Synchro Canada – July 16, 2018 – After two three-week preparation camps in Canada, and one ten-day camp in Cegled, Hungary, Canada’s junior artistic swimming team is ready to take on the world at the 2018 FINA Artistic Swimming Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary from July 18 – 22, 2018.

More than half of this team started training and preparing for the event in the summer of 2017 at a month-long national choreography camp that took place at the Toronto Pan American Sports Centre. They joined a larger group of athletes that attended Synchro Canada’s Development and Evaluation Camp in November where the 24-member 2018 Junior Athlete pool was named.  The final team selection took place on March 25-26, 2018, at the conclusion of the Canadian Artistic Swimming National Qualifier in Calgary. The athletes then attended preparation camps in Quebec City in May, Toronto in June, and the last two weeks at a training camp in Cegled, Hungary, where they put the finishing touches on all of their routines.

The swimmers on the 2018 Junior Team represent five different provinces from across the country. Three members were on the 2016 junior team that competed strongly in Kazan, Russia: Emily Armstrong; Paige Hooper; and Cassandra Winkelaar; while eight will represent Canada for the first time at a FINA Artistic Swimming Junior World Championships.

“The Junior World Championships are an important opportunity for this group of athletes to gain valuable competition experience on a large international stage” said Julie Healy, Chief Sport Officer, Synchro Canada.  “It has been a season-long collaborative effort between our Canadian clubs and Canada Artistic Swimming and I am confident this team will be ready to compete with the rest of the world and make Canadians proud.”

Swimming in the Solo events for Canada will be Emily Armstrong, who was the top Canadian in figures in 2016, finishing 12^th overall. She also competed in the Duet finals in 2016, and will swim the Duet events in Budapest with Paige Hopper. Catherine Barrett is the reserve in the Duet Technical, while Mikaëlle Gauthier is the reserve in the Duet Free.

In the Technical Team the athletes and coaches have been working toward the achievement of excellent element execution as well as the perfection of synchronization through precision and fierce energy of movement. In the Free Team the choreography has been created to represent the Canadian North.  The athletes will show the audience and judges strength, power, grace, and unity.

Healy further commented: “Canada Artistic Swimming is proud of the talented and diverse professional support team we have engaged in Budapest – to create the best possible environment for team success and to enable our athletes to perform their best in every way”.

The team will be led by head coach Kasia Kulesza of Quebec Excellence Synchro and assistant coaches Jennifer Koptie of the Regional Training Centre Ontario and Jennifer Tregale of the Calgary Aquabelles. The team leader will be Elena Podolsky of the Waterloo Regional Synchro Club.

Canadian officials at the event are Diane van der Pol, who will be a FINA Evaluator for the event, along with judges Louise Kennedy and Lianna Sottile, who will be judging at her first Junior World Championships.

Media contact will be Stéphane Côté, Events & Communications Director, who can be reached by email at stephane@synchro.ca or by mobile at 418.420.2125.

The members of the team to represent Canada at the 2018 FINA Junior World Artistic Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, are:

 

ATHLETE NAME	HOMETOWN	CLUB
ARMSTRONG, Emily	Scarborough, ON	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
BARRETT, Catherine	St. John’s, NL	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
CZARKOWSKI, Jaime	Calgary, AB	Calgary Aquabelles
FINN, Scarlett	Toronto, ON	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
GAUTHIER, Mikaëlle	Gatineau, QC	Dollard Synchro
HOFFMANN, Teah	Calgary, AB	Calgary Aquabelles
HOPPER, Paige	Calgary, AB	Calgary Aquabelles
REGNIER, Jaiden	Mactaquac, NB	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
SPOTT, Emma	Toronto, ON	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
STREMLAW, Kristin	Ottawa, ON	Regional Training Centre – Ontario
WINKELAAR, Cassandra	Calgary, AB	Calgary Aquabelles

 

STAFF MEMBER NAME	ROLE	ORGANIZATION / HOMETOWN
Judi Enns Bradette	President	Canada Artistic Swimming, Toronto, ON
Julie Healy	Chief Sport Officer	Canada Artistic Swimming, Montreal, QC
Stéphane Côté	Communications Director	Canada Artistic Swimming, St-Georges, QC
Elena Podolsky	Team Leader	Waterloo Regional Synchro Club, Kitchener, ON
Isabelle Lecompte	High Performance Manager	Canada Artistic Swimming, Montreal, QC
Kasia Kulesza	Head Coach	Quebec Excellence Synchro, Laval, QC
Jennifer Koptie	Assistant Coach	Regional Training Centre – Ontario, Toronto, ON
Jennifer Tregale	Assistant Coach	Calgary Aquabelles, Calgary, AB
Veronique Richard	Mental Performance	INS Quebec, Montreal, QC
Marianna Varpalotai	Athletic Therapist	Niagara Falls, ON

 

 

About Synchro Canada

Synchro Canada is an organization that fosters the pursuit of excellence while developing athletes, citizens, and ambassadors of the sport of synchronized swimming at all levels. From its 1924 beginnings in Montréal, synchronized swimming has been actively pursued by more than 70 countries worldwide. Canada proudly ranks among the best of these nations.

For further information, visit Synchro Canada’s Website at www.synchro.ca or follow Synchro Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr

 

For information:

Stéphane Côté
Events & Communications Director
Synchro Canada
stephane@synchro.ca
418.420.2125