Aquanauts shine at time trials

No matter the sport, it’s always a good sign when a team’s performance surpasses the expectations of its coach.
The Fort Frances Aquanauts accomplished that feat last Thursday night at the Memorial Sports Centre pool, catching first-year head coach Tristan Hutton off-guard with a series of strong performances at the team’s first time trials of the new year.
“I got 22 best times out of 37 events,” he said. “About 60 percent.
“I was surprised about that because we’ve basically just come back from the Christmas break and most people did not swim for about two-and-a-half weeks,” Hutton added.
“Also, with all the Christmas festivities, the last couple of weeks of December were basically shot,” he noted. “I wasn’t expecting so many best times.”
Most noteworthy among the swimmers who set new personal best times was Paralympic hopeful Alex Parent. He set new fast times for himself in each of the three events in which he swam.
Hutton said the feat was particularly impressive given the amount of training Parent has been doing of late.
“It’s very interesting because I haven’t rested him at all,” he remarked. “He was in the pool [Thursday] morning from six until a quarter to eight and last night [Thursday] he still improved his times.
“They were marginal improvements, but it’s a good sign,” he added. “When you’re in full training and you’re still improving, it’s a good sign.
“He’s going in the right direction.”
But Parent’s performance was not the only one that drew the attention of the Aquanauts coach.
Caitlin Sande, Dylan Ossachuk and Caitlin Hyatt improved in every discipline they swam while Serena Stromberg set new personal bests in two of her three events.
All of the success in the pool has Hutton excited about the team’s next competition—the Groundhog Invitational, which is scheduled to take place here Feb. 2-4.
“I’m looking forward to this meet now,” he said. “I was thinking it was going to take a lot more time to come back from the Christmas break, but it looks like by the end of the next week everybody will be firing on all cylinders and ready for the Groundhog meet.”
In related news, the Aquanauts would like to remind the public that they accept new swimmers at any time throughout the season.
Prior to the holidays, the club held a recruiting campaign in which it distributed $5 Aquanaut gift certificates to every household in Fort Frances.
The certificates—which resemble Monopoly money—entitle anyone who redeems them to an hour of pool time with Hutton.
“We’d like to remind people that if they are interested in coming out and trying, they don’t have to start at the beginning of the year or the beginning of the session,” Hutton said.
“We have lots of pool space available for those who are looking to give it a try and for those that are looking to get into the fitness part of swimming.
“We’re open to any age group,” he added. “Swimming is an excellent way to get fit and it is not hard on the joints.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Aquanauts is asked to contact Hutton at 274-0831.