A local swim team, was one of the first in the country to get their swimmers back into the pool, after closures due to COVID-19.
The Coach of the Codiac Vikings Aquatic Club says after all of the changes due to the pandemic, she wanted to give the swimmers some sort of normal back.
Coach Melanie Melanson says it was a long and in depth process, to create an Operational Plan to ensure the swimmers could get into the pool safely, while following all of the guidelines laid out by the province.
She says one of the reasons they had a jump on the rest of the country, is because New Brunswick was able to begin reopening earlier than others.
“In the sport of swimming, it is important that these athletes are in the water. We have some swimmers who are Olympic hopefuls or want to go and experience Olympic trials. Swimming is a conditioning sport, and it takes time and training. Even for the younger ones, it is still important. I really wanted to get as many kids back in the pool as we could, so we could finish the year off in the water.”
She received guidance from Swimming Canada, and now sits on a COVID-19 task force for Swim New Brunswick, “It’s nice because everyone is sharing ideas and advice. It’s a big community right now, and we all have the same goal in mind, to get the athletes back in the pool in the safest way possible.” Melanson says.
“Just getting the kids back in and getting the sport back up and running and then we’ll look at competition. It is going to be a gradual thing though. So it is a multi-phased approach for us, but also for the sport itself. We’ll see what September looks like, and we’ll go from there,” Melanson says. “It’s really about knowing how to pivot. You’re going in one direction, and if things change, you have to be ready to go in another direction.”
Preparing for a pandemic wasn’t something that was taught during the training to be a Coach, so it’s a new experience for Melanson, and for other coaches as well.
“When it comes to sports in general, things don’t necessarily go your way sometimes, and you have to take a different approach. That is something that has been helpful during this pandemic, and the whole process. It may not be exactly as I’ve envisioned, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find a way get around that. I hope the swimmers have been learning that as well, along the way.”
