by Scott Stewart, TWU Sports Information
Photo courtesy: Trinity Western University Athletics
LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western University athletics is gearing up to take the plunge into the Walnut Grove Community Centre pool this fall for the first time in the school’s history.
The Spartans swim team will jump in the pool for their inaugural season the week of September 13 but, for now, the focus for TWU swimming technical director Brian Metcalfe is on laying the initial blocks in which to build the foundation for a quality program.
“Right now we are recruiting swimmers and trying to get the TWU name out in the swimming community,” Metcalfe said. “We hope to have 10 swimmers, and then hopefully more in September. We will certainly have Canada West swimmers and hopefully CIS swimmers but we will need time to develop TWU swimmers and get swimmers attracted to TWU.”
The Spartans program will run in conjunction with the Langley Olympians Swim Club (LOSC) at the Walnut Grove Community Centre, which has a 50m competition-ready pool that Metcalfe believes will be a prime location for TWU swimmers.
“Walnut Grove is one of the nicer pools you will come across,” he said of the aquatic centre that, in 2000, was given the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Award for Architecture. “The openness, natural light and beautiful views of the mountains is a great environment to train in. Swimmers will feel uplifted when they walk onto the pool deck.”
TWU’s partnership with the LOSC is an opportunity to join a top notch program that has produced national and provincial record holders and Canadian Junior and Senior National Team members for the past six years. This includes former Langley product, Jake Tapp, who donned the maple leaf on his swim cap at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Once the season kicks off in mid-September, the Spartans will compete in swim meets once a month while following a strict training regiment.
The training schedule at the Walnut Grove Community Centre will
be as follows:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday – 5:15-7:30 a.m.
Saturday – 5:45-8:30 a.m.
Monday and Friday – 4:30-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday – 3:15-6:00 p.m.
Go to... www.twu.ca/athletics
About Trinity Western University
Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a
not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over
4,000 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and
sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in
41 major areas of study ranging from business, education and
computer science to biology and nursing, and 17 other graduate
degrees including counselling psychology, theology and
administrative leadership. For more information, visit TWU's
Official Athletics site at gospartans.ca.
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body
of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000
student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships
in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance
international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter
and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For
further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.
About Canada West Universities Athletics
Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four
conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at
least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of
13 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
and British Columbia, the CWUAA produces numerous major award
winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with
many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues
or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade
Games.