationals. However, it was hardly with authority after a penalty deduction left them barely inside the top 20.
They headed to Windsor as a long shot but surprised everyone with a season best score to place eighth — just fractions behind their rival from Victoria who had always finished comfortably ahead of them.
“I was blown away,” said Kalin. “Sure you are hoping for that kind of an outcome, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting it so it was greatly welcomed.”
The team included Kendall Stirrat, Alethea Fikri-Chapman, Keily Hutt, Margarita Kravriotis-Escuer, Hannah Kryworchko, Lisa Koyama-Wong and Liu.
Kalin is already looking ahead to next year’s junior team although it might be even more challenging.
Some swimmers are graduating up to senior, while others will be involved throughout the season with Team B.C. in preparation for next February’s Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. Pacific Wave is expected to have as many as four swimmers named to the 16 athlete team when it is finalized in August.
The club recently held its year-end show and is now focusing on the launch of its Summer Synchro Competitive Program later this month. It is designed for former members or perhaps swimmers who want to try the sport. Competitions are part of the B.C. Summer Swimming Association season that features a variety of events throughout Metro Vancouver until mid-August.
For more information on the club visit www.pacificwavesynchro.ca.
