Making Waves: Cold Lake Lifesavers Triumph at Provincial Championships

Cold Lake-based athletes took part in the Alberta and Northwest Territories Provincial Pool Lifesaving Sport Championships on April 6th and 7th – Supplied Photo

On April 6th and 7th, three Cold Lakers competed at the Alberta and Northwest Territories Provincial Pool Lifesaving Sport Championships, taking place at YMCA Seton in Calgary. The three Cold Lake athletes included Mr. Gabriel Quenneville, the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) Swimming and Lifesaving Head Coach, as well as Captain Mercedes Leblanc and Second Lieutenant Colin Conway, who are both CISM Lifesaving Athletes.

“In pool lifesaving, there are 6 individual races that simulate real-world rescues,” explains Quenneville. “The competition started with the 200m Obstacle Race where athletes must dive under two obstacles every lap. This simulates running out into the ocean and diving under big waves to rescue a casualty. The remaining 5 events include a variety of skills such as dawning fins, carrying or towing a manikin with or without fins, and travelling underwater for 17.5m to rescue a casualty.

The athletes representing Cold Lake produced amazing results, including 16 individual Medals (10 of which were Gold), 10 Provincial Records, 2 National Team Standards (this would be a time comparable to a top 16 time at the World Championships

Capt Leblanc – 200m Superlifesaver in a time of 2:39.30
Capt Leblanc – 100m Tow with Fins in a time of 1:03.78

All three athletes are hoping to compete at the Military World Championships (WMC) in Montpellier, France later in May. Mr Quenneville will attend as the Head Coach, while Capt Leblanc and 2Lt Conway will be attending as athletes. In this competition, our athletes will be competing against the best military lifesavers from other participating nations.

“I’m beyond impressed with the performance of the team,” says Conway. “As someone new to lifesaving it’s inspiring to see my teammates set so many records and win gold in so many events. This incredible performance makes me excited to see how we do at the CISM Lifesaving World Championship in Montpellier, France as well as the Canadian Lifesaving Nationals in Victoria, BC”.

There is hope to compete at the Canadian Pool Lifesaving Championships (CPLC) in Saanich, BC in June where Mr. Quenneville and Capt Leblanc are in line to bring home some Gold Medal performances. Capt Leblanc, with her two National Team Standard performances, is being considered for Team Canada to compete at the Lifesaving World Championship (LWC) in Australia later in August.

Please join us in congratulating our Cold Lake athletes in their stellar performances this past weekend, and in supporting them in their efforts to compete in the WMC, CPLC, and LWC events later this year!