Artistic swimmers dazzle at Ontario Winter Games in Thunder Bay while promoting their sport

When one thinks of winter sports, it's usually snow, not water, that comes to mind – but hundreds of people spent the weekend poolside for the artistic swimming events at the Ontario Winter Games in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Formerly known as synchronized swimming, artistic swimming brings music and movement to an aquatic stage. As 11-year-old Tommy Winchester puts it, "it's a combination between dancing, gymnastics and swimming."

Tommy and his teammates from Remix Artistic Swimming Club traveled all the way from Toronto to compete.

"I think it went fairly well," Tommy said of the competition, with his coach adding that the athletes only learned the routine a couple days ago.

"It was pretty easy, given that I didn't really have very much else to do," Tommy said of mastering the moves so quickly.

Brianna Johnson, coach for the Thunder Bay Artistic Swimming Club, said when she was growing up, not many people knew about the sport.

"A lot more people know what it is now, and an event like this coming to Thunder Bay is really good promotion of the sport, and it's such a good sport," Johnson said.

"There's so [many] team aspects but also individual aspects that it really helps athletes grow and develop in a way just outside of sport, too."

Local club supports events

The Thunder Bay Artistic Swimming Club actually competes in Manitoba because it's closer for athletes to travel west than go south, Johnson explained. That means Thunder Bay athletes couldn't compete in the Ontario Winter Games but were given the chance to do pre-swims before the judges and to volunteer for several events.

"I felt that it went really good. I'm a little upset that my nose clip almost came off at the end," said 13-year-old Lindy Jackson of Thunder Bay, who swam to 'WONDERLAND' by Neoni. Her youth solo swim served as a dress rehearsal for a competition she's doing next weekend.

Lindy previously did diving and competitive swimming but said she switched to artistic swimming because she wanted to be more creative – but it's still a lot of hard work.

"There's some cardio, some strength. We do that usually on the weekdays and then we do a lot of swimming and flexibility," Lindy said.

The Thunder Bay Artistic Swimming Club offers recreational, novice, pre-competitive and competitive programs, and has also recently introduced adult programs as well, said Johnson.

"Swimming can be a really low-impact sport, so that can be really good for people that have more joint issues and stuff but also a cool opportunity to still stay active and stay involved in the sport that maybe their kids are involved in," she said.

Making friends across the province

For 11-year-old Brynn Borycheski of the Remix Artistic Swimming Club, being at the Ontario Winter Games was about more than the competition.

"I was really excited and I was really happy that me and my friends got an opportunity to share our routine with more people," Brynn said. "Our club is all about inclusivity and having fun, so I get to meet a whole bunch of different kinds of people."

While it's been a tiring few days for Brynn and her teammates following an early-morning flight and long days of practice, she said the trip to northwestern Ontario has been worth it.

"I think it's good because you get to meet new people and have fun and meet different kinds of people from different clubs from all around [Ontario]," she said.

The Ontario Winter Games are wrapping up Monday with artistic swimming, archery, curling, fencing and hockey on the schedule. More information about the events can be found on the City of Thunder Bay's website.