Two members of the Piranhas Swim Club of Fort Saskatchewan will be representing Alberta on the national stage next week.
13-year-old Grace Laybourne and 14-year-old Hudson Charron will be swimming at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games, hosted in Halifax from July 15 to 23.
Laybourne and Charron have been friends since kindergarten, and both of them picked up swimming at a young age.
"My sister started competitive swimming one year before me, and I just really liked watching her. I joined the Piranhas when I was about five," said Laybourne.
With the swimming competition taking place between July 19 and 20, Laybourne and Charron said they'll be taking the advantage of the trip to have a vacation.
"We have four extra days to check things out with the team," said Laybourne.
The two swimmers said that one of the biggest lessons they learned through swimming was discipline.
"You always need to be swimming," said Charron. "If you stop for a week, you're slower than before."
"It taught me a lot about teamwork. Even though it's an individual sport, everyone works together and help each other," added Laybourne.
The North American Indigenous Games brings together 5,000 athletes, coaches, and team staff from over 750 Indigenous Nations to celebrate, share, and reconnect through sport and culture.