Five local swimmers from the SwimFaster club will be preparing to move from the pool into open waters this summer.
The five 鈥� Elizabeth McIllwraith, 15; Diane McIllwraith, 12; Linnea Uunila, 13, and 12-year-old twin sisters Maya and Priya Biln 鈥� will be heading to Kelowna to compete this month.
鈥淚 have high hopes for them,鈥� coach Tyler Barr said.
Theywill be participating in the 鈥淎cross the Lake鈥� swim, a two-kilometre event across Lake Okanagan on July 19.
鈥淚鈥檝e found open water to be much more challenging,鈥� Elizabeth McIllwraith said.
The SwimFaster team, which includes swimmers from age five to 18, had 135 members compete this past year. It is a winter club, with swimmers competing in 25-metre lengths for the first part of the season, between September and February, before moving onto 50 metres in March up until the end of the season, after which the summer open water season follows.
鈥淥ver the year I have seen some pretty big improvements,鈥� Barr said.
The five members heading to Kelowna have posted some strong performances this past season.
Maya and Priya Biln were the first swimmers to join SwimFaster four years ago, when they signed up as beginners. They have since achieved Lower Mainland Championship (LMR) designation in provincial events and are prospects for national events.
Diane McIllwraith, a specialist in 50- and 100-metre backstroke, freestyle and butterfly, has won medals in local and regional meets, including a third place in the Lower Mainland Championship in the 50M fly.
She recently obtained a third place in 50M back in Kamloops, second in 50M free and third place in 50M fly at the Hyack Summer Solstice Invitational over the weekend in Coquitlam.
Elizabeth McIllwraith specializes in 50M and 100M backstroke. She has also medaled in local and regional events and took first in the 50M back at the Lower Mainland Championship. At the recent Hyack event, she placed first in the 100M fly and third in the 50M back.
Uunila has been swimming in open water since age nine, and one of her highlights was swimming in the choppy waters of San Francisco Bay at the annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim in 2014.
鈥淵ou swim 2.4 kilometres to shore,鈥� Uunila said. 鈥淚 got first for my category.鈥�
She has received firsts at events like the Canada Open Water Swim Series. In July, she will be going to Sweden to swim at Vansbrosimningen 3K and Vansbro Ungdomssim (Youth Swim) where she will be among almost 15,000 participants.
The swimmers also train at other sports. For example, the McIllwraith sisters figure skate competitively, while Uunila takes part in sports such as cross-country skiing and triathlon, having taken top honours at events in Tucson and Honolulu.
To compete in open waters, the swimmers have to make some adjustments to their strokes, especially when it comes to swimming in a wetsuit
鈥淚t has those restrictive properties,鈥� Barr said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different kind of swimming.鈥�
As coach though, he is as focused on seeing developments in their technique as he is on results, though he is still optimistic based on their efforts.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been working really hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e come a long way.鈥�
