Members of the Nose Creek Swim Association (NCSA) have been kept busy this month, with competitive meets taking place most weekends. NCSA assistant head coach Alexx Diep said March and April are two of the most strenuous months of the year for the Airdrie- and Calgary-based club – not just for athletes, but for coaching staff. “The coaches are the most busy, because we do attend all the meets,” he said. “Swimmers don’t necessarily go to back-to-back-to-back meets. Some do, but most of them would go to [a few] of those meets.” Competitions kicked into high gear in March, Diep said, with the Provincials Short Course competition March 1 to 3, the Silver Tide Invitational March 8 to 10 and the Swim Alberta Spring Championships March 14 to 17. The club’s most recent outing was the Spring Championships, held March 14 to 17 in Edmonton. According to Diep, Airdrie swimmers racked up the medals. Sean Penner was the club’s highlight athlete, sprinting to the provincial title in the 50-metre (m) freestyle, the 100-m freestyle and the 50-metre butterfly for the 14- to 15-year-old boys’ age group. Nathan Wong also made it to the top spot on the podium multiple times, and qualified for the Western Canadian Championships and the Canadian Junior Championships. Competing in the 13-and-under age group, Wong won the backstroke competitions for both the 50-m and 200-m distances. “[Wong] and [Penner] absolutely stood out as our best scorers,” Diep said. “They have a very bright future in front of them.” Para-swimmer Alex Sharpe added a bronze for NCSA in the 50-m and 100-m freestyle, as well as the 100-m backstroke. In the team events, NCSA compiled 69.5 points on the girls’ side, finishing in 11th place overall. The boys’ collective performances garnered 174 points, which put NCSA in eighth. “The coaching staff is very happy and satisfied of all three meets we attended in the last three consecutive weekends,” Diep said. “NCSA demonstrated great team spirit and, mostly, a big improvement from previous years.” The club’s top swimmers will now start to prepare for the “long-course” season, according to Diep. In April, he said, they will race at one of the most important meets of the year – the Western Canadian Championships, held April 11 to 14 in Edmonton. “That’s the highest level of swimming we have in our club.” Diep said. “We have a handful of guys going [to Edmonton], so while everyone else is taking a break, they’ll still be in training. They’ll get their break right after.” While it can be challenging for the club’s swimmers to balance their training and competition load with schooling, Diep said most of the athletes are accustomed to it. “We’re pretty lucky that most of our swimmers are very academic, so they’re very good at managing their time and managing their tasks at school,” he said. “It is the nature of our sport to be often busy around this time, so they see it coming beforehand. With their experience, they know how to prepare themselves.” Considering the calibre of NCSA swimmers, Diep said, the long-term goal for the club is to have its top swimmers recruited by university swimming programs. “It doesn’t always happen, but that’s always our intention – to give them the skill-set so they can achieve good swimming at that level,” he said.
