The Cochrane Masters Swim Club continues to grow in numbers, attracting people to hit the pool for fitness, skill development, and competition.
Twelve members of the local adult swimming club participated in the 26th annual meet of the Foothills Masters Swim Club on Feb. 4 hosted at the SLS Centre. Many were competing for the first time.
"It was so fun. I'm really happy," says head coach Amy Swedlo. "We had so many new competitors swimming in their first race, and I think they were surprised at how fast they were. It was exciting."
A sign was passed around the club members in the stand to cheer on their teammates.
"One of the team members made a sign, and a bunch of the team came out to cheer us on to add to the excitement. We take time to celebrate our kids, but we don't actually stop to celebrate ourselves, so it was kind of fun."
There are currently sessions held Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday and there are 17 new members among the 48 participating.
Not everyone competes, and each has their own reason for joining.
There are only a handful of spots available in the current session that wraps up on May 31. She says they haven't promoted the current session as much as in the past, but believes more people will be joining in the coming weeks.
"We definitely could be much bigger if we wanted to be, but we're managing our growth to what we can do effectively. We don't just want to triple, and then not be able to meet the needs of the swimmers."
Most are evening sessions but there is a noon session on Wednesdays that has a few spots available.
"As our club grows, we'd like to offer more daytime slots to meet the needs of different people. We want to be able to vary the times so we can meet people where they're at."
Those seeking more information on the masters club can reach out by emailing cochranemasters@gmail.com.
Fourteen masters clubs from across the province participated. The Foothills club has hosted meets in Cochrane in the past.
