By Josh O’Brien
Under the leadership of head coach Mike Blondal, the Dinos swim team has developed into a dominant force in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, with the women’s squad finishing second in last year’s CIS championships, while the men finished third. While the Dinos didn’t manage to take home a CIS championship banner last year, they stacked up well against stiff competition like the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
“Last year was a close three-way race at CIs and I would envision that we are going to have that again this year on the men’s side,” said Blondal, who has set No. 1 in the country as the goal for the men. “On the women’s side, we had a number of girls graduate and move on, so we are a bit down on total numbers. We have a strong core group of girls and I think they will do very well at winning events and scoring points.”
There are a couple of interesting new additions to the men’s side, including Christian Cote, who participated in the World Junior Championships this summer and is one of the top juniors in Canada, and Mackenzie Ponting, who is the son of Dino alumni and three-time Olympian Tom Ponting.
Lindsay Delmar and David Woodman will be a couple of key contributors for the team. Both Delmar and Woodman have been swimming since the age of eight. Delmar, who is from Burlington, Ontario, was attracted to Blondal’s team from the start.
“The University of Calgary Swimming Club is the best swim team in Canada,” said Delmar. “I was torn between going to the NCAA or staying here in Calgary, but I love the atmosphere and I wanted to be a part of it.” Delmar, a third-year health sciences major, plans to better her second-place finish in the women’s 400-metre freestyle and her third-place finish in the 200-metre butterfly at the 2013 CIS Championship.
Woodman is a Winnipeg native and fifth-year business student. “Everyone knows Mike, and he has the best program to help us grow as athletes,” said Woodman of the coaching he receives at the University of Calgary, which helps him remain focused despite the heavy workload. “I work as well as swim, but I have learned how to manage my time and to go to all my classes. It’s a thing we develop over the course of our careers.”
Both Woodman and Delmar are looking to make the Team Canada Olympic Swim team and compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “Our eyes are aimed at the Olympic Games,” said Delmar. “That’s what we train for.”
Having athletes swim internationally is also a priority for Blondal.
“It’s also the Commonwealth Games and Pan-Pacific Swimming Championships this summer,” said Blondal. “Getting athletes onto those teams is really important. It’s important for our future and it’s important for the university that we are represented internationally.”