Vancouver Pacific Wave (VPW) synchronized swim club enjoyed an impressive showing at the recent week long Synchro Canada national qualifying competition in Montreal.
This was the second annual meet since Synchro Canada changed the format of its competition structure last year. The event featured 26 teams and over 240 athletes in each age competition.
VPW headed east with a young group. The 13-to-15-year-old team featured six brand new athletes who joined the club this year. The junior team also had six "rookies." Considering the lack of experience on the big stage, the girls more than held their own.
Leading the local contingent was senior athlete Liza Leusenko who is closing in on national team spot.
She was fifth in Solo Free and Solo Tech and was just two points behind the fourth place finisher. Leusenko, who is coached by Kara Kalin and Gail Donohue, will be trying out for the Centre of Excellence program later this year.
In the Junior Figures competition, Stefanie Dickinson and Jenna Bajus were the top B.C. athletes, placing 30th and 60th respectively in a field of 224 entries.
In 13-to-15-year-old Figures, Katie Stirrat was 58th among 219 athletes. VPW was 16th out of 26 in the team competition at this age category, while the Juniors were 10th among the 23 participants.
The 13-to-15-year-old team features Mallika Basra, Caitlin Ford, Zara Herbert, Lisa Koyama-Wong, Grace Milley, Katie Stirrat, Kendall Stirrat and Slavka
Svancara. The girls are coached by Kara Kalin and Kimberly Paterson.
The junior team, which is coached by Kalin and Elise Fagnan, includes: Jenna Bajus, Jocelyn Dayal, Stefanie Dickinson, Jasmine Marsan-Johnson, Victoria McArthur, Leah McTaggart, Angelica Rossi and Sandra Thies.
Earlier, the club produced some impressive results at the provincial qualifying meet.
Dickinson placed first in Junior Figures and also won the Charlotte Tutte Award for the top junior athlete who shows the most promise in the province. She teamed with Bajus to capture the Junior Duet event as well.
Clubmates Marsan-Johnson and McArthur, along with Rossi and McTaggart were right behind in third and fourth place respectively.
Leusenko was second in both Senior Free Solo and Technical Solo.
The VPW Juniors are now preparing for the National Championships in Saskatoon where the goal is a top eight finish. The 13-to-15-year-old squad will be in Kamloops June 2 for its Nationals event where its hoping to crack the top 10.
Koyama-Wong, Leusnko, Dickinson and Katie Stirrat have made the top 16 cut for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George and also hope to be representing B.C. at this summer's U.S. Open.
Vancouver Pacific Wave is a regional synchronized swim club that offers competitive and recreational programs with sessions in Richmond and Vancouver. For more information visit www.vpw.bc.ca.
