By Jeff D'Andrea

Sharks back in PA water

Mar 30, 2012 | 6:12 PM

When the Prince Albert Sharks Swim Club was ordered to leave the Frank J. Dunn swimming pool on Feb. 7 due to the city wide emergency boil water order, they were told they could get back into the pool within a two-week period.

Little did they know at the time, it would be much longer than that.

The Sharks didn’t get to dive back into their home pool until Mar. 26, a day shy of seven weeks of not having the Dunn to swim in. To stay in shape and continue to train, the Sharks travelled four times a week to Saskatoon, to use the Shaw Centre pool in coordination with the Saskatoon Goldfins Swim Club.

But even that arrangement couldn’t keep the Sharks in the tip-top shape they are usually in for meets, admitted Sharks head coach Steven Hay. In terms of preparing for an important and highly competitive event like the Man-Sask provincials Mar. 15-18, the pool closure really put a wrench into the gears.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into planning the season and making sure you know all the steps along the way and how fit they’re going to be when you want them to be,” said Hay. “Five weeks out from provincials, I was confident they were really going to swim faster and be as fit as they could be, and then to see that just wiped out (with the pool closure), it’s kind of heartbreaking, really.”

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Despite the difficult training circumstances, the club still was able to get some very good results. Two highlights were Mark Jones and Amy Giroux.

Jones had a very strong meet, with a fourth place finish in 14 year old 50m and 100m breaststroke, and fifth in 200m breaststroke. All three were personal bests.

Giroux also had a good showing in the girls 15 and over group, posting personal bests in the 100m fly, 100m free, 50m breaststroke, and 50m fly.

“I’m quite impressed with the results we did get,” said Hay. “It’s always hard to say ‘I felt we could’ve done better,’ but I’m still really proud of the guys for the results we did get because with such a bad build up to the event, they still gave everything and really pushed themselves. That’s something we’ve taken out of it, through adversity, we’ve become stronger.”

The closure also forced the cancellation of the junior provincials which were to be hosted in Prince Albert at the beginning of March. That event was moved to Yorkton as a result.

“Losing that meet is a big thing,” said Hay. “It’s a big competition and it brings in some good funding for the club and brings in a lot of money into Prince Albert.

“The amount of visitors to the city in that one weekend, they all stay in hotels and eat out. It’s a bit of a loss there, a real shame.”

At this point of the season, Hay would be using some more advanced drills in his practices to prepare for the final events of the year, but with all the time out of the water the team has had, Hay is forced to focus solely on the fundamentals for at least the next three or four weeks.

“Really, it’s just about building back up to where we were and trying to get our feet going again,” said Hay.
The Sharks are preparing for several upcoming events, including an April meet in Edmonton, then the Michelle Moore Invitational in Regina May. 24-27.

jdandrea@panow.com