Strong season so far for Canadian Senior National Team

OTTAWA, June 25, 2014 – With the 13th FINA Synchronized Swimming World Cup set for October 2-5 in Quebec City, Canada’s synchronized swimmers have established themselves as medal contenders thanks to strong performances so far this season.

“The duet and the team are having an excellent competition season – one of the strongest overall in recent years”, said Jackie Buckingham, Synchro Canada’s CEO. “Our international results over five events show a steady improvement. The team is young and talented and has worked very hard to position themselves to compete equally with top teams in the world.”

The new duet pair of Karine Thomas of Gatineau, Que., and 17-year-old Jacqueline Simoneau of Montreal is coming off a silver medal performance at the Japan Open last month.

“We’ve had an opportunity to compete at several events this season and we’ve continually improved”, said Thomas. “It was great to be able to compare ourselves to a strong Japanese team and we are working hard to make the necessary corrections.”

In team competition, Canada has also been strong highlighted by a silver as well in Japan.

“It was exciting to see how we overcame the time change and new surroundings to post a solid showing in Japan”, said team captain Marie-Lou Morin of Montreal. “We concentrated on the task at hand and held ourselves together as a team. It was a great experience.”

Canada’s goal is not only to produce strong international results but also deliver entertaining routines for the spectators.

“Team Canada has chosen to increase the difficulty of its routines to push the sport technically to new heights”, said Buckingham. “We continue to look for ways to entertain the spectators at the same time – to increase the visibility and popularity of the sport. The buzz at events continues to be about the performance strength of Team Canada, and head coach Meng Chen has established herself as a world class coach – confident and ready to join the ranks of the elite coaches in the world.”

The next competition for Team Canada is the Asisa Trophy in Castellon, Spain June 26-29.

See results from Japan Open >

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 make up: MAKE UP FOR EVER

Official suppliers: Knox Gelatine, 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