Submitted by Tracey Rothwell
Head Coach, Weyburn Artistic Swimming Club
WASC Senior athletes and their coaches traveled to Las Vegas Nevada over the February break and attended an exciting and challenging High Performance camp with the Water Beauties.
Attending were Caitlyn Graham (Estevan), Megan Dammann, Haley Copeland (Estevan), Marley Kradovill, Payton Caldwell, Gracie Dzuba (Estevan), Ella Leko, Kyra King and coaches Kim Neithercut, Meagan Rothwell and Tracey Rothwell.
The Water Beauties are former Olympic and World champions that formed a production company specializing in synchronized swimming. These athletes currently perform in spectacular water shows such as “Cirque de Soleil: O” at the Bellagio Hotel and “Le Reve” at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
Bill May, their choreographer, remains active competing in mixed doubles and is a strong advocate to allow men to compete in Artistic Swimming at the Olympic Games.
Throughout the three-day camp, the athletes and coaches were guided by host, athlete and Cirque “O” performer, Suzanna. Not only an amazing coach and teacher, but she is an inspirational athlete at 50 years old.
Day one of the three-day camp had the athletes travel to a dance studio for an in-depth core pilates session.
Afterward, the group travelled to the Bellagio resort to attend one of the most memorable highlights of the trip, a backstage tour of Cirque de Soleil: “O”. The “O” water theater is an incredible feat of design and we were honored to see the working areas and meet many of the hundreds of specialists required to deliver such an amazing production.
The group returned that evening with their family members to attend the show. To make a near perfect day even better, were treated to a meet-and-greet with some of the performers back stage following the show. It was a chance to have a quick visit with former Saskatoon Aqualene, Alana Hargreaves, who was recently hired to swim with the production.
Day 2 had the athletes at the Las Vegas municipal pool for an exciting session with international champions from Brazil, France and the U.S. The athletes worked on highlights, spinning, routine skills, walk-ons and compulsory skills. The coaches were wishing they could bring Benoit back with them, as he seemed to find that last bit of energy in an exhausted crew of young athletes. All clinicians were so exuberant and passionate about our sport.
To finish the day, the group enjoyed the sunshine and summer-like temperatures for a short break and then stretched out their tired muscles during a unique aerial yoga session, a definite favorite activity amongst the athletes.
That evening the entire group and their families attended the performance of “Le Reve — The Dream” and were spellbound by the beauty of the water theatre and the magnificent performance.
The final day of training camp had the athletes back in the pool for the morning, working on polishing details and any special athlete requests.
Athletes then had a special session with Russian coach Dascha, who is the chief choreographer for “Le Reve”. Dascha had them explore their “inner actress” and ability to fill the pool with expression. This was lots of fun and certainly had the lifeguards highly distracted.
The camp finished with a unique flexibility session with former Olympic medalist Kanako, who decided to become a contortionist at the age of 30. Kanako currently performs as a contortionist with Cirque: “O”. Her soft voice, gentle touch and individual attention left the athletes relaxed after an intense three days.
The overall experience enabled our athletes to be exposed not only to elite international training, but also to realistic future opportunities for Artistic swimmers outside of their competitive careers. The senior athletes, their coaches and families would like to thank the communities of Weyburn and Estevan for their generosity in assisting in our fundraising to make this dream a reality.
Lifetime memories were made alongside teammates, coaches and their families and will not soon be forgotten.
