There was a lot of poolside celebrating recently as the Westmount Y Masters swam their way to the top in the 2009 Manuvie Quebec Masters Swimming Championship.
The competition, which brought together nearly 40 Masters teams from across the province, took place at the Montreal Olympic Pool on April 17, 18 and 19.
The Masters won this championship after placing third in 2006 and second in both 2007 and 2008. They managed to upstage the long-standing provincial champions — the Masters team out of Pointe Claire.
Under the supervision of head coach Robyn Ouimet, the Westmount team competed in both individual and relay events, and Ouimet gives her team a tremendous amount of credit for the competitive nature they showed during their championship win.
“Our team's victory epitomizes the spirit of Masters Swimming: enjoyment and participation for everyone,” said Ouimet. “Everyone who swam scored points by placing in the top 10 in at least one event. If even half of our team had swam one event less, we would not be celebrating this victory today.”
Masters coach/swimmer Martin Levine won the 50m freestyle in 24.88 seconds and the 100m freestyle in 56.2 seconds. He was considered the fastest man at the competition. Over 20 provincial records were broken in relays and individual events. Overall, 106 club records were either broken or established.
The next swim meets for the team are the Nationals at the Etobicoke Olympium in Ontario from May 15 to the 18 and the Festival des Maitres Nageurs from June 20 to the 21 at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
The Westmount Y Masters is for anyone over the age of 18 and includes a healthy balance of recreational and competitive swimmers. Interested swimmers should contact the team for more information
www.westmountymcaswimclub.qc.ca