The start of 2019 has been kind to members of the White Rock Wave masters swim club.
The club has started the year with a successful showing at a pair of meets – first, a Nanaimo competition that saw the team finish second overall out of 23; and second, a Feb. 10 event at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre that again saw the Semiahmoo Peninsula team finish in the silver-medal spot overall.
In Nanaimo, 20 Wave members dipped their toes into the water, led by 95-year-old Betty Brussel, who set five masters swim records – both provincial and Canadian.
Wave head coach Carole Gair called Brussel’s performance “the highlight of the meet.”
Brussel wasn’t the only Wave member to post impressive results at the competition. Three others also won all of their respective events – Skip Ray, Alida Brichon and one of the club’s newest members, Ernesto Araiza. As well, White Rock’s Ross Nicholson won the team’s ‘most improved’ award after finishing with four personal-best times.
Earlier this month in Vancouver, Brussel was again the swimmer to beat, leading White Rock’s 4x100 medley relay (in the 280-year combined age division) to a gold medal and B.C. record in partnership with teammates Ray, Linda Stanley Wilson, Theo Manley and Tony Pease.
Relays were the Wave’s strength, as the team won 12 of the 15 they entered.
Brussel, Ray, Manley and Joanna Lam also won all of their individual events, while ‘most improved’ honours went to two swimmers – Karen McCreath and Carlos Sanchez – after each clocked three personal bests.
Next up for the Wave is a March 2 meet in Chilliwack, which is the last warmup competition before provincial masters swim championships, which are set for Victoria from April 12-14.
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