OXBOW - Oxbow’s swim club, the Oxbow Seawolves, have received new life after hosting a swim meet for the first time in years. The swim club held a fun meet at their pool on Aug. 8, with swimmers from Oxbow, Regina and Estevan attending.
With COVID-19 regulations and restrictions from earlier in the year keeping most tournaments and swim meets from being organized over the majority of the season, this meet was a last chance for swimmers to compete.
“Hosting a meet was a huge milestone for our club. We hadn’t hosted a meet in our town since 2012 or 2013,” said Seawolves head coach Lindsey McNab. “It was great to have a fun meet to allow our club to get a practice run for a real meet in the upcoming years.”
McNab, who grew up with the sport, has been coaching the Seawolves for three seasons. This year was different, however, with the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations for the majority of the season, rendering them unable to fully practice and, of course, compete.
“Our club was one of the few in Saskatchewan that operated during COVID last year, so we had one full year of practice. They were eager to race again,” she explained. “Having these events allows our kids to reconnect with friends who they haven’t seen due to COVID. It allowed our swimmers something to work towards.”
The meet was held after regulations were lifted, and they had no trouble with crowds. This swim tournament closely followed the Weyburn swim meet held in July, which a few athletes from Oxbow attended.
The Weyburn meet was an event that was held directly after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, giving everyone a chance to settle into an old routine. The Oxbow meet, however, was a final chance for swimmers to finish off their season on a good note, and McNab says most of the Oxbow swimmers did.
The tournament, held at the Oxbow Pool, was filled with about 60 swimmers in total, of many different age groups. The Seawolves had close to 25 swimmers, and they made up almost half of the crowd.
“It was great to get back to a meet and enjoy the meet atmosphere,” McNab said. “There are always hiccups at a tournament but with the help of members of our club and other clubs we were able to have a smooth meet.”
McNab also expressed her gratitude and thanks for the volunteers and support the Seawolves received for the meet, and not just from Oxbow, but from all over southern Saskatchewan.
“We would not have been able to run our meet without the help of Dave and Twyla from Weyburn and Alicia from Estevan. These members helped us with Hytek and showed our meet manager the ropes.
“(I want to say thanks to) our board and parents for assisting with set up, Southern Plains Co-op for donating taco chips, Reach Cafe for serving drinks and all the parents/volunteers that helped with timing or working the door and canteen.”
The meet was a huge success, according to McNab. “It was beautiful and hot, which is exactly what you want for an outdoor swim meet,” she said. “It was huge for our swimmers.”
