Medal hopefuls gear up for 2014 Canadian Open Championships

Saskatoon, April 30, 2014 – Clubs and international delegations took to the pool yesterday at Saskatoon’s Shaw Centre in preparation for the opening of the 2014 Open Championships today.

Amongst them, many medal hopefuls were fine-tuning their routines, with expectations running high as the penultimate event in the country’s competition calendar nears.

For Clare McGovern, defending national champion in both the Junior Solo and Duet events, this competition will mark the end of her junior career on the national level. “The Canadian Championships have always meant so much to me”, she says. “Because it is my last Canadian Open as a junior I just want to enjoy every minute of it. I want to give everything I have and hope people will remember my last few performances as a junior. “

In this year’s Junior Duet event, McGovern and partner Wenjing Deng are expected to battle for gold with last year’s runners-up, Erica Slavin and Kali Wong. “We are excited to perform our duet at nationals to show off our speed of movement, power and energy”, says the pair from Calgary. “We enjoy swimming together because we push each other to be the best we can be. “

International Competition

The Canadian Senior National team will also be taking part in the event for the second year in a row, competing in the Free and Technical Team events.

For Meng Chen, Canada’s Head Coach, competing in the Open just makes sense: “We greatly value the importance of the Canadian Open Championships in our annual development process and we appreciate the opportunity to re-connect with our home clubs and the Canadian synchro community here in Saskatoon.”

After spending the better part of the day working on their routines, members of the National Team are anxious to show off their improvement as they head into the World Cup in October. Says team captain Mari-Lou Morin: “The team is excited and proud to welcome our international guests to our country and our national championships. We hope they enjoy performing to an enthusiastic Canadian crowd as much as we do.”

Competition opens today and continues through Sunday.

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