Submitted to The Record
This past weekend the Courtenay Blue Devils hosted their invitational swim meet at the Lewis Centre outdoor pool. Fifty-six Blue Devils swam against approximately 250 competitors from Campbell River, Nanaimo, Powell River, Salt Spring, Oak Bay, Sidney, Juan de Fuca and Cowichan in this, the first outdoor meet of the season.
The meet began with the 25-metre novice competition, where 16 of the youngest Blue Devils got a taste of competitive swimming.
Club president Cathy Holland commented on how “exciting it is to see the enthusiasm of swimmers in their first race,” while head coach Sam Gauthier was excited to see all the new swimmers and “senior swimmers helping the novices navigate their first swim meet. The weekend was filled with team spirit and positive energy.”
Other highlights were Nalan Goosen taking 2.76 seconds off his 200m individual medley time and Oliver Dickman achieving multiple personal bests including taking 24.10 seconds off his 100m IM.
Holland also wanted to recognize all of those who assisted with the meet.
“A meet like this cannot happen without the dedication of volunteers, and the Blue Devil parents stepped up and did the Valley proud,” she said. “Our meet is popular because it is the first outdoor meet of the year, but also because of the efforts of our Blue Devil family.”
Next up for the Blue Devils is the Nanaimo invitational meet this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 28-30, at their outdoor pool in Bowen Park.
