Four teenage Cochrane Water Ninjas are diving head-first into the national stage for lifesaving sport by competing for Canada at the 2023 RLSS Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships, which will be held from Sept. 13 to 17 in Windsor, Ont.
Aaron Swedlo, Eli Fitzsimmons, Jack Dunse, and Issac Thibodeau will be among the 22 young men and women who will be competing for the Canadian team.
Fitzsimmons described lifesaving sport as swimming, but with a unique twist.
“The twist is you’re saving people while you’re swimming,” he explained, before adding the “people” being saved are “not actual people – they’re mannequins.”
An example of an event in lifesaving sport is the lifesaving medley. This event has participants swim one length of an Olympic swimming pool, and then diving underwater to retrieve a mannequin before swimming back to the start with the mannequin in tow.
Dunse further explained that when it comes to lifesaving sport, rather than conventional swimming competitions, there is less of an emphasis on which stroke the swimmers use and more on equipment.
“We don’t swim butterfly or backstroke – it’s just freestyle with a lot more equipment in the pool,” Dunse said. “We use rescue tubes, the big-long ropes that we throw out.
“…there’s a lot more equipment used, and a lot more technique involved, but other than that it’s basically the same.”
According to Dunse, the selection process to make Canada’s commonwealth team intended to examine the individual performance of each athlete, as they would receive points based on their placements in individual and group races.
The Cochrane quartet was selected after competing in a national competition held in June.
Fitzsimmons said the announcement was indescribable and the whole experience felt surreal. After winning gold at the national event in June, he is proud to be able to represent Canada on the international stage.
“It was something out of my wildest dreams,” he said. “I went into the competition as the youngest in my age category, and I wasn’t really expecting to do well.”
Recalling the announcement he’d made the team as well, Dunse said it was a crazy experience, but he is ready to face the challenge head on and looks forward to participating alongside his fellow Water Ninjas teammates.
“This is the biggest event I’ve ever been a part of, and I think this is the biggest event that any of the other Cochrane Water Ninjas that were selected have been a part of,” Dunse said.
"I think an important part of our performance that we’re all looking forward to – me especially – is not cracking under pressure.”
Although Thibodeau was originally selected to be an alternate for Canada’s Commonwealth team, he has since fully secured a spot as an athlete and is excited to be competing with the other Cochrane Water Ninjas at the Commonwealth championships.
“It’s really exciting,” Thibodeau said. “That shock from finding out that I’m going to be with all our other teammates and going to compete with them on the international stage is very exciting.”
Swedlo said he looks forward to the competition and hopes all goes well for him and his teammates.
“It would be beyond my wildest dreams if any of us medals,” Swedlo said. “And even if we don’t medal, the whole experience will be worthwhile because there’s so much more to being at the commonwealth than – ‘Oh I’m swimming these advanced races.’ It’s a community thing.”
As the four Cochrane Water Ninjas prepare to swim and rescue their way to the national stage, they would each like to give a special thanks to their coaches, Marlee and Matt Palmer for their continued support and guidance.
