Saint John to welcome 250 synchronized swimmers for the 2015 Canadian Espoir Championships

Saint John, June 2, 2015 — The best synchronized swimmers in Canada in the 11-12 and 13-15 age groups, as well as athletes with a disability, are set to compete at Synchro Canada’s 2015 Canadian Espoir Championships scheduled for June 3-7 at Saint John’s Canada Games Aquatic Centre (50 Union Street).

Over 400 athetes, coaches and officials will be on hand for the competition which is hosted by the Surf City Synchro Club and Synchro New Brunswick under the leadership of Synchro Canada.

A total of 250 athletes from 30 clubs and 9 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan) across Canada are competing. The synchronized swimmers will be accompanied by 80 coaches and will perform in front of 25 officials.

The Championships will feature solo, duet and team events, in both the 11-12 and 13-15 age groups. In addition, figures events will be held and results from those events will be added to the competitors’ routine scores and be worth 50% of all final scores.

The Welcome Ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 4, at 4:45 pm.

All events from the Championships will be webcast live, exclusively on Bell Aliant Community One.

Qualifying event for 2015 13-15 National Team

Also on the line are berths to Synchro Canada’s 2015 13-15 National Team scheduled to compete at the 2015 Mediterranean Cup set for August in Italy.

The top-35 in the 13-15 figures event on Wednesday June 3 will advance to Phase 2, a second figures event scheduled for Friday. The top-25 athletes from Phase 2 will meet again on Sunday for Phases 3 and 4 when a 12 member squad will be selected.

The 2015 13-15 National Team will be led by Head Coach Lilianne Grenier (Montréal, QC) who is also Synchro Canada’s National Development Manager. She will be assisted by Jennifer Koptie (Scarborough, ON, Aretaic Synchronized Swimming Alliance) and Nathalie Lagrange (Terrebonne, QC, Montreal Synchro).

Schedule and results are available online.

Schedule for Wednesday, June 3

10:00am – 2:00pm	13-15 – Figures
4:00pm – 7:00pm	13-15 – Duet Prelims

Tickets will be available at the door for $10 per day or $30 for an all-event package.

About Synchro Canada

Synchro Canada is the national organization governing synchronized swimming in Canada. It represents 10 provincial associations, a territorial association, as well as some 150 clubs and 12,000 members across Canada. A member of FINA, the world’s governing aquatic sports organization, Synchro Canada promotes the quest for excellence by developing the athletes, citizens and ambassadors of the sport of synchronized swimming at every level.

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 make up: MAKE UP FOR EVER

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.

– 30 –

For information:

Stéphane Côté

Synchro Canada