Ottawa, ON – Over 570 Canadian athletes, coaches and officials will converge on Calgary on March 20-25 to take part in this year’s Canadian Artistic Swimming (formerly synchronized swimming) Qualifier. Held at the Repsol Sport Centre, the 6-day competition will feature a total of 18 different events in the 13-15, junior and senior age groups.
The 445 athletes will represent 41 clubs from 10 Canadian provinces and territories at the competition hosted by the Calgary Aquabelles, Synchro Alberta and Synchro Canada. 90 coaches, 38 officials and over 80 local volunteers will also be on hand for the biggest competition of the year on the national calendar.
A total of 69 athletes from the province of Alberta will be taking part in the competition, 27 of them being from the host club, the Calgary Aquabelles.
Towards the 2018 Canadian Championships
As the name suggests, the Canadian Qualifier is the opportunity for competitors to qualify for the final competitions of the year, the Canadian Championships.
Athletes in the Junior and Senior age groups will be looking to earn a ticket to the National Championships, which will be held April 24-28 in Windsor, ON.
Athletes in the 13-15 age group will be vying for spots at the Canadian Espoir Championships in Surrey, BC, on May 29 – June 3.
Senior National Team members at the event
Current members of the Senior National Team, who are training with their respective clubs across the country this year, will be competing at Qualifier in the senior solo, duet, team and combo events. Artistic Swimming fans will have the opportunity to see Olympian Jacqueline Simoneau in action in both the solo event as well as in duet with her 2017 World Championships partner, Calgary’s own Claudia Holzner.
Junior National Team Trials
Also on the line this week are berths to Synchro Canada’s 2018 Junior National Team, scheduled to compete at the FINA Junior World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, this summer.
The 24 members of Synchro Canada’s 2018 Junior Athlete pool will be taking part in the last phase of the selection process on March 25-26, after which the final team will be announced.
Tickets will be available at the door at Repsol Sport Centre (2225 Macleod Trail SE), at a price of $12 per day or $35 for an all-event package.
All events from the Championships will be webcast live. Schedules, start lists, results and links to live webcast and live results can be found at www.synchro.ca/qualifier2018.
Synchro Canada recognizes and appreciates the financial support of the following partners: Government of Canada, City of Calgary, Calgary Sport Tourism Authority and Alberta Sport Connection. Thanks to these and all our suppliers for helping to make this important competition possible.