The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
While attendance has been dropping the past couple of years with the Aqua Jets at the Flin Flon Aqua Centre, numbers are on the rise again this season. And with higher numbers comes dedicated swimmers. And they were just that as the older Aqua Jets made their way to Selkirk, MB, recently to participate in a swim meet. Second time around coach Mark Fenske says he's really proud of all the swimmers who made it to the meet. "We took down eight...and last year only three went, so we were pleased with that," he says. "But many of the swimmers are rookie swimmers and this was their first meet and they were placing, so it was really great." Swimmers participate in the short course meet, which is swimming laps in a 25 meter pool, which is what the athletes did in Selkirk. At the end of the season the meets are changed to the long course meet, which is swimming laps in a 50 meter pool. After coming back from the meets, Fenske says as a coach he is able to pick out things that can be bettered and things that were done well by the swimmers. "There are so many swimmers down there (at the meets) that our swimmers get to meet high end swimmers," says Fenske, adding that it's helpful for the younger and the first time swimmers to see where they can go with hard work. "In the water during the races I can see what they have picked up and what they need help on," he says. "A lot of times the flip turn at the wall need practice, but it's something that takes time and practice. "It's a different thing to do and at first the swimmers have to think about it, so it slows their time down," says the coach. "But it becomes second nature eventually." As for the meet itself, Fenske says he's really proud of the improvements the swimmers made. "Some of them could hardly swim the length of the pool at the start (of the season) and now they are competing and doing really well. They've come a long way," he says. The Aqua Jets will travel to Thompson January 12 to participate in a one day meet between Flin Flon, The Pas and Thompson.
