SSMAC, Dolphins begin swim season with all-star meet

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT STE. MARIE AQUATIC CLUB

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SAULT STRONG CONTINGENT ON SWIM ALL STAR TEAM

Representatives from the Sault Ste. Marie Aquatic Club and Soo Y Dolphins are participating on a regional all-star team in a Varsity Tri Meet this weekend in Sudbury.

Twelve local swimmers will join 24 others as part of the North Eastern Ontario Region (NEOR) All Star squad, which will compete against Laurentian University and the University of Waterloo.

The Sault swimmers include: Becky Day, Cait Tomlinson, Wendy Oleskiw, Jeff Byrne, Jeff Park, Peter Olinger, Alex Bonne, and Josh Lawrence from SSMAC along with Brent Caverly, Vanessa Chaimbrone, Taylor Carelli and Sarah Ingram from the Dolphins.

Team members were chosen based on the World Performance Scoring System. The competition will take place over two days and sees swimmers racing in 5 events, as well as relays.

The NEOR team is coached by SSMAC Senior Coach Bill Park.

"This event will give our swimmers a chance to see what the competition is like at the varsity level," he says. "Our local swimmers are ready to compete well against their university counterparts. I look forward to some great performances from the Sault contingent."

The following weekend is SSMAC's first action as a team this season. The club travels to the Sudbury Laurentian Pool for a double-ended (pre-provincial and developmental) meet with a 24-swimmer roster, the oldest being 12 years old.

Park is excited about how these young swimmers will fare and is encouraged about the future of the club as a whole. The bulk of club members still have many seasons to compete. Including the SSMAC-A-R00 pre-competitive group, SSMAC now has 98 swimmers registered.

Park also credits colleagues on the team's new coaching staff Nancy Day, Alex Bonne, Suzie McGuire, and Toby Beynon for an anticipated positive and successful year. "These individuals bring a lot of experience, expertise and enthusiasm to the club," he says.

SSMAC will host its own major club meet, the Joey Calzones Invitational, November 11-13 at the John Rhodes Community Pool. Up to 300 swimmers from across the region as well as the Upper Peninsula will compete in the 3-day event.

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