The Annual Summit is an opportunity for BC's artistic swimming athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators to come together and share ideas, best practices, and technical knowledge.
2020 has been a year like no other in our lifetime. It has challenged us in ways that we never expected and forced us to find new ways to do the basics in our everyday lives, including how we deliver our beautiful sport. Yet, it has also create opportunities like never before!
Re-Imagine 2020 is intended to inspire our members to activate change, to consider new ways for artistic swimming to thrive in BC, and to contemplate the future of our sport through a different lens. After 40 years of developing our sport in BC, we have the opportunity to step back, assess, and envision our sport as a model for participants, and other sports - an opportunity to re-imagine what we can be!
We start by re-imagining the delivery of our Annual Summit when we are unable to come together in person. While this year's summit will be delivered in a virtual setting, it will still include a fantastic line up of incredible and dynamic facilitators. In fact, the virtual setting has allowed us to expand our reach to include a more diverse group of presenters from all corners of the country.
Next, we contemplate new and innovative ways of doing things, which will be the focus of Re-Imagine 2020. We will explore how to create inclusive and safe environments, how to manage issues and effectively communicate, how to become allies with each other, and how to train our athletes and our minds in new and different ways to foster a positive and good sport experience. Not to mention, a pinch of creativity and hopefully lots of fun.
We look forward to having your join us on our journey to Re-Imagine artistic swimming in BC!
Please click on the image below to see the full schedule of activities and facilitated sessions.
New this year, individuals will register themselves for the Summit using the BCAS 2020 Re-Imagine Registration Form. Clubs are not required to compile their club registrations into one submission.
BC Artistic Swimming is very pleased to announce that BCAS members can participate in the 2020 Summit at no cost and you are welcome to participate in as many sessions as you like! Please click on REGISTER NOW - BCAS below.
Out-of-Province participants are welcome to join at a cost of $25.00 per person which must be paid, in advance, by PayPal (service fees apply) or e-Transfer. Please click on REGISTER NOW - OOP below.
Please register by October 20th to secure your spot at Re-Imagine 2020!
Register Now - BCAS
REGISTER NOW - OOP
In this session, Inga Gillyer, former Ukrainian National Team artistic swimmer, high performance coach and yoga instructor will lead athletes through a full mobility session for all levels that will include some flow yoga that is specifically targeted to artistic swimmers. Coaches are invited observe the session in preparation for the HOW session for coaches that will follow.
Facilitated by Andrea Carey from INclusion INcorporated, this panel presentation will feature athletes and role models who will share their journeys through being in the spotlight, learnings of Allyship, of speaking up, of creating spaces for difficult conversations, of appreciating diversity, and of creating inclusive spaces and cultures of belonging. We will begin with some background about diversity and define allyship. We will also explore when their journey went well and when it has not gone well and what the difference makers were in those situations.
The panelists for this session will be Ashley Johnson, Camille Bowness & Gabriella Brisson. Both Camille and Gabriella are former Canada National Team Athletes and members of the Canada Artistic Swimming Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and Ashley Johnson is the Vice-President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with USA Artistic Swimming.
Senior National Team Members and Duet partners Claudia Holzner and Jacqueline Simoneau are teaming up out of the water to talk about relationship building in sport. Sport teams become like family and, as we all know, sometimes there is conflict among family members. In this session, Claudia and Jacqueline will explore strategies for athletes to manage relationship in and out of sport.
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Looking for some fun?!? Team up to complete this Artistic Swimming Virtual Scavenger Hunt!
Teams will have 4 hours to submit their treasures for the chance to win prizes. Log in to this session for details.
Athletes and coaches are invited to kick start their day with flexibility training. Katie MacLeod will lead athletes through a flexibility session and demonstrate figure trainer exercises that you can incorporate into your own training regiment.
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Your team becomes a second family and, in families, conflict will inevitably arise. In this session, Nadia Kyba will introduce the concepts that will help athletes recognize, address, and prevent conflict which is crucial for successful team functioning. Nadia will discuss the Circle of Inference and help athletes to manage tricky conversations - skills that will support them in the pool and in life.
You certainly can't be an artistic swimmer if you can't control your breath. Breath Control Training (BCT) is scientifically proven to maximize sports performance safely, effectively and in the shortest possible timeframe. In this session, Tyler Huston, will introduce athletes to breath control training including functional breathing foundations and safe dryland training techniques that are used by high performance athletes around the world.
Join us for the annual review of the Technical Package. Learn more about the rule changes that affect the delivery of artistic swimming this year and how events and competitions will be managed under the pandemic restrictions.
Join us for this virtual social event for some contemplation, history, celebration and trivia!
We will hear from all facets of our sport - a sport leader, an athlete, a coaches and a judge who we've challenged to re-imagine artistic swimming in BC followed by a social to celebrate 40 years of our sport and some fun trivia to find out just how much you really know about artistic swimming in BC.
Building on the Wake Up & Move session with athletes, Inga Gillyer will guide coaches on athlete progression from the moment they start synchro to the moment they reach the more advanced (National team) level. Coaches will learn how to help their athletes progress through each stage of development including the correct order of what to work on and when.
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This presentation will introduce you to diversity and inclusion. It is a starting point to the diversity and inclusion journey. We begin by exploring why this work needs to be undertaken, explore definitions for key terms, frame the idea of the diversity and inclusion journey and provide context about what leaders need to be thinking about and planning for. This session will be engaging and will support leaders, coaches and judges to create safe spaces to learn and journey together into the diversity and inclusion space.
Join this diverse group of panelists as they explore implementing growth mindset and positive coaching strategies into coaching and judging activities. Moderated by Cari Din, Olympic Silver Medalist in artistic swimming and leadership behaviour specialist, the panel will share their experiences and insights about what behaviours and actions create the condition for a positive sport experience in which athletes thrive.
The panelists for this session are:
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This session will provide coaches with information related to the progression of flexibility and figure training. Building on the Wake up & Flex session, Katie MacLeod will discuss how to start, when to add resistance, the progression from basic positions to speed of movement exercises, the importance of strengthening the muscles as well as working on the flexibility.
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Your team becomes a second family and, in families, conflict will inevitably arise. In this session, Nadia Kyba will introduce the concepts that will help participants recognize, address, and prevent conflict which is crucial for successful team functioning in the pool and around the board table. Nadia will discuss team development and how to move forward when issues arise, and tangible group guidelines that will help to prevent and manage conflict.
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The 2020-21 season is slated to be one like no other. As a community, we are adjusting and adapting our sport to create opportunities for our athletes, including the creation of land-based competitions to ensure there is a place for all athletes to participate. FINA G judge and National Officials Committee Member, Lisa Balcombe, will guide you through an understanding of the land routine elements and skills that will be competed this season.
Building on this session, Kari McKnight (UANA G) will review the judging criteria for the land events on Sunday, October 25.
Building off of Saturday's Virtual Judging: Land Events session, Kari McKnight (UANA G) will review and explain the judging criteria for land events.
Your club becomes a second family and, in families, conflict will inevitably arise. In this session, Nadia Kyba will introduce the concepts that will help participants recognize, address, and prevent conflict which is crucial for successful club executive functioning and around the board table and pool. Nadia will discuss team development and how to move forward when issues arise, and tangible group guidelines that will help to prevent and manage conflict in your club.
Andrea Carey is a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional (CCIP), holds a Masters of Education in Leadership Studies and is a champion of inclusion. Andrea is Brene Brown “Dare to Lead” trained and leads courageously.
As the founder and Chief INclusion Officer with INclusion INcorporated, Andrea works to support clients to create cultures of belonging and inclusion for everyone to thrive and has worked extensively on inclusion and improved access for Indigenous peoples, Newcomers, persons with disabilities and women and girls. She brings extensive experience in business operations, facility management, human resources, strategic planning, marketing, group facilitation, curriculum development and in product development.
Her passionate, playful and engaging approach to inclusion provides a platform for understanding the challenges, to develop a strategy that aligns the organization’s needs with global trends and connects clients to tools to ensure successful implementation.Andrea is a volunteer with the Canadian Paralympic Committee as a Board Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Andrea is a volunteer with the Canadian Paralympic Committee as a Board Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee; and sits on the Board of KidSport Victoria.
Ashley Johnson is a Jamaican-American Artistic Swimming Head Coach in Coral Springs Florida. She has been a part of USAAS for 27 years as an athlete, a coach and judge. She is the most highest rated Black coach and judge in USAAS. Her fully minority club and coaching staff have places 10 athletes on the National Team from 12-u team through to the current Senior team. Ashley is well respected internationally as she has worked with many countries to help with coaching, choreography, technical skills and inclusion of boys. Her passion, determination and will to make change led her to her new position as the Vice President of Diversity, Equality/Equity, and Inclusion - a brand new position on USAAS Board of Directors. She’s excited to teach her 1st FINA Clinic that will bring multiple ethnicities, cultures and genders together for growth and development. Fun Fact: Ashley is a part of the HOW Coaches group and loves to help out and give anything she can with lots of fun behind it.
“I am very excited to participate in BC Artistic Swimming's summit with the opportunity to connect with athletes, coaches, judges and staff. Conversations have to happen for change to start. I’m extremely thankful that BC Artistic Swimming is allowing me to be a part of a much needed movement not just for BC but for the world."
Cari grew up in the sport of artistic swimming competing for 18 years - ten on Canada's national team - and represented Canada at more than 40 international competitions where she medaled in every instance. Her athletic career culminated at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta as member of Canada's first Olympic artistic swimming team, bringing home a silver medal.
Cari coached artistic swimming for many years while simultaneously completing her master’s degree in motor learning – teaching games for understanding. Cari went on to complete her PhD with her research specifically looking at Olympic Medal-Winning Leadership Behaviour.
Cari knows the power a coach can have, and she believes that every athlete deserves an excellent coach who is steeped in the best knowledge and practice available. Cari uses her experience and education to promote and create highly impactful relationships between coaches and athletes. Cari is a dynamic, educated, and enthusiastic teacher who passion for effective leadership is inspiring.
(Photo: Team Canada Duet Partners Claudia Holzner & Jacqueline Simoneau)
Claudia Holzner was six when she saw artistic swimming on TV from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Two years later she did her first lesson with the Calgary Aquabelles and was hooked. In 2008 she won team gold at the age group Pan American Championships before joining the age 13-15 national team in 2009. She moved up to the junior national team in 2010 and returned to the Pan Am Championships in 2011, winning gold in the solo, duet and team events. After competing at the 2012 FINA World Junior Championships, Holzner joined the senior national team and was named to squad for the 2013 FINA World Championships where she competed in the non-Olympic combo event. Holzner achieved one of the greatest highlights of her career at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games where she was a member of the team that won gold at home. In 2017, Holzer began partnering with Jacqueline Simoneau in the duet. Together they finished seventh in the technical and free events at the 2017 FINA World Championships. She competed at her 4th World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea in 2019 and went on to compete at the Pan American Games in Lima, where Canada brought home two gold medals and qualified both the team and duet for the Tokyo Olympic Games!
Inga was born and raised in Donetsk, Ukraine. She has 18 years of professional athletic career and 7+ years coaching background. She was a first Ukrainian synchronized swimmer who qualified to Ukrainian National team at the age of 14 and was representing Ukraine internationally as a member of both Olympic and Junior National teams. Throughout her athletic career she has become multiple time Ukrainian National Champion, European Champion, multiple time European silver and bronze medalist, was ranked 5th at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, 2x NCAA D1 Champion, multiple time American National Champion and multiple time All-American. She has experience working with Olympic level athletes, she’s produced National Champions, State Champions and helped athletes secure their spots on the National teams. Inga is extremely passionate for what she does! Her purpose is to help anybody she works with to achieve their goals and become their best self.
Jacqueline Simoneau is a multi World Series Medalist and a 2016 Olympian qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Over the years Simoneau has raked in close to one hundred medals for Canada on the World stage, some of her most notable ones being 4 gold medals at the Pan American Games, being the first Canadian artistic swimmer to do so. Those 4 gold medals qualified her for the Rio 2016 Olympics where she placed 7th in the duet event and the two other golds she most recently won in Lima, Peru which qualified her for the Tokyo Olympics. Apart from swimming, Simoneau enjoys school and aspires to study medicine after her athletic career. In addition to her schooling and training Simoneau also gives back to the community working closely with the Make A Wish Foundation, Celiac Quebec and Fast and Female.
Kari began her artistic swimming career at the age of eleven, competing provincially, nationally and eventually internationally during her competitive and Masters swimming years. She went on to coach provincially and nationally, and also spent a year overseas in South Africa working with regional and national artistic swimming teams. During her university years, Kari saw the important relationship between good nutrition and peak athletic performance, which steered her towards the field of nutrition in university and is now a Registered Dietitian.
Kari has been judging for nearly two decades in a local, provincial and national capacity. In 2019, Kari was upgraded to a UANA level judge. Her dream is to eventually become a FINA level judge and she is looking forward to being able to judge internationally for Canada. She has two children, Charlotte and Evan, who keep her busy. During the Summit, Kari will be sharing some of the experience and knowledge she has gained through her time on the Canada Artistic Swimming Opportunities Task Force which is responsible for leading the organization into the virtual competitions era. She judged the first UANA virtual competition in June and has been working at the Task Force level to determine some of the judging and evaluation criteria for 2021 virtual competitions and beyond.
With 25 years of coaching experience, Kate is a Chartered Professional Coach and a certified Master Coach Developer in the National Coaching Certification Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology, a Master’s Degree in Human Kinetics and is currently completing her PhD in Interdisciplinarity, with a focus on adult learning and coach education.
Kate has developed and managed coaching programs at the local, provincial, and national level, and seeks to support coaches through their challenges and celebrate their successes.
Katie is a Lead High Performance Coach at Dollard Synchro Club and an incredible advocate for differentiated programming and training for athletes. With a university degree in Political Science and Competition Development Coach Certification, she utilizes her organizational and creative thinking skills to excel in planning, programming, and supporting athletes and coaches. Her club's recent high level of success can be contributed to an outstanding collaborative culture of which Katie is an integral part.
Specializing in flexibility and conditioning, Katie offers a knowledge, enthusiasm, and work ethic that is inspiring! She loves sharing her skills and teaching both athletes and coaches how to complete and achieve targeted training, especially transferable movements from land to water. Katie is a former Senior National Team member and was an athlete at the Centre of Excellence for two seasons. As a strong athlete and a leader in her club program at Dollard Synchro, Katie was also a consistent member of Team Quebec programs and teams.
Lianna Sottile is an Artistic Swimming Judge who has been judging on the international stage since 2009. She is the current Chair of the Nation Officials Committee for Canada Artistic Swimming. Lianna is the former Head Coach of Gloucester Synchro Club holding this position for 20 years. During her tenure with GSC, she helped facilitate the merger of Gloucester and Ottawa to form GO Capital Artistic Swimming Club. Outside of artistic swimming, Lianna is a business owner, mother of three and passionate about fair play.
Lisa's artistic swimming journey began in 1976 when her mother saw an ad in the local newspaper about a sport involving “swimming up-side-down to music.” Since she spent most of her speed swimming lessons doing just that, her mom signed her up marking the start of her lifelong love for the sport.
Lisa has been involved for over 40 years as an athlete, coach, educator, and official. Lisa had the honour of representing Nova Scotia at the 1983 Jeux de Canada Games in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec and has competed in the Master's duet with the love of her life, her husband, Don. As a coach, she supported a junior team to compete in the 1990 Western Synchronized Swimming Championships. As an educator, Lisa has trained many officials, led collaborative sessions with coaches and officials, contributed to the writing of the Star Manual, co-authored the Aquasquirts Program, and collaborated with senior officials on proposals to FINA. Today, Lisa helps with the training/education of international officials.
Lisa has been an artistic swimming judge since 1986 and is a staple at provincial events in BC as well as national events across Canada where she began to dream of becoming an international judge. In 2018, Lisa achieved her FINA G status and has participated in several international events since that time. Lisa attributes much of this success to her amazing mentors who have shared their knowledge and expertise throughout her artistic swimming career.
Nadia has worked in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution for over 20 years. Within the Provincial Child Welfare system, she was a Practice Consultant designing and facilitating Collaborative Decision Making Meetings. Her passion for training and conflict management led her to design and facilitate workshops for business organizations, sports associations and families to address individual and group conflict. She is a regular instructor with the Justice Institute of British Columbia with specializations including conflict management, facilitation, consultation and course instruction.
Recently, Nadia published THIS IS HOW WE ROLL: A Coaches Guide to Transforming Conflict into High Performance as well as two practical easy to use workbooks: THIS IS HOW WE ROLL: Team Building through Conflict Management in Sport and THIS IS HOW WE ROLL: Team Building through Conflict Management in the Workplace.
She is a lifelong athlete and has a deep love of sport. Nadia believes that a positive experience in organized sport provides children, youth and adults the opportunity to have experiences impacting all areas of their life. I am proud to be a member of the US Anti-Doping Agency True Sport Expert Series for 2020 - 2022.
Tyler Huston is a Respiratory Specialist, Nurse, First Responder Paramedic, Performance Coachand Director of Breath Control.
Tyler has spent years working with athletes and clients within community, sporting organizations, clinical rehabilitation and hospital settings.
Tyler has collaborated with Medical Experts, Professional Athletes and Coaches, Military and Special Forces Trainers and Personnel, as well as First Responders to develop the Breath Control Training (BCT) Program.
The Breath Control Training (BCT) program is scientifically proven to maximize sports performance – safely, effectively and in the shortest possible time frame while reducing the risk of injuries.
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