Check out this great article by Island Swimming's Julia Wilkinson

http://www.cbc.ca/commonwealthgames/blog/2010/08/pan-pacs-highlight-jam-packed-summer.html

Michael Phelps presents medals on the final day of Jr. Pan Pacs

Well the Jr. Pan Pacific Championships have come to a close. The Canadian team won another 3 medals last night and Michael Phelps was there to present the last medal presentations which was very exciting. The kids say they all had a great time and what a great experience it was Everyone taking part in the meet from the Coaches to Chaperones and officials were just great- the kids were very well looked after! It was also fun getting to know all the other parents not only from Canada but from around the world.

Aloha from Maui and see you in Victoria!

The Brothers Family

Day 3 updates

Another beautiful day here in Maui! The pool here in Kehei is fantastic and its been a great organized meet. They have covered stands for spectators and you are really close to the pool edge to get a great view. They sing the Hawaiian national anthem before each final and the teams have given us some great entertainment with their various cheers. The Canadian team is full of spirit and we were treated to a great human chain cheer lead by Jeremy before finals last night.

Day 3 saw all the Island boys swim in the 400 free. Jeremy and Keegan were the top Canadians in the prelims and made the A final. Although a little off of their personal best times they both improved their time over prelims and finished 6th and 8th respectively. Will was the third best time in the Canadian boys with a new personal best time where he took 5 seconds off his old time from Nationals. He swam in the B final and ended up just slightly slower than the morning swim finishing 7th.

The finals saw the 4x100 relays which are always so exciting to watch. There are quite a few Canadian families here and we may be outnumbered by the US but we are loud! The girls team won an exciting silver medal just out touching the Aussies. The boys team which included Jeremy had a battle the whole way for third against Japan. It was even by the time Jeremy dove in and all the parents and other team mates screamed the entire 100 meters. He out touched Japan at the very end and Canada received another Bronze medal. So exciting!!

Day 4 sees Will and Kyle swim the 200 IM, Alec swim the 200 Breast and all the boys swim the 800 free.

Day 2 Jr. Pan Pacs

Day 2 saw the Canadian Team rise up and stick their nose on the podium. The Girls 4 X 200 free relay out touched the Ausies with a great sprint in the last 25 meters to the Silver. In the women's 100 breast Teresa Van Beilen took the Silver in a very close race with the top two going under the meet record. The Ausies and the Americans are power houses with many Sr. Pan Pac team member at this meet. It was great to see the Canadian team gain confidence and start to wedge themselves in the fight.

Day 2 had the Island boys swimming the 100 free and 400 IM. In the 100 free Jeremy made the B final and finished fourth. Alec and Will swam the 400 IM with both swimmers making the B final. Alec swam a 4:29 good enough for 3rd, while Will took nearly 4 seconds off his results from Sr. Nats swimming a 4:35 taking 5th in the B final. Those results would have easily got both boys gold medals at our National Age Group championships in there age division, just to put those swims into perspective. Both Alec and Will could still compete at this meet in 2 years.

Kyle and Keegan both got to swim for Canada on 4 X 200 meter free relay. Both swam close to personal bests. Jeremy swam in the A relay and Canada was just out touch by Japan for 3rd place for a medal. That was another exciting race.

Day 3 has the 400 free for the Island Boys. Go Island!! Go Canada!!

The Brothers Family

Day 1 at the Jr. Pan Pacs

Well this is a very fast meet. As fast or faster than our Sr. National Championships. Of the 8 events swam this evening 7 new Junior Pan Pac records were broken. So the Canadians are in tough. The Ausies have brought 8 swimmers from their Sr. Pan Pacific team. Of course the Americans are very strong with many US National finalists on their team.

The Island boys swam well today. Jeremy was the closest Canadian to the podium finishing 4th in the 200 free with close to a personal best at 1:50.91. Alec also made the A final in the 200 free and swam a respectable 1:54.40 for eighth.

In the 200 fly our import Kyle McIntee swam to a 5th place finish as the top Canadian with a time of 2:01.95

The 1500 was tight all the way through the field. Will Brothers led the Canadians in the morning heats with a PB of 15:55.60 eventually finishing 11th overall. Not bad for one of the youngest swimmers in the meet. Alex and Keegan swam in the final heat at night with another close race between the two teammates. Keegan swam to a 7th place finish with a time of 15:44 and Alec just behind in 15:47 for 8th place. It looks like the future of Canadian men's distance swimming is very healthy thanks to Ryan's success.

Tomorrow will bring up Jeremy, Kyle and Keegan in the 100 free. Will and Alec will take on the some the best 18 and under male swimmers in the world in the 400 IM.

The Brothers Family

Finals for Jr. Pan Pacs at 9pm our time tonight

Finals for the Jr. Pan Pacific Championships start tonight at 6pm Hawaiian time (9pm our time). We have the link for live results located on the right sidebar. There will be no live coverage however you should be able to view videos on demand of all the final swims via swim network.

LIVE RESULTS - Jr. Pan Pacs

http://www.star-meets.org/results/JrPanPacs/2010/

Great photos of our boys getting ready to represent in Hawaii

Thanks to the Brothers Family for these great photos of coach Neil with our swimmers training and getting ready to represent Canada at the Jr. Pan Pacific Championships in Kihei, Hawaii. It looks nice and warm.

The competition starts tomorrow...Go Canada!

Swimmers need core work 12 months of the year!!

Here is a link that Coach Neil asked to have posted a while ago (oops). With our athletes jumping back in the water in less than a month's time, it is time to get back into shape. Click on the link below for some "over the summer work".

http://www.t-nation.com/testosterone-magazine-631

Teams arrive in Hawaii for Jr. Pan Pacs

The teams for Jr. Pan Pacs have all arrived today. There are 10 countries participating with the four main Countries being Canada, USA, Australia and Japan.

The Island boys are ready to go. Alec, Keegan and Will have just finished a 2 week training camp at UBC. They had Dave Johnson from Cascade as their main coach for the camp and arrived in Hawaii last night. Jeremy and Kyle travelled from the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore with Neil.

The weather here is typical for August with hot temperatures early in the morning and the relief comes in the afternoon with strong trade winds. We have met a few other Canadian parents and we are getting ready with our red and white gear to cheer on Jr. Team Canada.

The Brothers Family

Day 5 at YOG

The heats today saw some good swimming from our group!!

Lindsay Delmar qualified 1st in the 100 fly and Lauren Earp moved on to the semifinal of the 50 free with a very good swim.

The girls 4x100 freestyle relay finished a surprising 3rd place going into finals. This is with our 2 breaststrokers splitting under a minute!

The finals saw Lauren finish with an excellent 26.6 50 free at 13th place, not enough to advance to the finals. Lindsay swam a solid 60.6 to qualify 2nd into tomorrows final in the 100 fly.

To finish off the night, the girls went to town to finish with the BRONZE medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. It was a very exciting race with amazing split from each of the swimmers.

Watch tomorrow for the girls 200 breaststroke where we have 2 of the top swimmers in that event; the womens 100 fly with Lindsay; the boys 200 fly wher Thomas Jobin and Kyle McIntee make their appearance in the 200fly. We also have the mixed 4x100 medley relay where we have a very good chance of challenging for a medal.

stay tuned for day six!

Neil

Day 4 finals

After a very rough morning we had another great finals!!

Tera Van Beilen won the 100 breaststroke and Rachel Nicol got the bronze. It was great to hear the Canadian anthem again and this time with 2 flags on the pole.

It was a very exciting race as the Auzzie came fighting back in the last 25 meters. Tera overpowered both to take the GOLD by a tenth. A pair of very happy Canadians walked around the pool after they were handed their medals by swimming great Alexander Popov!!

We have 2 more days of competition so stay tuned for more great swimming.

Neil

Day 3 Finals

It was a shorter program but it was still full of thrills for the Canadian swim team on the third night of swimming at the Youth Olympic Games.

Canada captured another hard fought bronze medal to bring the medal total up to 3.

Lauren Earp was in 5th place at the 50 turn in the 100 freestyle when she decided to have a go at a medal. Her blazing second 50 got her past most of the field to get to the bronze.

In the 100 breaststroke semifinal, Canadian swimmers continued to control the program with a first place from Rachel Nicol and a third place from Tera Van Beilen. The time were just off personal bests, but the race for medals tonight looks very exciting.

Day 2 Finals - Gold and Bronze for Team Canada!

We had a great night of swimming last night! Jeremy won the bronze medal in the 200 freestyle, just ahead of Chad in 4th. It was a very exciting race with 50 meters to go both the silver and the bronze were up for grabs. It was Canada's first Olympic medal. Both swimmers had personal best times on this swim.

Then, in the very next race Rachel Nicol won the GOLD MEDAL in the 50 breaststroke. She was even at the 25 and then swam away from the group through to the finish line. It was a great feeling for our team to watch another medal go up on the board. The medal ceremonies were amazing for us. It was great to hear the Canadian anthem played in front of the crowd.

To finish the night off, our women's 4x100 medley relay finished an excellent 4th place. The chinese relay was disqualified for a takeover infraction, which moved us up into near medal territory. We had excellent swims from Rachel (new to backstroke :), Tera Van Beilen on breastroke, Lindsay Delmar on fly and Lauren Earp on freestyle.

It was a good night for us.

Rachel and I got home well after midnight due to backlogs in the doping room. Oh well that's life.

No pictures on this blog as I did not have enough time last night, but I will put some up this afternoon. Enjoy!!

Neil

Day 2 Heats

This morning we had another solid bunch of swims. Everyone got through to the finals!!

Lauren Earp swam a solid 57.0 to qualify 3rd for the semis, Lindsay Del Mar finished 6th in a very tight field for tonight's final of the 200 fly. Chad Bobrosky was 4th while Jeremy finished in a tie for 5th going into the final of the 200 freestyle.
Our women's 4x100 medley relay qualified a respectable 5th place. That is without a backstroker on the squad. Thanks to Rachel Nicole who stepped up with a 1.09 backstroke leg, just off her best time for the 100 breaststroke!!

Tonight we have those finals swims plus Rachel is going into the 50 breast in 1st place. It will be exciting.

Attached is a scene from the village square after lunch today.

Neil

Times Colonist Article today

Island Youths get taste of Olympic Dream

Day 1 Finals

We went into the finals with 3 medals up for grabs and came away with 4th place finishes. At the Youth Olympic Games, 4th place is a great result and that was certainly the case last night in Singapore for the Canadian Swimmers. That we came so close to the medals was a hard pill to swallow, but it shows just how competitive this meet really is.

Congratulations to Jeremy for his 5th place finish and to Chad for his 4th place in the 400m freestyle. I am sure both boys would like to have the chance to swim that one again!!!

Rachel Nichol continues to be a player in the 50 breaststroke as she finished first again in the semi-final. The field tightened up to indicated a very close race for the top 3 placings. That final goes tonight.

The 4x100 mixed freestyle relay was also 4th in a great race. The 2 men, 2 women format makes for some very exciting racing. We ended up 4th by a 10th behind the French team. Great swimming by all the Canadian relays.

Today we have Lauren Earp in the 100 free for women, Thomas Jobin in the men's 100 fly, Lindsay Del Mar in the 200 fly and the women's 4x100 medley relay. It looks to be another exciting day. Tune in online!!

Sorry, no action shots from last night, I had to coach! I will try to get some general pictures today. I have attached a picture of the Olympic flame moments after it was lit.


Neil

Day 1 Heats

We started the meet off with some great heats!!

Jeremy is going into finals seeded 1st with Chad Bobrosky 2nd in the 400m free. Rachel Nichol is seeded 1st in the 50 breast and our 4x100m free relay is seeded 2nd.

That is it for the first morning of competition. Not a bad start.

The opening ceremonies were spectacular last night in a totally amazing place (Marina Bay). You can watch the Opening Ceremonies at www.youtholympics.org

More to come...watch the YOG website for instant results.

Neil

Let the games begin!

You can watch Jeremy lead the Canadian team during the Youth Olympics opening ceremonies live tomorrow morning (Sat) at 4am our time. Go to www.youtholympicgames.org

Team Canada Celebration

Aug 12 cont...

After a vigorous morning swim, the athletes got organized with massage and other small details of preparation. In the afternoon, we made a short trip to the downtown area for some shopping as well as admiring the amazing buildings in this area.

In the evening, we went out for a Team Canada dinner. We were bussed downtown and let off at a rather nice hotel (Swiss hotel). We were whisked to the 69th floor and found ourselves in a reception in our honour thrown by the Canadian High Commission and over 200 Canadian business people and families of Canadian athletes!

We enjoyed a traditional dragon dance for good luck, a full buffet, a rock band and some presentations of thanks to the Canadian businesses who donated time and money for the event. Jeremy Bagshaw was asked to give the tokens of thanks to this group.

Attached is a picture of the swimmers with the dragons.

Neil

Articles about Jeremy from YOG website

Made in Singapore

Singapore born Canadian honored as flag bearer

August 12 in Singapore for YOG

Today we trained once in the morning then had a massage for those who booked them.

In the afternoon we went to downtown Singapore to get out of the village and see a bit of the city. We were hoping to get a trip up to the top of the Marina Sands resort but alas, not to be. So we went shopping. It was good for everyone.

Tonight we have a team Canada dinner with all the athletes and coaches at a swank downtown hotel. It should be good.

Neil

Neil and Jeremy arrive in Singapore for the Youth Olympic Games

Update from Neil August 11

The travel over was straight forward, though we had to scramble to get aisle and bulkhead seats for some of the group. In Hong Kong, I had the group do a 5 minute jog around the airport and then 10 minutes of activation work. We didn't draw a crowd but there were a few lookers.

Arrival in Singapore was laced with anticipation, especially for Jeremy. He has visited here on many occasions but this was different. A small but cheerful welcoming committee made up of family members greeted him with flowers and hugs.

The athlete village is quite nice as is most of Singapore. It is a sprawling campus with many, many stairs and no straight lines. The food is good but basic. The number of athletes is huge. There are so many countries represented here it is amazing. I have not counted but I believe there are over 100 countries here. Not that many in the swim meet but still, it is impressive.

The pool is the same one the Canadian Olympic team trained in prior ot the 2008 games. Very nice.

The transportation is quite good with large buses taking us around on schedule. There are dedicated lanes on the highways and it appears that most of Singapore (population 5+ million) wildly supports the games.

The meet starts in 3 days and the group looks good. We are just getting over the travel and jet lag etc.

Neil