News Release

MONCTON (CNB) – New Brunswick's synchronized swimming team is training regularly in preparation for the 2011 Canada Games, which will take place in Halifax from Feb. 11 to 27, 2011. The 10 swimmers will get together every week until the competition.

The athletes will compete in a meet in January at the new pool built for synchronized swimming in Halifax before taking part in the provincial championships during the first weekend of February.

They will be required to swim a four-minute routine at the Games. Coach Melissa Hoadley said that not all the elements of their routine have been completed yet for their official swim.

"We are working to put everything together," she said. "We have a difficult routine, which was choreographed with the help of a former Olympian, so it is difficult for the girls, but we will be ready for the Canada Games in February."

For Siobhan Schenk of Fredericton, synchronized swimming is a passion that she has pursued for seven years. A Grade 9 student at École Sainte-Anne, she likes the water and finds synchronized swimming an interesting, fun sport.

"My mother saw an advertisement about synchronized swimming practices, and because I like the water, she decided to register me; I went, and I liked it, so I continued," she said. "It is a fairly difficult artistic sport, and it is done with a team. I have been able to meet friends and travel a lot through this sport."

Schenk can hardly wait for the Canada Games, which will be her first.

"I am looking forward to competing against the other girls in Canada," she said. "It is a good opportunity for me to see where I am in my training. I am going to compete in the team event only. What I like the best about our routine is when we do a lift out of the water because the whole team has to work, and we have to stay with our program."

Allie Murchison of Saint John has been involved in the sport for 11 years. A Grade 11 student at Simonds High School, she is interested in synchronized swimming because she did not like competitive swimming.

"I did not like swimming lengths of the pool because I found it boring," she said. "But I liked aquatic sports, so that is why I decided to try synchronized swimming, which I really like. It is a way for me to express myself, and it makes me happy. I can show my emotions in the choreography."

The Canada Games will give Murchison the chance to showcase her talents and help New Brunswick do well in the competition.

"I am going to be competing in solo, duet and team," she said. "I would like it if we could finish in the top five. We are going to work hard to do that. We train about 20 hours a week in the pool, and we have sessions outside the pool such as running and weights. My goal is to take part in national team trials one day."

The 10 members of the 2011 Canada Games synchronized swimming team are Siobhan Schenk, Julie MacFarlane, Alissa Roy, Leah Smal, Josée Thomas, Ceara Hutchinson and Véronique Roy of Fredericton; Allie Murchison and Shannon Magee of Saint John; and Kara Daley of Moncton. The coaches are Melissa Hoadley, Janie Mallet and Alicia Isaac.