The 200-metre race at Saanich Commonwealth Centre on Saturday afternoon could have been mistaken as part of a regular swim meet — that is, until swimmers began diving underneath obstacles placed in the swimming lanes.
Placed so that swimmers have to squeeze through a 40 centimetre gap, the barriers are meant to simulate waves one might encounter during a rescue, said Perry Smith, an organizer of the Canadian Pool Lifesaving Championships.
None of the competitors were going particularly fast, though most of them are able to complete a 50-metre swimming sprint in less than a minute as required of a lifeguard.
Contestants have to be in shape to perform CPR for 10 minutes after they finish the race, Smith said.
“How fast can you save somebody’s life? It’s essentially what we’re looking at here,” said meet manager Oliver Nugent.
A few steps from the pool, there was a cluster of bright orange mannequins, waiting to be used in simulated rescues.
This year’s Canadian Pool Lifesaving Championships saw 130 competing athletes from across the country — ranging from teenagers to a man in his 70s. They participated in obstacle course swimming, line throws, rescue medleys and simulated rescues.
The sport is popular in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Athletes from those provinces accounted for about three-fourths of the participants.
Supporters of the two teams from Quebec proudly draped their provincial flag from the stands.
Sidney resident Martin Henderson, who was competing in the finals on Saturday, said he was going to try his best to win a medal despite the strong competition.
Caitlyn Fowler, captain of the national lifesaving youth team, said Saturday’s races had a collegiate feel to them.
The 16-year-old Tsawwassen resident will have to miss today’s competitions due to lifeguard orientation at a waterpark summer job.
Many of the competitors are lifeguards, though Nugent said athletes don’t have to be a certified lifeguard to participate in lifesaving sports, as an entry-level lifesaving certificate is all that’s required.
The sport helps bring and retain people into life-guarding, which has a high turnover rate, Nugent said. “If you get involved in the sport, you stay in aquatics … we get them involved, excited and in the pool and they want to stay around,” he said, adding that many former competitors now hold management positions.
The sport’s first world game was held in the U.K. in 1985 and featured Canadian athletes.
There are other variations of the lifesaving sport beyond swimming pools, such as first aid competitions and a format on open-water.
The sport is growing and there’s a push to include it into the Summer Olympics by 2032, when Brisbane, Australia is set to host, Nugent said.
National pool lifesaving competitions have made occasional appearances in Greater Victoria. The last one was held at Victoria’s Crystal Pool in 2011.
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