News

Synchro Saskatchewan is pleased to announce that Saskatchewan athletes competing at the Western Canadian Synchronized Swimming Championships brought home a gold medal in the Free Combination event. The 10 person team from the Saskatoon Aqualenes excited the crowd with their unique tribal routine. In addition, Jessica Guenther of the Saskatoon Aqualenes and a previous junior national team member won the silver medal in the Tier 7 Junior Solo event. Brittany Leaper and Meagan Burbridge, also of the Saskatoon Aqualenes, won a silver medal in the Tier 6, 15 and under Duet event. The Saskatoon Aqualenes are coached by Laurie Wachs

Synchro Saskatchewan is also thrilled to announce all sixteen athletes in attendance from Regina Synchro and the Saskatoon Aqualenes have now qualified to attend the Synchronized Swimming National Championship. The Western Canadian Synchronized Swimming Championships were held at the Pan Am pool in Winnipeg, Manitoba April 3 – 6, 2008.

October 2007

Petro Canada - FACE Program

Synchro Saskatchewan is proud to announce that Laurie Wachs and Jessica Guenther are each recipients of a $4000 Petro-Canada FACE grant. Their joint nomination was submitted by Synchro Canada for which we are grateful. These were awarded back in June of 2007 with a request that no media releases could be circulated until such time as it was formally announce to the general public. Photos and bios for all recipients can be seen at www.iwilldreambig.ca

Congratulations to Laurie and Jessica!! We know these funds have already helped to further your personal development in Synchronized swimming and will carry you into this new season.

Grant Summary:
At Petro-Canada, we support big dreams – that’s why we’ve invested millions in the Fueling Athlete and Coaching Excellence (FACE*) program. Each year, we work with National Sport Organizations (NSOs) to select fifty pre-carded athlete and coaching pairs from across Canada who aspire to one day compete in the Olympic or Paralympic Games. By funding grants, we try to make it easier for these athletes to continue their training and eventually achieve carded status. This is the first step towards their big dream: competing in the Olympic or Paralympic Games. Their coaches receive funding as well, which allows them to invest in improving their coaching. Simply put, we believe in dreaming big. And dreaming big deserves big support.

June 12, 2007

Saskatchewan Games Council
2008 SASKATCHEWAN SUMMER GAMES AGREEMENT SIGNED

Lloydminster has been proclaimed the host city for the 2008 Saskatchewan Summer Games.
Saskatchewan Games Council Chairperson Brenda Bathgate signed a multi-party agreement today
formalizing the financial arrangements for the games to be held from August 3 – 9, 2008.
Others signing the agreement were Lloydminster Mayor Ken Baker and Chairperson of the 2008
Saskatchewan Summer Games Wendy Plandowski.
Bathgate presented a cheque for $260,000 to the host committee. This represents the Saskatchewan
Games Council’s commitment to the games funded through lottery proceeds.
“Lloydminster is ready to meet the challenge of the games,” Bathgate said. “It has an excellent
organizing committee and a strong community of volunteers in place to help the athletes have a
successful sporting event.”
“The sport facilities in Lloydminster more than meet the core minimum standards for hosting
Saskatchewan largest amateur multi-sport event.” said Host community Chairperson Wendy Plandowski.
Plandowski extended a warm invitation to the entire province to come and experience the games in,
Lloydminster, the border city.
Since 1972 the games have been held every two years alternating between summer and winter sports.
Amateur athletes compete in athletics to triathlon. Also included are events for Special Olympic athletes.
“The Summer Games provide a wonderful opportunity for the youth of this province to showcase their
athletic ability and talent. Sporting events are just one of the many ways we can support our youth and
the hard work it takes to be an athlete.”
More than 2,000 athletes, coaches, managers and officials will participate in the games next summer.

For more information, contact:
Lorne Lasuita, Provincial Games Consultant
Saskatchewan Games Council
Phone: (306) 780-9246, or see

http://www.2008ssg.ca/home.php

June 1, 2007

Western Canadian Synchronized Swimming Championships 2007

The annual Western Canadian Championships were a huge success. The club received numerous accolades. We wish to thank all of the following financial contributors who helped to make this event a financial success as well.

Gold Sponsors


Silver Sponsors
			Brent Burbridge
Bronze Sponsors
Garth and Verna Tait	Dr. Holly Wells	Shirley Norris
Bart and Cindy Hunter	Ross Nykiforuk, Construction Fasteners & Tools		Keith Jeffrey
Joan Burbridge	Earls Restaurant, Saskatoon	InkSpot Graphix	Saputo Canada, Saskatoon Office
Dr. Susan Hayton	Dr. Grant Stoneham	Dr. Evan Howlett
	Medicine Shoppe 33rd Street Cumberland Square	Rick Jamison, Practice Solutions

March 19, 2007

Sask. Sport honoured the three Volunteers of the Year Wednesday, March 21, 2007 at the Annual Sport Awards Banquet at the Teachers Credit Union Place. Lorraine Johnson was nominated for this prestigious award. A summary of her involvement on Synchro is provided below:

Lorraine Johnson, Regina, Synchro Saskatchewan

Johnson has been a volunteer with Synchro Saskatchewan for the past 24 years. She
began training as an official in 1991, taking the Star Examiner I and II certification
course and has since obtained her J-TACS Level III certification and is also a Level III
Referee. Johnson has judged at numerous provincial competitions over the past 11 years
and officiated at many interprovincial and national championships including: the 2001
Synchro Canada National Championships, the 2003 Jeux Canada Winter Games, the
2005 Espoir 15 and Under National Championships and the 2006 Manitoba, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Yukon (MASY) Challenge. Johnson was the Officials’ Chair for
Synchro Saskatchewan for seven years and was innovative in designing a new scoring
program. She is starting her eighth year on the organization’s board of directors and her
second year as president of the provincial section. From 2000-2003, Johnson was vice
president of sport development. She has also served as chair of the Sask First
Management Committee and continues to manage the Synchro Sask. membership
database.

March 3rd, 2007

Jessica Guenther won bronze today in the synchro swimming solo finals, giving Saskatchewan their first ever Canada Games medal in synchro!

Way to go Jessica!!

June 15, 2006

Synchro Saskatchewan is very excited to announce the members of the Saskatchewan 2007 Jeux Canada Games Team.

The team will attend the Games to be hosted in Whitehorse, Yukon February 24 – March 2, 2007. The athletes are (in alphabetical order):

Amanda Bristol
Jennifer Chernishenko
Kelsey Cochrane
Jeslin Genest
Jessica Guenther
Kayla Holowatuk
Emily Lewis
Samanthia Lukash
Kelsey Van Dyke
Tess Wilfong

The head coach is Natalie Good and team manager is Laurie Wachs.

We wish all members of this team continued success in their final eight months of training and preparations. The talent of this team and the expertise of the coaching staff will meld to make this team a top contender at the Games.

June 9, 2006

Synchro Canada announces 13-15 National Team

Ottawa – Figures will be somewhat of a challenge as it is difficult to make a major impact within just 3 weeks of training, but I will focus on lines and being stationary. And, with respect to the level of routines, I am confident that our routines will meet our highest objectives focusing on synchronization and the accompanying various patterns.” Synchro Canada is pleased to announce the members of the 13-15 National Team. After National Team Trials on Saturday June 10th in Toronto, ten athletes with the top 10 figure results from the Trials were unofficially selected to the National Team. The National Team will welcome seven new members and a new Head Coach to the 2006 Program.

“Chantal and I are very excited about the opportunity to work and develop this level and age of young and, up and coming talented athletes,” stated Head Coach Lyne Piché. The 13-15 program is only in its second year but is so important in the development stages and preparation of athletes for the high performance and international levels of synchronized swimming. Piché adds: “We will be centralizing in Montreal on July 30th and the Camp looks to be very interesting as our team will be visiting members of the National A Team to share experiences and advice.

The ten team members are:

Name/Club/Current Residence
Camille Bowness - Dollard Synchro - Beaconsfield, QC
Julia Maclean - Durham Synchro – Ajax, ON
Jessica Guenther - Saskatoon Aqualenes – Saskatoon, SK
Camille Thuot - Montreal Synchro – Montreal, QC
Candace Caskey - Etobicoke Olympium Synchro – Weston, ON
Anne-Marie Vézina - Synchro Élite – Ancienne-Lorette, QC
Caroline Lachance - Alliance Synchro - Terrebonne, QC
Rachel Fréchette, Alliance Synchro – Montreal, QC
Annette Petersen, Etobicoke Olympium Synchro – Thornhill, ON
Rachel Kowalski, Etobicoke Olympium Synchro – Kitchener, ON

Coaching Staff`:

Name/Club/Current Residence
Lyne Piché - Head Coach - Boisbriand, QC
Chantal Vallières - Assistant Coach – Quebec City, QC

The 13-15 National Team will centralize on July 30th in Montreal to begin preparation for the First Annual ASUA meet from August 22-27th in Oaxtepec, Mexico (just south of Mexico City). The Team will host most camps at Dollard des Ormeaux with some training in Montreal and Montreal North. There will also be a short training camp in Mexico before the competition. The Team leaves for Mexico City for Training on the August 16th.

June 9, 2006

Saskatoon synchro team swims to national title

Cory Wolfe, The Star Phoenix
Published: Monday, June 12, 2006

The Saskatoon Aqualenes pulled together to make synchronized swimming history for Saskatchewan on Saturday. Accompanied by the beats of Big Voodoo Daddy, the Aqualenes bopped their way to victory in the 16-and-over division at the Canadian Espoir synchronized swimming championships in Etobicoke, Ont.

The Aqualenes are the first Saskatchewan synchro club to win a national team title.
Saskatchewan also reached the podium in solo competition. Jessica Guenther won bronze in the 15-and-under division. She also secured a spot on the national team (age 13-15) for a second straight year.

"There was the momentum of her doing well and being successful," said Aqualenes coach Laurie Wachs. "Then we had another soloist (Amanda Bristol) in 16-and-over . . . and she had a really great swim, kind of a personal best. "After that, the team said, 'We can be great.' They had the self-confidence that they could do it."

Saturday's result will provide a major boost looking towards next year's Canada Games in Whitehorse, added Wachs. "We've really been trying to work on that belief system that we can medal at Games or be in the top four."

Saskatchewan teams often play also-rans to powerhouse programs from Quebec and Ontario, but these Aqualenes entered nationals with some laurels after winning the Western Canadian title in Edmonton. "When we compared our results to the eastern results, we were the top team," said Wachs. "We knew we were ranked No. 1 coming in. But sometimes it's hard to compare to Easterns because it's different judges and a different group of figures."

The Aqualenes erased any doubt by posting the best score for both figures (66.193) and routine (73.500). That translated to a final score of 69.846. Three Ontario clubs -- York (68.494), Burlington (68.129) and Mississauga (67.208) -- rounded out the top four.

Only two of the seven Aqualenes are 16. The rest were competing one division older than their 15-and-under age class.

"It was really refreshing because our kids swam to this high-energy and really fun music," Wachs said in reference to the New Orleans-influenced soundtrack. "They really pulled it off. They had great presentation and really got the crowd going."
cwolfe@sp.canwest.com
- - -
Canadian Champions
Members of the Saskatoon Aqualenes, 2006 Canadian synchronized swimming champions in the 16-and-over division:
Amanda Bristol
Kelsey Cochrane
Jeslin Genest
Jessica Guenther
Samanthia Lukash
Braeden Terry
Tess Wilfong
© The Star Phoenix (Saskatoon) 2006

For a pdf copy of this article, click here.

September 6, 2005

Lesley Wright: Saskatoon native part of Cirque du Soleil

Excerpts from the original article by Ned Powers
The Star Phoenix

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Photograph: Greg Pender, Star Phoenix

Lesley Wright goes to work six hours a day, five days a week, in a multi-tiered super swimming pool, filled with 1.8-million gallons of water, and she loves every minute of it.

Wright's experience with a water club began when she joined the Saskatoon Bridge City Cosmo Aqualenes Club at the age of eight. She blossomed into one of Canada's finest synchronized swimmers, qualifying for the national team for five years and wearing red-and-white colours at the world championships, Pan-American Games and the Olympic Games.

"But never in a million years did I ever think I'd become a regular in the Cirque du Soleil," says Wright, who is located in Las Vegas where she is member of the 75-member cast of O. It is a show developed exclusively on the $100-million aquatic stage at the Bellagio Hotel.

She joined the company on Aug. 24, 2002, and within five days, she was on the stage.

Wright was born in Saskatoon. She took a liking to water when her parents, Grant and Karen, and the family often spent summer days at Emma Lake. She took swimming, ballet and drama lessons and one day, she tried synchro swimming and was hooked.

She was coached by Laurie Wachs and Sherry Vanin. By 14, she went to Europe for the first time without her parents "and found out what the sport could give me."

In 1991, she teamed up with Liane Teplitsky and the two of them won Saskatchewan's first-ever gold medal in synchro swimming at the nationals. They won in the duet class in the 11- to 14-year old age group. The team also was asked to represent Canada in the Scandinavian Open, at Odense, Denmark, and they won gold there as well and Wright added a silver medal in solo.

There were more successes internationally -- gold with the Canadian team at the 1993 world juniors in England; gold with the Canadian team and silver in a duet with Kristin Normand at the 1995 French Open; silver with Normand and silver with the team at the 1996 Swiss Open.

She became the first Saskatchewan swimmer to make the National A team in 1997 and maintained her place among Canada's 10 best for five years. She was part of gold-winning teams at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg and the Rome Open and bronze at the World Cup in Korea, all in 1999.

"The Pan-American Games ranked as a highlight because we hadn't beaten the United States in 20 years and, to win in your home country, was huge."

Wright is also pursuing a degree in communications from the University of Las Vegas in Nevada despite her rigorous schedule with Cirque du Soleil. She will graduate in 2007, a time when she may have to decide how much longer she wants to swim or find a communications placement.

For these achievements, Wright is being inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 5, 2005.

Jessica Guenther Returns from the Comen Cup - Memoirs

August 30, 2005
Saskatoon, SK

As you all know, this summer I was chosen to be one of ten people who would represent Canada at an international synchronized swimming meet in Athens, Greece, called the Comen Cup.

Preparing for this, I had a one week break after nationals and then I was right back on schedule. I was sent many workouts by email and was helped to do what was asked of me at practice by my faithful coach Laurie Wachs. After a while I decided it was too hard to be alone in Saskatoon when everyone else had older swimmer's to teach them the routine. I made the choice to fly to Calgary one week early and train with Emily Brooks, a fellow teammate on the 13 - 15 National Team. In the end this was a really good decision because I learned the routine more quickly and I was able to train many more hours in Calgary than here in Saskatoon.

After Calgary I went to Toronto for a training camp of three weeks and during that time, we went to Montreal to watch the World Swimming Championships. I think this was the best part of the whole experience. Living with my billet, training 8 hours but still being super energetic, and of course, having a wonderful and cooperative team.

One of the really fun things about this experience was having a team that really worked well together and understood the meaning of a team. People really supported one another. I also found that our club at home is really good at emphasizing fitness; the girls there didn't even have workouts!!

After this we finally went to Greece. This was a vacation compared to the camp. It was like our reward for training hard. Everything went smoothly, as we planned, and my team had an amazing swim.

This was really the experience of a lifetime. It was just a dream come true and it showed that hard work pays off. When I first saw my schedule I thought I might die, I mean, eight hours of training every day! But I realized that it was easy, I had tons of fun and the team became my support group. We looked out for one another and really took Canada to the next level.

I am super proud to have represented Canada and I am so happy to have had this great experience! I hope my teammates and younger athletes will make this team a future goal for themselves because I can tell you that it is worth it! Hope to have more of Saskatoon on the team next year!!

Comen Cup

Aug. 4 - 7, 2005
Athens, Greece

There were a total of 189 athletes from 20 countries at this year's Comen Cup in Athens, Greece.

Figures:
423 Ariana
125 Eiffel Tower
342 Heron
355h Porpoise Spin Up 180

Jessica Guenther (SAQ)
Placing 58
Number of Swimmers Competing 189
Score 67.609

The Canadian synchronized swimming team for 13 to 15 year-old athletes placed fourth, in a field of 12 teams, today at the conclusion of the team event at the Comen Cup meet in Athens, Greece.

The duet of Chloe Issac and Jo-Anne Fortin finished fifth in a field of 12 teams.

The team of Chloe Isaac (Brossard, QC), Jo-Annie Fortin (Montreal), Audrey Houle (Becancour, QC), Gabrielle Bernier (Charlesbourg, QC), Mary-Lou Morin (Montreal), Caroline Lachance (Terrebonne, QC), Jessica Guenther (Saskatoon, SK) and Camille Bowness (Beaconsfield, QC) were awarded 86.200 points.

Russia (90.800) won the event ahead of Greece (88.800) and Italy (87.300). The Canadians were fourth after the preliminaries on Friday as well.

“We had such a fantastic day. The girls swam even better than in the preliminaries,” says head coach Jadine Cleary. “They were on fire! We had an extremely short amount of time to pull this routine together and the girls made the most of their experience-and surpassed our expectations. This is the first time Synchro Canada has had a 13-15 Age group National team and I am looking forward to building off this experience for the future."

Head coach Jadine Cleary says her athletes are in great shape in Athens. “I am very proud of our athletes. This was their first time representing Canada and they handled themselves extremely well. Despite the 45 degree heat, they maintained their focus throughout the routine, displaying how mature they really are.”

National 13 - 15 Synchro Team

June 14, 2005
Ottawa, ON

Synchro Canada is pleased to announce the members who will represent our new National 13-15 Team.

This is the first year for the National 13-15 team. The objective of this team is to celebrate their achievements as Canada’s rising stars in synchronized swimming, as well as to give these younger athletes an opportunity to partake in a National team training camp and to compete internationally.

The team will represent Canada at the Comen Cup August 4-7 in Athens, Greece. The athletes will be training in Toronto this summer in preparation for the event and will also observe the World Aquatic Championships in Montreal.

Chloe Isaac was named the team’s soloist and she will also be paired with Jo-Annie Fortin for the duet.

Jadine Cleary, of the Olympium Synchronized Swimming Club, was named the Head Coach, while Elena Podolsky, who coaches at Synchro Optima in Toronto, and Chantal Vallières, who works as a coach for Synchro Elite, were hired as Assistant Coaches.

All three individuals have extensive experience and look forward to helping develop some of Canada’s future stars.

2005 Coaching Staff
Jadine Cleary – Head coach
Elena Podolsky – Assistant coach
Chantal Vallières – Assistant coach

Team Members - Home club
Gabrielle Bernier - Synchro Elite
Camille Bowness - Dollard Synchro
Emily Brooks - Calgary Aquabelles
Jo-Annie Fortin - Montreal Synchro
Jessica Guenther - Saskatoon Aqualenes
Audrey Houle - Synchro Elite
Chloe Isaac - Montreal Synchro
Caroline Lachance - Alliance Synchro
Katie Lepage - Durham Synchro
Samantha Mawhinney - Synchro Optima
Marie-Lou Morin - Dollard Synchro

Canadian Espoir Nationals a Huge Success

June 10, 2005
Saskatoon, SK

The Saskatoon Aqualenes, led by Lisa Leaper and Raylene Matlock, organized and executed an excellent event. The club, and the numerous volunteers, are rightfully proud of the outcome of this national competition.

Over 250 swimmers competed during 4 days at the Harry Bailey Aquatic Center.

One of the highlights of the event was the selection of the Canadian 13 - 15 National Team. The coaches, and the Aqualenes in general, are extremely proud of the performance of the tier 6 athletes. In particular, we congratulate Jessica Guenther on her selection to the 13 - 15 National team.

For full documentation of the results of the Espoir Competition please follow this link.

Laurie Wachs Inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame

November 6 , 2004
Saskatoon, SK

Laurie Wachs moved from the competitive side of synchronized swimming to coaching where she has coached medal winners at the Canadian championships, been honored as the 3M of Canada coaching award in development sport and hailed for innovative high performance programs.

Laurie was born in Saskatoon. She enjoyed her first competition in the provincial championships in April 1979, when she won the figure and solo champion class.

She and Kim Grieves were duet partners during the 1980 season.

Laurie turned to coaching and one of her remarkable achievements came while coaching Liane Teplitsky and Lesley Wright in 1991 when the two became only Saskatchewan women ever to win a Canadian duet championship. Lesley became a member of the Canadian Olympic team at the 2002 Summer Olympics in Australia.

Laurie coached Saskatchewan teams at the Jeux Canada Winter Games on three occasions and this team, formed in 1999, placed fifth. Her team was fourth in 1991, Saskatchewan's best performance ever, and her team in 1995 finished fifth.

Laurie also coached Sherry Vanin, another standout Saskatoon swimmer at the world aquatic championships in Perth, Australia.

In November, 2000, Laurie was honored with the 3M of Canada coaching award in developmental sport, female category, special among her awards which also include four coach of the year awards in Saskatchewan and two other 3M awards from Saskatchewan Synchro.

During the same year, 2000, she was the key to a new Saskatchewan First and high performance-training program, which she initiated and developed, and Synchro Saskatchewan received the Synchro Canada Millennium award as a result.

Laurie also coached the Cargill sisters; Lindsay and Nicole, in the Saskatchewan First program and Nicole qualified for Canada at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Her work at the grassroots level has always been foremost.

Members of her Saskatoon Aqualenes celebrate their medals and trophies from the 2003 championships, fitting for Laurie because that's the club where she started when she was 11 years old and where she first coached when she was 16.

Her other pastime in athletics is marathon racing and she reached the finish line of the first marathon she ever ran, the 1996 Saskatoon Marathon.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING – BUILDER

Sadie Caulder Knight was the pioneer of synchronized swimming in Saskatchewan. Born in Liverpool England in 1899, she came to Saskatchewan with her brother in 1913 to join her family. In 1941 she began teaching the fundamentals of synchronized swimming and developed the province’s first, and for a long time, only, progressive synchronized swimming program at the old Regina YWCA.

In 1956 Saskatchewan participated at the Canadian Championships for the first time, and was represented by three of Sadie’s swimmers. In the 1957 championships the Synchronette team placed third in the team event – only 1.2 points out of a first place.

She was responsible for the formation of the first provincial association in the late fifties and when the first provincial championships were held in 1958, “Cauldie’s Girls” won easily. The Synchronettes competed every year, until Sadie’s retirement in 1965, always placing swimmers in the top ten in Canada, and occasionally bringing home silver and bronze medals.

After her death in September 22, 1970, at age 72, a group of former swimmers established a trust fund in her name. Synchro Swim Saskatchewan now administers this fund, and annually presents a “Coach of the Year” award and accompanying Bursary in Sadie Caulder Knight’s memory.

In 1972, Synchro Swim Canada presented her, posthumously, with their Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to the development of synchronized swimming in Canada.

Sadie Caulder Knight was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on March 21, 1981. Her grand daughter, Sandra Hamill Roberts, former synchronized swimmer and current Judge, was also inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on June 20, 1992.

“50 Years to Gold” is dedicated to Sadie Caulder Knight and Sandra Hamill Roberts. The dedication includes this reference… “Between them, this grandmother/granddaughter combination has provided the momentum and dedication that has made synchronized swimming a vital and successful part of the province’s sport community.”

Previous Newsletters in pdf form.

Aqualenes	Synchro Saskatchewan
December 2004	February 2005
February 2005	September 2006
May 2005	October 2006

Web site Manager Brent Burbridge

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Updated: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 14:57