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Salmon Arm Sockeyes are fish out of water

With easing of pandemic restrictions, club members able to meet for dryland training
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Salmon Arm Sockeyes train with coach Jordyn Konrad (second from right) during the first of their in-person dryland training sessions since restrictions around COVID-19 required the closure of public swimming pools. (Brad Calkins photo)

By Darcy Calkins

Contributor

The Salmon Arm Sockeyes summer swim club is usually fully immersed in water at this time of the year.

With the global pandemic, however, the swim team has not yet been able to dive into the pool.

The Sockeyes traditionally begin their season on May 1. This year, they started by offering their members online Zoom training, run by swim coaches Jordyn Konrad and Bree Cooper. The swimmers were divided into small groups and the groups have been meeting a few times a week online.

Thanks to a shift in provincial restrictions, due to the flattening of the curve in B.C., the Sockeyes were able to run their first in-person training on Wednesday, June 10.

Read more: Salmon Arm swim club dipping toes into online training

Read more: Former Salmon Arm Sockeye earns swimming MVP at University of Lethbridge

With a dryland safety plan in place, the participants were able to meet on the greenspace behind the pool and the coaches led them in a physically distant workout together.

The sun even came out and the kids had a great time being able to laugh and chat and sweat together in real time. Although they were fish out of water, the participants agreed it was a nice change to see their teammates and coaches in person.

The Salmon Arm Sockeyes are working on their return to swim safety plans in the hope that if the pool is reopened, they may be able to get back into the water – even though this swim season will not look like any other in the 50 year history of the club.

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