Stefano Gardiman has recently been selected to be listed on the Swim Canada ID Team roster. Stefano is identified for the 200m backstroke event in the male 15 & under age group category based on swims during this past short course season. Congratulation Stefano!

Below is some background info on the ID Team and selection process.

National Team Development Program “ID Team” Criteria

Purpose
The Swimming Canada National Team Development Program focuses on the identification and development of talent for the sole purpose of progression to the Senior National Team. Identified (ID) Teams are determined for both the short course and long course season for the purposes of recognition and programming opportunities.

Target Groups
Four Teams will be named for each gender.

Procedures
The following points describe the procedures and conditions wherein “ID” Teams are determined:

• Swimmers will be ranked according to the current FINA Point tables
• Swimming Canada ID Teams will be named based on SC performances between September 1 and March 31.
• LC ID Teams will be named based on LC performances between April 1 and August 31.

Being named to an “ID Team” does not automatically qualify a swimmer for selected National Team Development Program off-shore or Domestic selection events. Selection criteria for National Team Development Program off-shore or domestic events will be posted in a separate document specific to each event.

Selection
The top swimmer per gender in each Olympic event will be named to the “ID” team.

Relay Selection
The top 4 swimmers in the 100 and 200 Free will be named as the 400 and 800 Freestyle Relay Teams.
The top swimmer in the 100 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast and 100 Fly will be named as the 400 Medley Relay Team.

Once more the Cobra swimmers triumphed throughout the weekend and medaled in their age appropriate category. Congratulations to coaches Bill O’Toole and Tony Cowx and to all the athletes that attended the weekend event.

Congratulations to the following winners! In the 12-year-old category Aran Pourawal finished 2nd in the 50m freestyle and 50m breaststroke, 3rd in the 400m freestyle and 100m butterfly and 4th in the 200m individual medley. Andrew Beals finished 1st in the 50m backstroke, 2nd in the 400m freestyle and 100m backstroke, 5th in the 50m and 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Connor Beals finished 4th in the 100m backstroke.

In the 13-year-old category Cierra Glysz had a great weekend capturing 1st in the 50m freestyle and 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly, 2nd in the 200m backstroke and 200m breaststroke. Hayley Lineham finished 3rd in the 200m freestyle, 5th in the 200m backstroke. Tessa Cieplucha also had an outstanding weekend finishing 1st in the 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke, 4th in the 100m backstroke and 200m butterfly. Vivianna Choi finished 4th in the 100m breaststroke. Sabrina Phongphilack finished 5th in the 200m breaststroke and Kavinda Karunaratne finished 3rd in the 200m butterfly and 4th in the 100m butterfly.

In the 14-year-old category Sarah Maddock swam hard and finished 1st in the 200m freestyle, 2nd in the 200m butterfly, 3rd in the 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke and 5th in the 200m breaststroke. Bayley Dalbec ended the weekend with a 2nd in the 50m and 200m backstroke, 3rd in the 100m backstroke and 4th place finish in the 50m freestyle. Liam Ryan finished 2nd in the 50m butterfly, 4th in the 50m and 100m freestyle. Oscar Elhanafey finished 5th in the 50m and 100m freestyle and 100m breaststroke. Parvir Basra finished 4th in the 200m backstroke and 200m butterfly and Matthew Ahola finished 4th in the 200m backstroke, 100m and 200m breaststroke.

In the 15-year-old category & over Stefano Gardiman polished off his race and finished 1st in the 100m backstroke, 2nd in the 200m freestyle and 3rd in the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley. Danicca Sinanan captured a 3rd place finish in the 50m and 200m backstroke. Daniel Manson swam hard and finished 2nd in the 200m breaststroke, 3rd in the 200m backstroke and 100m breaststroke and 5th in the 100m backstroke. Bavindeep Basra finished 3rd in the 200m breaststroke, 4th in the 200m backstroke and 5th in the 200m butterfly. Austin Learning finished 5th in the 200m backstroke. Katrina Bhagaloo captured 4th in the 200m breaststroke and a 5th in the 50m breaststroke. Danai Sisouphanh finished 4th in the 200m breaststroke and 5th in the 50m breaststroke and finally Aarondeep Rai finished 5th in the 200m breaststroke. Michael Belanger finished the weekend off great with 2nd place wins in the 50m and 200m butterfly, 3rd in the 100m and 200m freestyle and 5th in the 100m butterfly. Sophie Cieplucha ended her weekend with a blast finishing 1st in the 200m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m and 200m butterfly and 200m individual medley and 3rd in the 400m freestyle. Myles Zagar finished 4th in the 400m freestyle. Finally in the 20 year old Esther Haines finished 1st in the 400m freestyle and 200m breaststroke, 2nd in the 200m butterfly, 3rd in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly, 4th in the 100m breaststroke.

Great job to all the swimmers and coaches, keep it up!

The girls had a fantastic showing in the 10 & under age category. Swimming the 50m butterfly Allanah Dalbec came in 7th with Annie Li right behind her finishing 9th. Dilpreet Bhambra finished 6th in the 50m backstroke while the rest of the girls excelled in 50m breaststroke with Sarah Rashid finishing 2nd, Katie Brown 6th, Jennifer Zhang 7th, Taylor King 8th, and Lauren Kennedy finishing 15th. Congratulations girls, this is a fantastic start to your long course season.

Like the girls, the boys showed up ready to swim. In the 10 & under age category the boys proved to be very competitive. Jagtaj Basra came in 6th in the 50m backstroke with Michael Wang close behind in 7th and Trevor Fitzpatrick in 9th. In the 50m breaststroke the boys like the girls excelled. Michael Wang finished 5th, Jordan Sedore 6th, and William Albert 12th, a valiant effort by all.

James Wang competed in the 11 – 12 year age category and finished 5th in the 50m backstroke and 6th in the 50m butterfly.

All around a great start for the long course, congratulations!

Please contact COBRA staff should you have any questions or concerns.

COBRA’s National Development Group attended the meet on Friday while the Youth, Junior Groups, Olympic Way Blue and Olympic Way White attended the event on Sunday. During their appointed session all the swimmers attending are to swim 100m of all the 4 strokes in different races then rounding their session out with a 200 IM race. (100m Fly, 100m Back, 100m Breast, 100m Free then 200m Individual Medley)

Following each of the sessions the times from each of the 5 races are tallied together to determine who has the combined time to beat for each age group. The meet is held over three days allowing all the teams to compete and then at the end of the 3 days only then is it determined who is the over all winner for each age group.

Clubs from all over Ontario competed during their given session. COBRA swimmers competed on Friday the 13th and Sunday the 15th, which meant all swimmers having to wait until Sunday when all the other teams had competed to find out the overall results.

Our swimmers proved they are fit, and hard working. Listed below are the overall scores for our TOP 25 finalists per applicable age group.

15-year-old Girls (63 total entries)
Stephanie Pickering – 11th
Nimrata Virk – 19th

15-year-old Boys (51 total entries)
Jacob Ahola – 10th
Navraj Kalra – 12th
Calvin Rai – 14th

14-year-old Girls (108 total entries)
Sarah Maddock – 17th
Bayley Dalbec – 20th
Anyssa Walani – 21st
Sara McLeod – 24th
Parvir Basra – 25th

14-year-old Boys (73 total entries)
Mathew Ahola – 17th
Oscar Elhanafey – 22nd
Liam Ryan – 28th

13-year-old Girls (108 total entries)
Cierra Glysz – 1st
Tessa Cieplucha – 3rd
Hailey Lineham – 4th
Vivanna Choi – 14th
Sabrina Phongphilack – 16th
Kiara Seow – 19th

13-year-old Boys (81 total entries)
Kavinda Karunaratne – 21st

12-year-old Boys (75 total entries)
Andrew Beals – 2nd
Aran Pourawal – 3rd
Connor Beals – 10th
Harjot Lehal – 18th

11-year-old Girls (124 total entries)
Martine Nyhof – 7th
Hannah Longpre – 15th

11-year-old Boys (73 total entries)
Alfonso Menanno – 10th

10-year-old Girls (84 total entries)
Aysan Tabrizi – 5th
Stephanie Schweigl – 7th
Kylie Collier – 11th
Tavindar Pourawal – 17th

10-year-old Boys (40 total entries)
Ethan Wilson – 10th
Robert Nedelea – 11th

9-year-old Girls (71 total entries)
Drew Ashley – 9th

9-year-old Boys (33 total entries)
Pablo Ortiz – 5th

Congratulations to all for some very fast and exciting swimming. Keep up the hard work!

Drew Ashley, girls 9 & under, improved her 200m free by 16 seconds to finish first overall. Drew was also first in the 100m breaststroke, 200m breast, second in the 100m free, 400m free and third in the 200m IM.

Pablo Ortiz represented COBRA in the boys 9 & under category. Pablo finished with 5 personal best times and first place finishes in the 50m free, 100m free, 200m free, 400m free, 100m fly and 200m IM. Pablo improved his 400m free by 41 seconds.

Among girls 10, Martine Nyhof swam to first place in the 400m free, 800m free, 200m back and 400m IM, second place in the 200m free, 100m back, 100m fly and 200m IM. Martine had 7 personal best times including a 95 second improvement in the 800m free. Teammate Tavinder Pourawal won both the 50m and 200m breast and placed third in the 100m breaststroke. Tavinder dropped 18 seconds from her 200m IM time.

Stephanie Schweigl placed second in the 400m free, 800m free and 400m IM, third in the 200m back and fourth in the 200m free. Aysan Tabrizi improved her 400m free time by 41 seconds to finish third overall. Aysan was also third in the 100m free, fourth in the 200m IM and 100m fly. Kylie Collier finished second in the 50m free, 100m free, third in the 200m free, 100m fly and 200m IM and fourth in the 400m free.

In the boys 10 age category, Ethan Wilson dropped 45 seconds from his 400m free to finish fourth overall. Ethan also took first place in the 100m free, second in the 200m back, third in the 200m IM and fourth in the 50m free and 200m free. Barstow Nyhof earned first place in the 50m free, 400m free, 800m free, 200m back and 200m IM and second place in the 200m free. Robert Nedelea finished first in the 100m back, second in the 400m free, third in the 200m free, 200m back and fourth in both the 100m free and 200m IM.

Hannah Longpre led girls 11 with a first place finish in the 100m breaststroke, second in the 200m breast and 20m free, third in the 200m IM and fifth in the 400m freestyle. Teammate Kelsey Dykeman improved her 400m IM time by 16 seconds to finish second overall. Riley Auld swam to third place in both the 50m fly and 100m free. Adelie Postma was fifth in the 100m free and 100m back.

Cassandra Dalbec improved her 400m free time by 35 seconds to finish second. Cassandra was also first in the 800m free and third in the 200m free. Alisha Learning placed second in the 800m free, third in the 200m back, fourth in the 400m free and fifth in the 200m free. Jenna Skirrow placed tenth in the 100m back. Breanna Campbell was fourth in the 800m free. Sophia Buu finished second in the 50m free, fourth in the 100m free and fifth in the 200m back.

Shailyn MacQueen earned second place in the 100m free, third in the 400m free and 800m free, fourth in the 100m fly and 200m IM and fifth in the 50m free. Linden Chung took first place in the 50m breaststroke, second in the 100m breast and third in the 20m breast. Linden dropped 23 seconds from her 200m breast personal best time. Emma Kennedy swam to fourth place in the 50m breaststroke. Rebecca Sparks improved her 200m back and 200m free times by over 20 seconds each. Rebecca was third in the 50m back.

Alfonso Menanno and Ben Xiao represented COBRA in the boys 11-year-old category. Alfonso took first place in all of his events: 200m free, 400m free, 200m back, 100m breaststroke, 200m breast and 200m IM. Ben earned second place in the 200m back, 400m free, third in the 200m free, 200m IM and fourth in the 50m free and 100m free.

In the girls 12-year-old age category, Victoria Cabraja set 4 personal best times to finished second in the 800m free and fourth in both the 100m and 400m free. Teammate Jasmine Rogers improved his 800m free time by 52 seconds to place fifth overall. Meghan Maddock was ninth in the 200m back. Dana King finished top 8 in four events including seventh place finishes in the 200m free and 200m back. Kersten Chong took first place in the 100m breaststroke, second in the 200m breast and fourth in the 800m free. Naxi Shah improved her 200m back and 200m freestyle times by 11 seconds each. Naxi was also sixth in the 50m back. Emma Sparks was ninth in the 10m free. Gurkiran Dhuga set 5 best times including 19 second improvement in the 200m free. Gurkiran was ninth in the 200m breaststroke.

Among boys 12, Andrew Beals set personal best times and first place finishes in all of his events. Andrew won the 400m free, 800m free, 100m back, 200m back and 400m IM. Aran Pourawal swam to first place in the 50m free and 200m free, second in the 400m free, 200m back and third in the 800m free. Connor Beals placed first in the 200m breaststroke, 100m fly and 200m fly, second in the 800m free and 400m IM. Harjot Lehal improved his 400m IM by 16 seconds to finish fourth overall. Harjot was also first in the 200m IM, second in the 100m back, fourth in the 200m back and fifth in the 100m breaststroke. Blake Sanders earned second place in the 100m fly, third in the 100m free, 800m free and 200m IM and fifth in the 50m free, 800m free, 100m back and 400m IM.

Cierra Glysz led girls 13 with first place finishes in all of her events. Cierra was first in the 400m free, 800m free, 200m back, 50m fly and 200m IM. Teammate Sabrina Phongphilack swam to first place in the 200m free, second in the 800m free, third in the 100m free and fourth in the 100m breaststroke. Chloe Francoeur placed second in the 200m fly, fourth in the 400m free and fifth in the 800m free.

Hayley Lineham earned first place in both the 100m and 200m fly, second in the 50m free, 200m back and 200m breaststroke. Kiara Seow took third place in the 400m IM and 200m breaststroke and fourth in the 200m IM and fifth in the 50m free. Vivianna Choi placed first in the 200m breaststroke, second in the 400m IM, fourth in the 200m free and fifth in the 200m back.

Kavinda Karunaratne, boys 13, with first place finishes in the 400m, 800m freestyle and 200m fly, second in the 200m back and third in the 400m IM. Teammate Peter Soliman placed second in the 50m, 800m free and 200m breaststroke, third in the 200m free and fifth in the 100m breast. Peter improved his 200m free time by 11 seconds.

Bayley Dalbec, girls 14, swam to first place in the 200m IM and 100m back, second in the 50m and 100m freestyle and fourth in the 100m fly. Sarah Maddock finished first in the 200m and 400m free, second in the 200m breaststroke, 200m IM and third in the 100m free. Parvir Basra took first place in the 200m back, second in the 400m free, fourth in the 200m free and 200m IM and fifth in the 50m free. Sara McLeod was first in the 400m IM, third in the 200m IM, 200m breaststroke and 400m free and fourth in the 200m back.

Among boys 14, Oscar Elhanafey set 4 new personal best times to finish first in the 200m back and 200m breast, second in the 200m free and fourth in the 50m free and 100m fly. Liam Ryan took first place in both the 800m free and 200m IM, second in the 400m free and third in the 50m free and 100m back. Matthew Ahola placed second in the 800m free, 200m back and 200m breaststroke and third in the 200m free.

Isabelle Francoeur and Stephanie Pickering represented COBRA in the girls 15 & over age category. Isabelle finished in second place in the 200m breaststroke and fifth in the 100m breast. Stephanie was third in the 100m breaststroke and fifth in the 200m back.

Jacob Ahola, boys 15 & over, took second place in the 200m fly and third in the 200m back. Calvin Rai swam to second place in the 800m free. Navraj Kalra finished second in the 200m back, fourth in the 400m IM and fifth in the 200m free.

Congratulations to all the top finishes and best times in this first Long Course meet of the season.

COBRA swimmers, Cierra Glysz, Sophie Cieplucha and Stefano Gardiman have been selected by Swim Ontario and Swim Canada to swim as part of various development teams in the upcoming months. Each of these three athletes have had successful swims within the qualifying periods that have enabled them to be eligible for these development opportunities. Below are descriptions of the teams and camps. Congratulations to each of the swimmers!

Cierra Glysz – 2012 Eastern Canadian Youth Tri-Meet and Camp

Cierra Glysz (National Development Group – Coach Tony Cowx) has been selected to be a team member of Team Swim Ontario in the 2012 Eastern Canadian Youth Tri-Meet and Camp, a competitive meet between Swim Ontario, Swim Quebec (FNQ), and the Atlantic Provinces. The meet and camp will take place at Piscine Parc Olympique, Montreal, Quebec from May 9 to 13, 2012.

Goal Statement
This initiative develops the partnership and relationship between eastern Canadian swimming provinces. It provides an excellent training environment and a high level Long Course racing opportunity for Swim Ontario swimmers.

Team Size and Eligibility
Eligible Athletes: 32 – 4 Females: Born 1999, 4 Males: Born 1998,
4 Females: Born 1998, 4 Males: Born 1997,
4 Females: Born 1997, 4 Males: Born 1996
4 Females: Born 1996, 4 Males: Born 1995
Camp Leader: Dean Boles, the Swim Ontario Provincial / Mentor Coach; will coordinate camp and competitive objectives with the Head Coach of each team.
Staff Coaches Selection: Four Staff coaches will be selected.
Qualifying Period: September 1, 2011 – March 4, 2012.

Sophie Cieplucha – 2012 North American Challenge Cup

Sophie Cieplucha (National Group – Coach Bill O’Toole) has been selected to be a team member of Team Canada at the 2012 North American Challenge Cup (NACC). This is a competitive meet with Canada, U.S.A. and Mexico each sending a team. This year the NACC will be held in Edmonton, Alberta from August 2 to 4, 2012.

Goal Statement
The goal of the Development Team Program is to provide Canada’s identified swimmers and their coaches, the development opportunities to establish the will, attitude, and skills required to race to the podium at the Senior International level.

Team Size and Eligibility
Team Size: 16 – 8 male, 8 female per age group (11 / 12, 13 / 14, 15 / 16, 17 / 18)
Swimmer Selection: Top 8 ranked swimmers per age group based on rankings
Coach Selection: 1 performance coach per gender per age group
Selection Period: Short Course rankings Sept 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012

Stefano Gardiman – Swim Canada Prospects Team at Canada Cup

Stefano Gardiman (National Group – Coach Bill O’Toole) has been selected to be a team member for the Swim Canada Prospects Team at Canada Cup. This season the Prospects Team selected from the Short Course Season will be competing at the Canada Cup meet in Vancouver, May 25 to 27, 2012. Swimmers will participate in a one-day testing camp prior to the competition.

Goal Statement
Our goal is to give our youngest identified swimmers a taste of a National Team experience at a high level domestic competition.

Team Size and Eligibility
Team Size: 16 – 8 male and 8 female
Target Group: Male swimmers aged 15 & under, Female swimmers aged 14 & under
Selection Period: SC Performances Sept 1 – March 31 for the LC Canada Cup
Selection Criteria: (1) The 4 male and 4 female swimmers with the highest single event point scores from either the 100 or 200 Free, (2) The male and female swimmer with the highest single event point scores in the Fly, Back, Breast and IM categories determined by FINA Point scores.
The Categories are as follows: Fly 100 – 200 Fly, Back 100 – 200 Back, Breast 100 – 200 Breast, IM 200 – 400 IM
Staff Size: 6 (National Junior Coach, 4 selected Coaches, 1 team manager)
Coach Selection: The coach of the 2 top scoring male and female swimmers will be selected.

 
All the hard work in the pool is paying off in success and opportunity. Keep up the good work, represent COBRA well, your club is behind you and wishes all three athletes much success!

COBRA Swim Club would like to congratulate all the athletes that made the Olympic and Paralympic Teams this week and wish them much success in the upcoming Olympic Games this August.

Our COBRA swimmers raced in two events on this 6th and final day of competition.

In the Women’s 200m Backstroke Paige Hall finished in 56th place by swimming 2:23.23. Victoria Thicke-Rattray swam a 2:25.03 to finish in 75th spot and Brooke Hall finished 102nd with a time of 2:28.31.

Stefano Gardiman swam the Men’s 200m Individual Medley in a time of 2:17.06 to finish in 106th place.

All in all it was a great week with some great swims. Both Alisha Harricharan and Paige Miller qualified for B Finals in several events each and there were also several new COBRA Club Records set. Alisha broke the 200m Butterfly record, Paige broke the 100m Backstroke and 200m Individual Medley records and Sophie Cieplucha broke the 400m Individual Medley and 200m Breaststroke records.

Congratulations to the COBRA team for qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Trials. The experience gained in this past week of competition will only fuel their passion and inspire them to train harder and swim faster looking to 2016.

COBRA athletes swam in three events today beginning with the Women’s 100m Freestyle. Alisha Harricharan swam a time of :59.30 to wind up in 93rd place while Victoria Thicke-Rattray swan a 1:01.69 ending up in the 153rd spot.

In the Men’s 200m Backstroke Stefano Gardiman finished up in 37th position after his swim of 2:09.29.

The two remaining swimmers swam the 200m Breaststroke with Sophie Cieplucha ending up in 29th spot with a best time of 2:37.61 that also earned her a new COBRA record. Emily Rose Creighton swam a time of 2:42.82 to finish in 67th place.

How does a swimmer gain selection to the Olympic team?

Entry into the Olympics is governed by FINA, the international sport governing body for aquatic sports. FINA generates two standards for Olympic qualifying, the faster Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) and the slower Olympic Standard Time (OST). Nations having two or more swimmers that better the OQT in a specific event are permitted to enter a maximum of two swimmers in that event. Nations having qualifiers that better only the OST standard in a specific event are permitted only one swimmer in that event. Swimming Canada is therefore picking one or two swimmers in each event, depending on which standard is attained.

Relays are selected based on internal Swimming Canada criteria. A minimum standard for each relay has been generated where, should the four top swimmer’s times in either the 100m or 200m freestyle events ‘add-up’ to that standard, then the entire relay time is selected. Should the times not ‘add-up’ then only the individual qualifiers under the OQT or OST will be selected.

How does a swimmer gain selection to the Paralympic team?

Entry into the Paralympics is governed by IPC Swimming, the international sport governing body for Para-swimming. IPC Swimming generates one standard for Paralympic qualifying, the Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS). Nations having three or more swimmers that equal or better the MQS in a specific event and sport class are permitted to enter a maximum of three swimmers in that event. Swimming Canada is therefore permitted up to three swimmers per sport class in each event.

The process:

• All performances equal to or faster than the published qualifying standards from both heats and finals at the 2012 Paralympic Trials will be used for selection.
• Once the swim meet is completed all swims in each sport class and each event will be ranked against the IPC Swimming World rankings adjusted to three swimmers per country per sport class to determine each swimmer’s highest ranked at the Trials.
• Total number of swimmers allowed at the Paralympic swimming competition is 600. A qualifying period is set by IPC Swimming where nations can acquire MQS’s for the purpose of getting slots for their nation. At the end of the qualifying period, IPC will determine the total number of swimmers around the world who have equaled or bettered the MQS. If the final number of qualifiers is greater than 600, then a process determined by IPC Swimming will be used to determine men’s and women’s team size.
• Once final men’s and women’s team sizes are announced by IPC Swimming, the swimmers will be selected to the team by using each swimmer’s highest ranked swim until the men’s and women’s team complement is filled.
• Timelines
  a) Team sizes from IPC Swimming will be announced June 4th 2012.
  b) Swimming Canada will announce 2012 Paralympic Team in mid-June.

All the COBRA athletes competed today beginning with the 200m Butterfly. Alisha Harricharan broke the COBRA Club Record during preliminaries with a time of 2:17.33. That time got her into the B Finals where she swam a time of 2:17.34 to make it into 14th spot overall. Brooke Hall attained a time of 2:26.55 to finish 52nd.

Stefano Gardiman swam a best time of :55.76 in the 100m Freestyle event finishing in the 143rd spot.

Next up was the 200m Individual Medley starting with Paige Miller who also broke a COBRA Club Record in the preliminaries with a time of 2:19.85. Once in the B Final she finished 14th overall with time of 2:19.84, breaking the COBRA Club Record again. Sophie Cieplucha swam a 2:21.66 finishing 33rd, Emily Rose Creighton raced to a time of 2:25.60 for a 67th finish and Victoria Thicke-Rattray finished 78th with time of 2:26.31.

Two of COBRA’s swimmers swam the 800m Freestyle event. Esther Haines finished 26th with a time of 9:08.68 and Paige Hall finished 30th with her time of 9:11.07.