After hosting the Canada West swimming championship three years ago, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns are ready to dive in once again.
The Max Bell Aquatic Center will be the site of the 2022 Canada West Swimming Championship presented by the Lethbridge Lodging Association Nov. 25-27.
The Pronghorns hosted the Canada West championship prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
"We're thrilled," said Pronghorns manager of athletics Spencer Pommells. "It's twofold. First of all, welcoming the best swimmers in Western Canada to our campus and to our pool for three days will be outstanding because these kids are ones who are hoping to qualify for the Olympics and aren't too far off.
"The second piece is our Pronghorns team had a really successful season last year. So we're looking to build off of that and have them swim on site, which they haven't done since the pandemic. So we're pretty excited."
At the 2019 Canada West swimming championships, Lethbridge product Chris Alexander picked up a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke. The medal was his first individual Canada West medal; Alexander also broke his school record in the 50m backstroke and just missed the podium finishing fourth.
The Pronghorns men's relay team also had a history-making event, picking up the program's first ever relay silver medal. Raine Arden narrowly missed the podium on the last day, finishing fourth, only 6/100ths of a second behind the bronze medal swimmer.
Tricia Fair, broke her second record of the championship, finishing the 100m freestyle with a time of 57.40 and winning the 'B' final to finish ninth. On the first day, Fair broke her own mark in the 50m butterfly
Tom Utas also won a 'B' final in the 100m free to finish ninth, edging out teammate Adam Stromberg, who finished ninth, while Emilia Hesterman was 10th in the 200m individual medley. Adrienne Foscolos and Anna Charles both swam in the 'B' final in the 200m breaststroke and finished 12th and 13th respectively.
Sophie MacLean and Libby Fox rounded out the Pronghorns finals swims, finishing 15th and 16th in the 100 backstroke. Both the Pronghorns men's and women's teams finished sixth in the team standings.
Now, the Horns get set to host again.
"The idea of having our pool packed with fans, the kids are excited and our coaching staff is thrilled," said Pommells. "(Pronghorns head coach) Peter Schori has done one heck of a job with the program.
"The team is looking really good. Our men's team spent the majority of last year ranked in the top-10 and had some success at nationals, including the individual gold medal and a relay gold medal. They're expected to be the same and hopefully better. The women's side has taken a significant step up."
Early season rankings have the Pronghorns ranked fifth in the country, said Pommells.
"They're young, so we're excited about the future. We have a couple young swimmers who have already qualified for U SPORT, including Ryenne Katterhagen, who is sitting number two in the country in the 100m breaststroke. The program is doing quite well right now."
At the University of Calgary Dinos Cup Oct. 28 and 29, Pronghorn Apollo Hess posted 24 points himself, claiming victory every time he was in the pool. Hess picked up wins in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke and 100m IM. He also helped his relay teams secure the top spot in the 200m freestyle and medley relays.Â
Roughly 200 swimmers across the Canada West will put on the laps at this year's championship.
"They'll be in town for three days and with that there will be 50 or 60 auxiliary support staff and coaches," said Pommells. "As to be expected, there will be some fans, friends and family who are travelling to watch their students compete."
The Pronghorns have partnered with the Lethbridge Amateur Swim Club in running the event, said Pommells.Â
"They'll provide some on-deck officials, meet managers and rules officials and chairs. They're going to bring 40 or 50 volunteers for the weekend."
The Horns have also partnered with the Lethbridge Lodging Association as the title sponsor for the event, the second time the Pronghorns have partnered with them, having also teamed up for the Canada West men's basketball playoff tournament last spring.
"It's only a month away and we're heading into the final turn. But it's going really well. We can't wait to kick it off," said Pommells.
Ticket for the Canada West Swim Championship are $25 for adults (18-and-up), $10 for youth (Ages 6-17) and free for children five-and-under). Tickets are also free for U of L students. Tickets purchased in advance will be available for pickup starting November 25 at the University of Lethbridge.
Single Day Passes will also be available for purchase during the event at the Max Bell Aquatic Center. Credit card or debit card are the preferred method of payment.
Tickets available hereÂ
