Results from the Lisa Alexander Figure Meet
The KW Synchro Club got their competitive season off to a rousing start, at the recent Lisa Alexander Figure Meet hosted at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre in London December 5th and 6th. Named in honour of Lisa Alexander, a well known Canadian Olympian in synchronized swimming at the 1996 Summer Games, this meet is the traditional first test for our athletes and coaches.
In figures, precision, grace, strength and control are emphasized, and the long hours of repetition in practice begin to pay off. Also this year, Synchro Ontario once again emphasized LTAD, (Long Term Athletic Development), evaluating the girls in tests of swimming speed, endurance, strength and flexibility. 
Our eager athletes, dedicated coaches and parents departed for London early Saturday morning and announced their arrival with 16 bright green backpacks neatly arranged on deck. After a long day, lots of encouragement and cheering, the results were in and Kitchener-Waterloo Synchronized Swimming Club had much to celebrate!
Leading the way in Figures in the 10 & U category was Robin-Le, placing 15th out of 108 swimmers, followed closely by Brooklyn in 22nd, Gabrielle in 38th, while Sandra also made the top half. Newcomer, Chloe who is only 8, impressed all with her 95th place against much older competition.
In the 12 & U group, Jordan put her Team Ontario A team experience to work with a podium finish in 6th place, out of 106 competitors, followed by fellow Team Ontario B member, Savannah in 16th place. Justine, 24th and Alexis in 28th, also had strong performances placing in the top 25%. Also competing well were Amy, Kayla, Jessica, Daniella and Courtney. For many of these athletes, this was their first official competitive meet and no doubt will do even better once their nerves settle down and they gain more experience.
The lone 13 yr old group member competing was Danelle who had an outstanding day with a 10th place finish out of 46 swimmers.
Highlights of the LTAD portion of the competition include Robin-Le capturing 1st in the 200m stamina swim, Jordan, Savannah, Alexis and Courtney in the top 10 in the 11-12, 300m stamina swim and Chloe placing 1st in the speed swim for 8 & U. In the 13 yr race, Danelle placed 3rd out of 30 simmers. All of the KW swimmers had very impressive results in the LTAD competition…way to go girls!
The club sends a big thank you to the coaches for their teaching, encouragement and nurturing of the swimmers, and the parents for their ongoing support. The girl’s next challenge is the Ontario Winter Games Trials and Waterloo Regional Invitational, both in January. Friends and family can see a review of the swimmer’s upcoming routines at the KW Water show Sunday December 13th at the Waterloo Swimplex, show starts at 4:15 pm. Until then, just keep swimming and GO GREEN!