Yukon will be represented at the Canadian Open Synchronized Swimming Championships at the end of the month in Saskatoon, Sask.
Whitehorse’s Jamie Duke and Katelyn Vowk qualified for the nationals at the Wildrose Classic in Lethbridge, Alta., over the weekend.
The two members of the Northern Novas - Yukon’s synchronized swimming team - placed fourth in the duets competition for females 16-18.
They missed the podium by just 1.1 points in the competition. They might have medaled but were a little unprepared for the “figures” competition, which are specific positions performed individually, separate from the routines.
“Me and Jamie and our coach know we could have gotten third or higher if we had done better on our figures because they combined the marks from the routine and the figures together,” said Vowk. “Jamie and I were practising the wrong figures and figured out the day of the competition that they were wrong. So we didn’t do so great on those.”
Duke and Vowk, who have been competing together for about two years, missed the national qualifying event because Vowk was competing in alpine skiing at the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks, Alaska, last month. They received permission from the governing body to qualify through the Alberta provincials.
It’ll be the two’s first national championship.
“I think we’re ready for it,” said Vowk. “Our routine is coming along really good and now that we know the real figures we can practise those. There’ll be a lot of girls, but I think we’ll place pretty good.”
Vowk won gold in slalom and silver in giant slalom in juvenile female at the Arctic Games last month.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com