After a dominant season on the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series (ASWS), Canada has qualified in first place for the inaugural FINA ASWS – Super Final. The event runs June 14-16 at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
After eight stops on the ASWS, which ran from March 1st through June 2nd, the top four results of each Federation were calculated to give an overall ranking by category: Solo, Duet, Mixed Duet and Team. The twelve highest ranked National Federations having competed in at least 4 World Series in each event have been invited to compete in the Super Final. Prize money for the final is $300,000 USD divided among the top six placed teams, with the first placed team receiving $100,000 USD.
Finishing the series in Québec City, where the home country won 8 medals, Canada collected a total of 30 medals on the circuit (10 Gold, 12 Silver and 8 Bronze), and qualified first overall. In the individual categories, Canada took first place in Team, second in Solo and third in Duet, giving them the overall highest point total of all nations competing.
Canada’s head coach Gábor Szauder is pleased to see how the team has progressed over the first half of the season and looks to see a strong performance from the Canadians in Budapest. “They have shown continuous improvement since our first competition in March, and we are taking a confident, poised team to Budapest. We want to show the world that we are ready not just for this event, but to earn the qualifying spot for the Olympic Games at the Pan American Games in Peru as well.”
Representing Canada in Budapest will be:
Solo: Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, Que.)
Duet: Claudia Holzner (Calgary, Alta.), Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, Que.)
Team: Emily Armstrong (Toronto, Ont.), Catherine Barrett (St. John’s, N.L.), Andrée-Anne Côté (St-Georges, Que.), Camille Fiola-Dion (Rimouski, Que.), Rebecca Harrower (Edmonton, Alta.), Claudia Holzner (Calgary, Alta.), Audrey Joly (St-Eustache, Que.), Sion Ormond (Aurora, Ont.), Halle Pratt (Calgary, Alta.), Jacqueline Simoneau (Chambly, Que.), Cassandra Winkelaar (Edmonton, Alta.)
The newest member of Team Canada is Kenzie Priddell, formerly of Regina, Sask. and recently from Montreal, Que. who has been added to the full-time training roster. She will continue training with the team at its home base at the Institut National du Sport du Québec (INS-Quebec) in Montréal’s Olympic Stadium and will compete with the team in Budapest.
In addition to Head Coach Szauder, Canada’s Assistant Coaches are Kasia Kulesza (Laval, Que.) and Karine Doré. National and internationally certified judges, Nancy Reed (Montréal, Que.) and Josée Daudelin (Blanc-Sablon, Que.), have been named as officials at the event.