Synchronized swimming, now known as artistic swimming, is not a sport.
That’s the perspective the Prince George Water Lilies swim club hopes to make a splash with local residents and future athletes as they place a bid forward to host Canada’s national team and its training camp ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games.
President and Head Coach Nicole Barager spoke to city council last night (Aug. 19) of the financial help they need in order to accommodate the national athletes if the bid is successful.
“I understand the economic spin-off for an event like this which has such a small number of participants is minimal, but I don’t think community impact is simply about being revenue-generated,” Barager told council in her presentation. “Having an opportunity to have athletes at the highest calibre come and demonstrate their skills in the water for people in our community to watch would provide an immense boost to sport diversity in Prince George.”
She received a full unanimous vote by Mayor Lyn Hall and councillors to receive a total of $1,873.61 to help with the rental of the Prince George Aquatic Centre where the team would practice should they win the bid.
Barager explains an extension of the pool will also be necessary for Team Canada.
“Artistic swimmers are very good at training in the tiniest little spots,” she said when asked the question by PrinceGeorgeMatters. “But if we can offer them our beautiful facility, why would we not? If we can give them 25-metres, which is what they have to travel by at the end of lap going in routine, then that would be ideal. It has to be in the deep end because they have to lift and they throw people six feet into the air without touching the bottom, so it’s also a safety concern.”
🥇🥇🥈
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) May 4, 2019
3⃣ medals for #TeamCanada at the #ASWS19 in 🇨🇳!
Details: https://t.co/xaVlUwyQTV pic.twitter.com/jHdfNcvlDP
More sponsorship funds will need to be raised and the help of the city is a big step forward, but Barager believes the Water Lilies will have no trouble in gathering the rest.
She claims Prince George ‘fell in love’ with artistic swimming when it was showcased in B.C.’s northern capital at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, which could increase the odds of securing the bid.
“Some people don’t understand it simply because it doesn’t get enough exposure that swimming does, that gymnastics does, or that hockey does,” she said when asked about the current perspective of the sport. “They think my [Water Lily] athletes are not athletes. By watching someone who is at the level of an Olympian compete, you’re going to see that they’re beyond athletes and they make it look easy because they have to make it look easy.”
Despite being a six-year-old club with only 30 members, the Prince George Water Lilies’ recent success at provincials could also play a factor in the bid for Team Canada training camp.
At the competition back in May, they took home three medals; a solo gold in the age 13 to 15 category, a duet silver in the same age group, and a bronze medal in the team routine.
“It would be huge motivation [to host Canada],” said Barager. “We’re working our way up in B.C., so to have them come in and see the best Canada can offer, that’s huge motivation. Then, the possibility that there’s going to be little girls and boys that see these amazing athletes and be like ‘I want to try that; that’s what I want to do.’ It’ll be huge for our club, huge for those athletes, and huge for our kids; any perspective you can take, it would just be an amazing opportunity.”
If successful, Prince George would host Canada’s Olympians either Oct. 22 to 26 or Nov. 25 to 30.
The next step for the club would be to solidifying accommodation, food, and other related requirements before the Aug. 31 bid deadline.
