Canada is sending a 12-member squad to the first-ever FINA Youth World Artistic Swimming Championship. The event, which will feature athletes in the 13-15 age group, will be held from August 28 to September 1 at the x-bionic sphere in Šamorín, Slovakia. The Canadian delegation will take part in the figures, duet, mixed duet and team events in Slovakia.
In the Duet and Team events, Canada will be represented by 10 athletes from 9 different clubs across Canada on the 13-15 National Team. They were chosen following an intensive selection camp that took place in June at the INS-Québec at Montréal’s Olympic Stadium, from June 7-14. The Head Coach for the 13-15 team is Elena Podolsky (Kitchener, ON) with Assistant Coaches Geneviève Quesnel, (Blainville, QC) and Manny Wu (Ajax, ON). World-renowned expert Denise Sauvé led the development of the team routine’s choreography, which is based on the 2019 Dollard Synchro junior free routine.
The team began its preparation camp on July 27 in Ontario, travelled to Slovakia on August 20 and held a short pre-camp with Team Slovakia on August 21-25, at the competition venue.
Mya Fortin, from Gatineau, QC, Tara Goettisheim, from Hudson, QC, and Toronto’s Charlotte Grey will form Canada’s duet.
Mixed Duet
Sabrina Roussel (Blainville, QC) and Peter Matthews-Crochetière (Roxboro, QC), from Dollard Synchro, will represent Canada in the 13-15 Mixed Duet event. The pair, who earned gold last summer at the UANA Pan American Championships in Riverside, California, has been swimming together for a year. They will be coached by Katie MacLeod in Slovakia and have also been working on their routine and figures with Rachel Fréchette and Lyne Piché at their home club of Dollard.
The athletes representing Canada at the Youth World Championships are:
| NAME | HOMETOWN | CLUB | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| BATTISTA, Elizabeth | Calgary, AB | Calgary Aquabelles | Team |
| BOILARD, Jeanne | Québec, QC | Québec Excellence Synchro | Team |
| CORBEIL, Léonie | Mirabel, QC | Montréal Synchro | Team |
| FORTIN, Mya | Gatineau, QC | Dollard Synchro | Team, Duet |
| GRAY, Charlotte | Toronto, ON | Regional Training Centre – Ontario | Team, Duet |
| GOETTISHEIM, Tara | Hudson, QC | Dollard Synchro | Team, Duet |
| IRVINE, Lauren | Guelph, ON | Waterloo Regional Synchro | Team |
| LAPIERRE, Meaghan | Ottawa, ON | GO Capital Synchro | Team |
| LIU, Nancy (Yijia) | Richmond, BC | Pacific Wave Synchro | Team |
| NEWMAN, Jonnie | Calgary, AB | Calgary Elite Synchro | Team |
| ROUSSEL, Sabrina | Blainville, QC | Dollard Synchro | Mixed Duet |
| MATTHEWS-CROCHETIÈRE-, Peter | Roxboro, QC | Dollard Synchro | Mixed Duet |
“We are very proud of all of these athletes, who are an excellent cross-section of our sport and its development across the country,” said Judi Enns Bradette, CAS President.
“Having just seen the team practicing, I know Canada will be extremely well represented at this inaugural 13-15 World Championships. They are confident and poised to make their international debut. And we are excited that Sabrina and Peter will be an important part of our sport’s future as they compete together in Mixed Duet on this world stage.”
Travelling with the team to Slovakia will be Team Leader/physiotherapist Jennifer Langlois, as well as Julie Healy, CAS Chief Sport Officer and Stéphane Côté, Director of Communications & Events. Canada’s Judge at the event will be Montreal’s Nancy Reed.
The competition gets underway for Team Canada on August 28 with the presentation of the Team Preliminary event, starting at 16:00 local time, 10:30 EDT.
The competition schedule as well as additional information is available on the event website at finasamorin2019.sk
All events will be webcast live on FINA’s streaming channel at finatv.live.