February 11 - 12th / 2012 STSC Winter Invitational SC Millennium Place pool, Sherwood Park, AB

February 24 - 26th / 2012 Alberta Age Group Trials SC Kinsmen pool, Edmonton, AB

Dec 14 / 11       Athlete of the week

   Hi everyone.  Take a look at this report from Tuesday evening Global TV where Silver Tide’s Nadine Williams was profiled as the “Athlete of the Week”

http://www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/nadine+williams/video.html?v=2176460750&p=1&s=dd#video

Way to go Nadine. 

Brad Murray
President, Silver Tide Swim Club

Nov 26 / 11       Poppy meet Aggregates have been revised

   Below is the link to the revised Poppy Aggregate medals.

Revised 2011 Poppy Aggregate medals (PDF format)

Aug 25 / 11       New 2011 / 2012 Pool Training Schedule is available

   The new 2011/2012 pool schedule is out for Millennium Place. Use links below to view.
Dryland training schedule will be available soon.

Schedule 2011/2012 (PDF format)

Schedule 2011/2012 (Word format)

Aug 10 / 11       Nadine 44th and 29th at World Championships!

   Congratulations to Nadine Williams of Silver Tide for finishing 44th in the 10km and 29th in the 5km Open Water events at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China. These Championships were the first of 2 Olympic Qualifier events. The first 10 finishers for each men and women were selected to compete at the 2012 Olympics in London. The final 15 Olympic swimmers will be selected from a meet in June 2012 in Portugal. Only the top 2 swimmers in Canada are eligible to compete in the World Championships.

    Nadine swam very well, in particular in the 5km race where she swam much of the race in the front of the main pack of swimmers. She really showed her improved class by challenging the best girls in the field, and also achieving her best placing of 29th in the deepest and largest World Championships ever assembled.

    The conditions in China were very hot and humid. The air temperature was up to 35 degrees, with 75-80% humidity, which gives a humidex of over 45 degrees. The water temperature was also up to 32.8 degrees, and was measured during competition. The heat caused a record number of drop outs from the race, including former world champion swimmers. It was a far cry from last year in Roberval, Canada, where the water temperature was down to 17 degrees!

    Coach Chris Nelson was also selected to the World Championships coaching staff, and is the first time (on her 3rd World Championships Team) that Nadine has had one of her home coaches with her at a National Team event. 

    Congratulations to both Nadine and Chris on their selection and performances at the FINA World Championships.

Aug 10 / 11       2 STSC swimmers make big finals at Canadian Age Group Nationals

   Silver Tide sent 7 swimmers with Coach Maciek and Chaperone Laura Labonte-McKay to Canadian Age Group Nationals in Montreal, Quebec from July 25-August 1, 2011. This was the largest age group meet yet, with over 1700 swimmers competing in a 6-day competition at a beautiful outdoor pool in Parc Jean Drapeau.

Big Finals:
    Kevin Labonte led off the meet for STSC with a huge swim in the 200 Backstroke. He swam his first ever Western-national cut in the morning, going 2:16.68 and qualifying for finals and next season's Western Nationals. He then followed up with an equal swim of 2:17 in the finals to finish in 6th place of all 14-year-old boys in Canada. Kevin followed that race on Day 2 with a huge swim in the 400 IM. Kevin took advantage of his preliminary swim by being one of only a few top boys to swim a best time in the morning. He took 6 seconds off his previous best to go 4:55 and qualify for finals. He followed that up with an even faster swim, finishing in 4:52 and 5th place overall, smashing another Western National standard in the process. Megan Martin was also on top of things in her 50 Backstroke, qualifying for finals with a 31.7 in preliminaries. She turned it up even more in finals, finishing with a 31.3 and a 7th place finish overall.

Close Calls:
    Silver Tide is getting close to filling up a Senior National qualifier roster. Megan Martin added 50 Back to the events in which she is within 1 second of a senior qualifying time (she was also within 1 second in her 200 Backstroke at Senior Provincials). Karlyn Elford also swam a best time in her 200 Butterfly, coming within half of a second of making her first senior national time. These efforts were both great swims, and both girls will be very excited (can't wait to try again!) for next season and their next chance race at their best.

Notables:
Matt Whiteside, Brendan Elford, and Nathan Weatherby each had strong swims for the boys. Matt broke his first 15-17 club record in the 200 Breast, and he and Brendan each took off more than 5 seconds in their 400 IM swims - they are feeling very motivated for next season. Allison Hender had her best meet of the long course season, swimming best times in 5 out of 5 races.

Aug 10 / 11       Kevin Labonte make World Junior Open Water Tour

  Kevin Labonte qualified for his first national team this summer at Canadian Age Group Championships. Kevin qualified by being one of the top 6 boys in the 5km open water event on the final day of competition in Montreal. The top 6 boys and top 6 girls were selected for a tour of the Canadian segments of the FINA Grand Prix and FINA World Cup circuit: Aug 5-6 in Lac Memphremagog, and Aug 12-13 in Lac Megantic in Sherbrooke, Quebec. These are two of the most important and fastest races in the world for open water swimming. Swimmers on the tour receive a full complement of Swimming Canada gear and racing suits, they take part in a 14-day training camp with video sessions, and they compete in two 10km races, one at each of the FINA events. They also get a chance to watch the incredible Marathon event, a 34km Grand Prix race in LAc Memphremagog where 2011 25km World Champion Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria is expected to compete (he won the 25km race at World Championships in Shanghai, and is a 10 time defending champion of the Memphremagog race!).

Kevin is the youngest boy on the team; the only 14-year-old to make the tour.

His hard work in training and great effort in racing really brought Kevin to a new level this summer. He is clearly one of the best Backstrokers, IM'ers and Freestylers in all of Canada, and he will continue to improve in all events as long as he keeps up these same habits next season. Way to go, Kevin! Silver Tide is very proud to have another national team member this season!

Aug 10 / 11      Karlyn Elford places 4th at Western Canada Summer Games

  Karlyn Elford returned on Monday, August 1st from a great weekend of racing for Silver Tide at Canadian Age Group Championships in Montreal, and travelled right across the country to Kamloops for the Western Canada Games where she competed in 3 different Triathlon races.

In the individual race, Karlyn placed 4th overall. A great result for one of Silver Tide's busiest athletes this summer - racing at an elite level in both swimming and triathlon. Way to go, Karlyn!

Aug 10 / 11       Nadine Williams 17th at FISU World Student Games in Shenzhen, China

   Nadine's busy summer continued after returning from World Championships in Shanghai, China only 2 weeks ago. This week, she was back in China, this time in Shenzhen (near Hong Kong) for the World Student Games. Unlike the FINA World Championships (best athletes in all of the world for aquatic sports), this competition is for the best student-athletes in all of the world in nearly all sports. Swimming, Track & Field, Soccer, Volleyball and other traditional Olympic sports are here, and also more unusual events like golf and chess. There are over 10,000 athletes and coaches travelling to Shenzhen for these Games, all of whom will stay together in an Athlete's Village comprising dozens of housing towers.

    Nadine competed in the 10km Open Water event, against excellent competition. Several of the top swimmers from World Championships also returned here to Shenzhen as student-athletes to claim the open water event. Nadine had a strong race in hot conditions very similar to Shanghai and with the addition of stronger currents and a clear sunny sky. She finished the race in 17th position, the top Canadian female in the event. Way to go, Dini!

Aug 10 / 11       Final Club Record Tally for 2010-11: 63!!

  We had 22 new club records broken between Alberta Age Group and Senior Championships, and Canadian Age Group Championships. The new records are as follows:

PROVINCIALS: 14 Records!! (9 individual; 5 relay)

Kevin Labonte 13-14 200 Back 2:22.47
Kevin Labonte 13-14 200 Back 2:22.16 (Finals)
Megan Martin 15-17 200 Back 2:24.86
Megan Martin 15-17 200 Back 2:23.53 (Finals)
Megan Martin Senior 200 Back 2:24.86
Megan Martin Senior 200 Back 2:23.53 (Finals)
Mathew Fuller 11-12 50 Fly 31.74
Mathew Fuller 11-12 50 Fly 30.97 (Finals)
Kevin Labonte 13-14 400 IM 5:01.85 (Finals)
11-12 Girls 11-12 200 Free Relay 2:04.60
(B Janzen, R Schamber, K Whiteside, E Funk)
11-12 Girls 11-12 400 Free Relay 4:33.70
(B Janzen, R Schamber, E Funk, K Whiteside)
10&U Girls 10&U 800 Free Relay 12:53.64
(I Blake, A Janzen, K Fuller, A Schultz)
10&U Girls 10&U 400 Free Relay 5:52.51
(A Janzen, A Schultz, I Blake, K Fuller)
10&U Girls 10&U 400 Medley Relay 6:27.79
(A Janzen, I Blake, K Fuller, A Schultz)

CANADIAN AGE GROUP NATIONALS: 8 Individual Records!!
Kevin Labonte 13-14 200 Back 2:17.03
Kevin Labonte 13-14 200 Back 2:16.66(Finals)
Kevin Labonte 13-14 400 IM 4:55.75
Kevin Labonte 13-14 400 IM 4:52.39 (Finals)
Kevin Labonte 13-14 50 Back 31.37
Megan Martin 15-17 50 Back 31.42 (Finals)
Megan Martin Senior 50 Back 31.42 (Finals)
Matthew Whiteside 15-17 200 Breast 2:40.46

That brings us to a total of 63 club records in 2010-11. Congratulations to all record breakers, and to all of their teammates for cheering them on and challenging each of us to be our best. Go Tide!

July 10 / 11       What a Championships!

Silver Tide sent 30 swimmers on a team bus to Ft McMurray from June 30 thru July 4th, 2011, to take part in the Alberta Age Group and Senior Championships Long Course. We had our most successful meet of the year, breaking 14 club records over the 4-day competition.

Megan Martin twice broke the 200 Back record for Senior and 15-17 girls, just narrowly missing the Senior National standard in the process. Matthew Fuller twice broke his own 50 Fly record, dropping nearly 2 seconds off of his previous best to go 30.97. Kevin Labonte twice broke his own 200 Back record, and added a 3rd club record in to 400 IM. The 11-12 Girls broke 2 club records on relays, broken in 2011 by Rebecca Schamber, Brooklyn Janzen, Emma Funk and Katelyn Whiteside. The 10&under girls, Alexa Janzen, Kaitlyn Fuller, Isabella Blake and Aleysa Schultz, also set 3 club records in the 400 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay and 800 Free Relay, by being the first ever set of 4 10&under girls to swim those relays for Silver Tide. The girls finished with medals in 2 of their relays and will be a big part of Silver Tide's future for years to come. Way to go, Tide!

Also of note, we had 2 swimmers receive Top 10 awards for reaching a standard that represents being top 10 in Canada for a respective age group. Nadine Williams and Kevin Labonte are Silver Tide's highest performers this season, and were awarded their T-Shirts at provincials. Also of note, Alexa Janzen received a Top 5 award for 10&under Alberta rankings, and Megan Martin and Karlyn Elford earned Top 25 award for their respective Canada rankings.

Great job, swimmers, and thank you to our chaperones - Ryan & Christine Reeves, and Laurie Whiteside - for being on the ball and taking care of all the swimmers needs throughout the trip.

Way to go, Tide!

Chris Nelson
Head Coach - Silver Tide Swim Club
780.250.0151
Chris.Nelson@silvertide.ca