鈥淚t鈥檚 the Cochrane Rule,鈥� said University of Victoria Vikes head swim coach Peter Vizsolyi, shaking his head.
Two-time Olympic medallist Ryan Cochrane of Victoria, a UVic student, dropped in to compete at the CIS national swimming championships a few years ago without first competing in the sa国际传媒 West conference championships.
No more.
Swimmers must now qualify for the CIS nationals through their conference championships, the 2013 sa国际传媒 West version of which is taking place this weekend at Saanich Commonwealth Place.
That has caused for some hectic travel schedules. UVic rookies Alec Page, a London Olympian from Cortes Island with a big future, and Eric Hedlin were at the U.S. Grand Prix Meet in Texas last week and flew back to their home pool in Saanich for one day to swim one event each Friday in the sa国际传媒 West meet to qualify for the CIS nationals.
By Saturday morning, Page and Hedlin had already flown out of town for a national team training camp in Puerto Rico.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a stupid rule,鈥� said Vizsolyi.
When you鈥檙e in the 30th year as Vikes head coach, you鈥檝e earned the right to make such blunt observations.
The sa国际传媒 West championships conclude today with sessions at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., with the top finishers qualifying for the CIS national championships Feb. 21-24 in Calgary.
Saturday鈥檚 results were highlighted by London Olympian Savannah King of UBC winning both the women鈥檚 200-metre backstroke and 200-metre freestyle. Kelly Aspinall of Nanaimo led UBC to gold in the men鈥檚 400-metre freestyle.
Meanwhile, Vizsolyi said the reverberations from UVic Vikes swimmer Richard Weinberger winning bronze at the 2012 Summer Olympics are still being felt. Even though Weinberger made the podium at London in the open-water 10K, Vizsolyi said he has received interest from around the world requesting more information about the Vikes pool program.
