10 athletes to begin preparing for 2019 FINA Youth World Championships
Canada Artistic Swimming is proud to announce the athletes for its 2019 13-15 National Team, slated to compete in late August at the first-ever FINA Youth Artistic Swimming World Championships.
Following a talent-identification process that lasted all season and culminated at the National Championships in May, 24 athletes were invited to a Selection Camp that took place at the INS-Québec at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium, from June 7-14. Planned by CAS Chief Sport Officer Julie Healy and led by Head Coach Elena Podolsky as well as assistants Manny Wu and newly-named Geneviève Quesnel, the intensive camp included in and out of water training, physical testing as well as team building exercises. Experienced coaches Marie-Hélène Morneau, Laura Swift and Johana Vasquez also participated in the camp, as did apprentice coach and national judge Nancy Bélanger. World-renowned expert Denise Sauvé was also on hand to lead the development of the team routine’s choreography, which is based on the 2019 Dollard Synchro junior free routine.
Head Coach Podolsky was very pleased with the camp: “This year’s selection process gave coaches the opportunity to observe the best twenty-four 13-15 athletes in Canada both in national competition and at the selection camp. Throughout the camp, we were impressed by how hard all 24 athletes worked to earn a spot on the team.”
At the conclusion of the week, 10 athletes from 9 different clubs across Canada were invited to be part of the team that will compete at Youth Worlds in Samorin, Slovakia. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the camp and excited to be working with such talented athletes,” added coach Podolsky. “We would also like to thank and congratulate all clubs and coaches for their work in preparing the athletes for the camp.”
The team will begin its preparation camp on July 27 in Ontario and travel to Slovakia on August 20 where it will hold a short pre-camp with Team Slovakia on August 21-25, in the competition venue.
The athletes named to the Canada Artistic Swimming 2019 13-15 National Team are:
| NAME | HOMETOWN | CLUB |
| BATTISTA, Elizabeth | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles |
| BOILARD, Jeanne | Québec, QC | Québec Excellence Synchro |
| CORBEIL, Léonie | Mirabel, QC | Montréal Synchro |
| FORTIN, Mya | Gatineau, QC | Dollard Synchro |
| GRAY, Charlotte | Toronto, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario |
| GOETTISHEIM, Tara | Hudson, QC | Dollard Synchro |
| IRVINE, Lauren | Guelph, ON | Waterloo Regional Synchro |
| LAPIERRE, Meaghan | Ottawa, ON | GO Capital Synchro |
| LIU, Nancy (Yijia) | Richmond, BC | Pacific Wave Synchro |
| NEWMAN, Jonnie | Calgary, AB | Calgary Elite Synchro |
Geneviève Quesnel named Assistant-Coach
Geneviève Quesnel, from Neptune Synchro, was announced as the second assistant-coach who will work with the team this summer and travel to the competition in Slovakia. Quesnel is a Comp-Dev certified coach from Blainville, Québec who has been coaching since 2003. She is a 5-time coach with the Quebec Provincial Team program, working as a Head Coach over the past 3 summers.