Covy Moore/Rocky View Publishing

About 375 swimmers from all over the Calgary region competed in the second annual John Timmerman's Swim Meet, hosted by the Nose Creek Swim Association and held at Airdrie's Genesis Place, Feb. 9 and 10. The meet was the last chance for swimmers to qualify for upcoming provincial competitions.

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Airdrie swim meet attracts 375 young athletes

The aquatics centre at Genesis Place looked different from normal on Feb. 9 to 10 as 375 swimmers from the Calgary region competed in the John Timmerman’s swim meet.

The meet was hosted by Airdrie’s Nose Creek Swim Association (NCSA) and was the last chance swimmers had to qualify for upcoming provincial-level meets, to take place within the next month.

“NCSA swimmers did a fantastic job this weekend,” said Alexx Diep, NCSA’s assistant head coach. “We were excited to add about six more names to the provincial-qualifier roster for NCSA after this meet.”

Diep said NCSA will now send more than 40 swimmers to the regional age group trials in Calgary, Feb. 22 to 24.

“This will be by far the biggest contingent of swimmers the club has ever sent to this level of meet,” he said, adding other swimmers earned their “A” qualifying times, allowing them to attend higher-level meets.

According to NCSA’s President Greg Nixon, the two-day meet was filled to capacity and about 70 officials were required for each of the four sessions.

“As always, NCSA’S meet-management team did a bang-up job,” he said. “I had nothing but great feedback from the visiting clubs.”

Nixon added having the event in Airdrie was important as many of NCSA’s swimmers train at Genesis Place.

“We couldn’t have done it without the support of the City and Genesis Place,” said Nixon. “They are obviously supporting amateur athletics.”

Diep agreed, saying the club appreciates the use of the “top-class venue.”

“With the expertise of our senior officials we were able to offer a very high-quality meet,” he said. “The meet ran smoothly and everyone walked away with a lot of new best times.”

Diep said the club is preparing for a number of short-course championship events, including the Western Canadian Championships, to take place in Saskatoon from Feb. 14 to 17.

“This is a very exciting time for our swimmers as they are gearing down to their main meet of the year,” he said. “There is a lot of excitement at practices because everyone is looking forward to performing well.”