April 27, 2021

BCSSA is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with the Swimmingly App for 2021 .

We will be working together to support BCSSA clubs in delivery of virtual competitions for our swimmers this upcoming season, as Provincial Health Orders allow.

Over the past 12 months, BCSSA’s Return to Competition committee has been working hard to find solutions for the challenges facing our sport with the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly as it relates to Provincial level competitions. Under the leadership of Sean Cauley, Director of Competitions, they released the BCSSA Return to Competition guidelines in February 2021. (https://bcsummerswimming.com/clubs/6594/documents/538670)

While these guidelines provide an outline of requirements necessary to host various types of competitions (from single cohort to multi-cohorts) in person, we recognized that large person gatherings were unlikely again this summer and therefore a solution was needed to allow for competition to take place outside of a single-club/cohort scenario.

“With no in-person Provincials possible for the second year in a row, being able to host virtual competitions and to provincially rank our competitors is an exciting step in the right direction. I cannot wait to experience results coming in as soon as we are given the go-ahead by the PHO! It will mean kids are back in the water swimming, and improving their own personal bests!” Penny Bartel, BCSSA Provincial Manager.

Sean Cauley echoed that sentiment, ”The kids love to train, but they also need the chance to compete – against themselves and also against their peers. Swimmingly makes it that much easier for us to offer competitions which are as close to ‘normal’ as possible, but still safe.”

Swimmingly has proven to be a great option with flexibility for competitive strategies this year and beyond. They have provided us with an incredible entry-level price-point which will allow our swim clubs to purchase a “Starter Kit” and start hosting virtual competitions, as soon as the Provincial Health Officer loosens restrictions around competitions. Swimmingly is the brainchild of US Olympian Charlie Houchin (CEO) and Hayes Johnson (President), who both had their swimming start in summer swimming clubs, and has grassroots clubs in mind with an easy to learn and use platform, low price-point, and a streamlined process for parent volunteers. The platform interfaces well with the ACTIVE Hytek platform, which was an important consideration for our clubs.

Clubs can purchase a “Starter Kit” directly from Swimmingly for a discounted rate of $300 USD (regularly $400), as well as highly discounted parent access . These are limited time introductory offers that are available only until August 2021. In order to receive the discounted price, clubs should use the discount code BCSSA2021 at checkout. Only BCSSA affiliated clubs will be eligible to receive this discounted rate.

In the words of Swimmingly President Hayes Johnson, “Swimmingly is honored to serve the clubs of BCSSA, particularly given the great leadership, positive energy, and excitement from clubs around “what’s next?” with summer swimming moving towards a post-Covid era. 2021 will prove to be a fantastic year for forward-thinking swimming organizations to spotlight all the benefits of our sport for families everywhere – you don’t have to look any further than the partnership of BCSSA and Swimmingly as the shining example!"

If you have questions about ordering Swimmingly and the partnership with BCSSA, please contact our office at office@bcsummerswimming.com

All Scholarship Deadlines are 4PM PST, June 25, 2021

Please take a moment and check out the Scholarships and Regional Prize opportunities from the BCSSA and if you know of someone who might be eligible please pass on the information.

http://www.bcsummerswimming.com/clubs/6594/pages/143758

On the Scholarships and Prizes page you will also find the link to the online applications.

For more than half a century, the B.C. Summer Swimming Association (BCSSA) has been building the health, fitness, character and life skills of young people across British Columbia. As the province’s largest multi-aquatic association, the BCSSA promotes the development of more than 6,000 young people each year through participation in speed swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming.

In more than 60 B.C. communities from Kimberley to Prince George and from Fort Nelson to Victoria, the BCSSA teaches young people the value of hard work, dedication and teamwork, doing so in a positive, fun environment where all children are welcomed to compete and work to fulfill their potential.

To encourage young people to stay involved in healthy BCSSA activity through high school graduation and to acknowledge the exceptional dedication and commitment of long-time athletes, the BCSSA has established an annual Regional Scholarship in each of its eight regions: Cariboo, Fraser South, Fraser Valley, Kootenay, Okanagan, Simon Fraser, Vancouver and District and Vancouver Island.

Scholarships are awarded to assist with post-secondary education expenses. Current BCSSA athletes are eligible to apply in their graduating year of high school.

Online Database is coming in 2021!

BCSSA staff has been hard at work behind the scenes creating an online results database that will fully integrate with our existing website. We are pleased to be able to announce that this will be live on our website January 18, 2021.

The database is the result of many hours of coding and uploading results data from the 2018 and 2019 competitive seasons, completed by BCSSA Coaches Representative Lee Vanden Ham.

“It’s taken a lot of work but I really think this will move our organization forward technologically while preserving our past. BCSSA has a rich history and it is important we don’t lose it. The new database is aimed to help preserve some of that data,” said Vanden Ham.

When the database is live it will hold the results and records from only the 2018 and 2019 seasons but the plan is to continually add all the previous year meet results until we have a complete and extensive record of all competitors within BCSSA events from 1999 onward (when results are available electronically.)

We will be hosting a webinar on January 23to highlight the capabilities and limitations of the database, as well as to answer questions that you may have about how to use it effectively in building your best competitive teams.

Registration in advance is required for the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEscuqopzgpE9ab-X9GnRouRd2b5CX6JGzJ?mc_cid=3ec0dbd0e7&mc_eid=4959b66537

(Please note that the link sent in the December 23, 2020 e-newsletter was incorrect. The above link is correct for meeting registration.)

Read the full document by selecting the attached document below.. You can also find it posted at the Aquatic Centre by the inside double doors, Feel free to contact our President, Dave Holland (aquaduckspresident@gmail.com) or any Board Member with questions or comments.

Winter Maintenance swimming practices start again on Monday January 18, 2021. Yeah! All parents/caregivers must read our “Return to Swimming” document before attending. The document is attached to this announcement, or you can see the paper version posted at the Aquatic Centre.

On Monday, Jamie and will be near the Library side front entrance, to welcome swimmers, collect volunteer cheques ($75, payable to the Revelstoke Aquaducks) and to have parents sign the BCSSA Waiver if this has not yet been done.

Please have your swimmer in their suit and ready to swim when they arrive at the Aquatic Centre and ensure that they have brought their membership card from a previous session. Cards will be prepared for new swimmers. Contact Graham (aquaduckstreasurer@gmail.com) if you cannot find your card from a previous session.

Anna Pfeiffer is our Head Coach, with senior swimmers Kayln, Maddy, Morgan & Tye assisting her. Our coaches will be showing the swimmers the routine for arrival: Rub hands with sanitizer, scan your card through the plexiglass screen at the counter, enter the pool through the double doors, remove your shoes, walk barefoot to the tables by the windows, place your items in an empty basket (provided by Aquatic Centre), gather by your coach. Easy. Like at school, social distancing and proper cough/sneezing etiquette are required. Sorry, as per our “Return to Swimming document”, parents are not allowed on deck to watch.

At the end of practice, swimmers will gather their gear from their basket, and go to the changerooms where they can rinse off, dry off, and change. The Aquatic Centre is encouraging our athletes to shower properly at home, and to limit their time in the changerooms. There are maximum numbers allowed in the changerooms so the coaches may stagger leaving times by a few minutes among the swimmers.

Its not like our usual routine, but we are grateful to be back swimming after a long absence and the new routines will not last forever. Thanks for your patience, and we welcome feedback, which can be emailed to aquaduckspresident@gmail.com. As we are inventing a new system from scratch, there will likely be some changes coming up, please review emails from the club regularly

Kind regards,

Aquaducks Board of Directors

Other bits of info:

-Contact Tanya Traverse if you would rather not do volunteer fundraising and would prefer to have your Volunteer Cheque cashed.
-did you sort on August 29th? Message Graham if so, he lost his notes from that day.