A handful of young athletes with the Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club recently took part in a tournament in Calgary, where they were able to take home a substantial number of medals.
Over the December 7th weekend, the Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club took 31 swimmers down to the Sandy Ferris Swim Age Group Challenge in Calgary. While there, the Northern athletes displayed an incredible sense of skill and sportsmanship.
Carol Lockhart, the Head Coach for the Polar Bear Swim Club, spoke on how well the team performed.
“We won twenty-eight medals, and if you count all of the relay medals, we won forty-nine! The thing that I am most proud of is that two or three other coaches came up to us and said “my goodness, what have you done! You should be so proud!” The leadership that our swimmers demonstrated and their respect for the coaches and everyone around them, they made sure to pick up other people’s litter and not only our own, and they cheered so much that we were recognized for the Spirit Award for Sportsmanship!”
Lockhart explained that the last few years had seen quite a bit of turbulence for the Polar Bears. Between COVID, city strikes, and wildfire evacuations, it had become increasingly hard to find time to be able to practice. The team also had to go through a significant rebuild after some previous swimmers dropped out. Several factors outside of the group’s control heavily impacted their ability to practice and build a solid team, but it all eventually came together for the Age Group Challenge.
Among the male swimmers:
- Ignat Tarskii (14) won a silver and a bronze
- Tony Shi (16) won a silver and a bronze
- Victor Lumacad (16) won two bronze medals
- Kole Lizotte (13) won five gold medals and one bronze
- Jonothan Galvez (17) won three gold medals
Among the female swimmers:
- Jael Wright (13) won a bronze
- Eleonore MacPherson (10) won a bronze
- Morgan Nelson (16) won a gold, a silver, and a bronze.
The winners of the Relay medals were Hallie Scarfe, Josie Henry, Sula Ray, and Luke Bui.
(Photo provided by Carol Lockhart)
Lockhart added that the kindness of Victor Lumacad was something that really stood out.
“He was a little bit too fast for this meet in a couple of his best strokes, so he gave up his place to give to another swimmer so that they could have the opportunity to win medals. He reached back to new, really novice swimmers to show them the ropes and just helped take care of the younger kids. On Sunday at Finals, he volunteered to go sing the national anthem with one of the other swimmers. The leadership they were showing was amazing and it wasn’t just me who noticed it.”
