RTC Ontario begins operations under strong management team

Toronto, November 18, 2015 – Synchro Canada is pleased to announce a new model in high performance development as it celebrates the opening of its Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Toronto, Ontario.

The Centre, which opened its doors on September 14, 2015 at the Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre (TPASC) pool, will operate under the coaching leadership of Jennifer Koptie as Head Coach/Program Director and Manny Wu as Assistant Coach/Technical Specialist. Katie Hammond will act as Assistant Coach and Team Manager.

“Our coaching team is thrilled at the success of the program so far this season,” stated Mrs Koptie. “We have big goals and a lot to prove, but we are up for the task. All athletes and coaches are working tirelessly to achieve a higher level of athleticism and synchronized swimming skills. We are definitely looking forward to an outstanding 2015-2016 season!”

Born out of a collaborative effort between Synchro Canada, Synchro Swim Ontario and the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO), RTC-Ontario provides athletes with a high performance coaching team, world class facilities as well as an enhanced daily training environment including access to Integrated Support Team (IST) services provided by sport scientists and sport medical experts.

“We’re very pleased to unveil this new exciting step in high performance athlete development in Canada,” stated Jackie Buckingham, Synchro Canada CEO. “As we prepare to roll out our Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) programming nationwide to ensure all synchronized swimmers start on the right foot, we also need to make sure that talented athletes will be afforded every possible means to achieve success when they get to later stages in their development. We hope this new Regional Training Centre is the first of more to come and we will be looking to form similar partnerships with our provincial partners across the country. “

Instrumental in the realization of the project is the CSIO’s Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative (OHPSI), which was designed to identify and support Ontario athletes who are best capable of achieving future international success on senior national teams in targeted winter and summer Olympic/Paralympic and Pan/Parapan Am Games sports. Through the OHPSI program, CSIO provides leadership, coaching support, sport science and sport medicine services, equipment and technology, competition and training camp enhancements, and facility access to create optimal daily training environments for targeted Ontario athletes and coaches.

“We are very excited about the implementation of the Regional Training Center for talent identified Junior aged athletes in Ontario,” commented Synchro Swim Ontario’s Technical and High Performance Lead Sheilagh Croxon. “The RTC is the result of tremendous work in the area of high performance planning and programming which has occurred over the past several years. The OHPSI funding and exemplary services provided by CSIO, combined with access to a world class facility at TPASC are key components for producing international caliber athletes in the future. We have a strong committed team of coaches who are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and we look forward to seeing the results of their efforts in the future.”

“The RTC supports the achievement of sport excellence and is an important developmental step in our high performance pathway to develop Olympic and World Champions,” added Synchro Canada Domestic Technical Director Jadine Cleary. “We are extremely grateful for the leadership and supportive partnership of Synchro Swim Ontario and the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario who form strong cornerstones to this project and who have been instrumental in its implementation.”

RTC-Ontario also benefits from the Toronto 2015 Sport Legacy Fund, which was created and funded by the governments of Canada and Ontario in order to ensure that the facilities built for the 2015 Pan Am Games, such as TPASC, would be properly maintained and made accessible to High Performance programs.

The 22 talented “next-gen” athletes who make up RTC-Ontario’s first cohort are:

ALIZADEH, Erin	Granite Synchro
ARMSTRONG, Emily	Variety Village Synchro
BARNES, Sabrina	Granite Synchro
BARRETT, Catherine	St-John’s Sea Stars
DONELLE, Melanie	Durham Synchro
ENGLAND, Aerin	Olympium Synchro
FONG, Jenny	Variety Village Synchro
FOX, Emma	Olympium Synchro
GURNEY, Teghyn	Variety Village Synchro
JENSEN-LARGE, Olivia	Montreal Synchro
KING, Gillian	Variety Village Synchro
KLODT, Grace	Variety Village Synchro
LEUNG, Faustine	Granite Synchro
LOW, Samantha	Durham Synchro
MACMILLAN, Natalie	Variety Village Synchro
MCLEAN, Maura	Variety Village Synchro
MOSSMAN, Nora	Olympium Synchro
ORMOND, Sion	Variety Village Synchro
OZIKIZLER, Meaghan	Granite Synchro
STREMLAW, Kristin	Nepean Synchro
WILLIAMS, Makenna	York Synchro
ZAVITZ, Joelle	Granite Synchro

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.

Synchro Canada would like to thank its sponsors:

Program partners: Sport Canada, Own The Podium, the Institut national du sport du Québec

Official Aquatic Supplier: Speedo Canada

Official Suncare: Shiseido Canada

Official Suppliers: AdUp, National Car Rental

Official Hotel: Hilton Hotels Canada

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

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For information:

Stéphane Côté

Synchro Canada

Communications Coordinator