A local swim club is celebrating a couple of recent wins.
Foothills Artistic Swimming's novice team placed first in the Alberta Artistic Swimming's Northern Lights Competition in Calgary back in January, and just over a week ago, two solo swimmers qualified to compete in the 2025 Canada Artistic Swimming national competition.
"We are incredibly proud of our Novice Team. For them to compete for the first time and come away with a gold medal is a testament to their hard work and enthusiasm," said the club's president, Kelly Zadko.
Artistic swimming was formerly known as synchronized swimming until the International Olympic Committee renamed it in 2017.
Kristin Stearn, the club's former president and a parent of one of the swimmers, explains the name change.
"We now call it artistic swimming because it really is an art. It combines dance with dramatic elements, with beautiful outfits, custom swimsuits, and underwater makeup. All of their movements are artistic as well as technical and very precision-oriented, whether it's a solo or team effort. It's a special sport in its own right, it requires a huge amount of skill in terms of being able to hold your breath under the water for long periods of time and to be able to precisely synchronize your movements with others."
Stearn, whose daughter has been with the club for about nine years, places these recent wins among the highest in her history with them.
"Swimming competitively in Alberta and Canada is a very tall order for swimmers, so we've had the recreational side of our club for some time, but these are some of the highest achievements we've had at the provincial level, so we're really proud of our swimmers."
She credits head coach Shawna Koski and competitive coach Emilie Lussier for their spirit and skill for honing local talent.
"They are just so incredibly dedicated. They spend hours and hours flying and driving with us to all these competitions, and they really are the heart of keeping our girls in a positive place where they feel comfortable showcasing their skills and talents. We're so grateful to them."
Foothills Artistic Swimming was formerly known as the Okotoks Synchro Sea Queens, but the group has since expanded, with members in High River, Foothills County, and South Calgary as well as Okotoks.
Stearn sees the wins as victories not only for the club, but for all of the Foothills.
"There are only select areas that have artistic swimming clubs to speak of, a lot of them mostly in larger centres like Calgary and Edmonton. To have our own club and a club that is competing provincially at such a high level, it just speaks volumes to our coaches, all the support we receive, and jsut how well our girls are doing."
Foothills Artistic Swimming is holding its annual Year End Water Show later this month. It's a showcase of the sport and the talent of local swimmers.
It's being held at the Okotoks Recreation Centre on Saturday, Mar. 15 at 4:30 p.m.