McMaster Aquatics has added Masters swimming classes to their roster of aquatic clubs and services
McMaster Aquatics recently began offering a Masters swimming class.
Masters swimming is for those who are looking to improve their overall swimming form and technique. Through McMaster Aquatics, certified competitive swimming coaches will work with athletes to correct their stroke and technique.
Through McMaster Aquatics, certified competitive swimming coaches will work with athletes to correct their stroke and technique.
Per the program’s page on the McMaster Athletics and Recreation website, the group is aimed at swimmers who are able to swim a straight distance of at least 100m comfortably.
These classes run for 12 weeks, running from Sept. 18 all the way until Dec. 22. A semester's worth of lessons will cost athletes $150 to participate, with lessons occurring all throughout the week.
A semester's worth of lessons will cost athletes $150 to participate, with lessons occurring all throughout the week.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the program runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., while Tuesday classes go from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday from 8:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. For weekend times, the group is scheduled to meet on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Sundays from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
McMaster Aquatics also offers several other services and clubs. Some services include recreational swim times, National Lifeguard re-certification courses, and private lessons. Clubs that are associated with McMaster Aquatics include the Lifeguard Competitive Lifesaving Team and the Synchronized Swim Club.
For McMaster students, services such as recreational swim times are free of cost. Recreational swim times can be found on the McMaster Aquatics Instagram.
For students who want to enjoy McMaster Aquatics services without the commitment to a club, intramurals are a great option. McMaster Aquatics offers intramural innertube basketball and innertube water polo.
In the coming school year, the HPA is going to allow more McMaster teams to use its space, free of charge
Created in 2021, the McMaster University High Performance Area was built to give varsity athletes a space to be coached for sport-specific workouts. The space houses an array of equipment including squat racks, Keiser units and a turf field.
The facility is a world-class space, bringing prestige to the university and, most importantly, helping the student athletes that attend McMaster to reach their full potential.
While the HPA has been up and running for the past two years, only teams within the U SPORTS league—including sports such as, swimming, wrestling, soccer and women’s rugby—were allowed to make use of the space without payment.
While the HPA has been up and running for the past two years, only teams within the U SPORTS league—including sports such as, swimming, wrestling, soccer and women’s rugby—were allowed to make use of the space without payment.
This set up left teams that participate in the Ontario University Athletics league, such as the baseball, fencing and golf teams, without a space to weightlift, train and be coached in the strength and conditioning field.
In the past, the only way for these teams to access the HPA was to pay out of pocket. Compounded with other payments these athletes need to make for their sport, such transportation and equipment fees, these costs have often not been reasonable for them to pay.
“Last year what we did was [OUA sports teams] paid per coach, so they only paid for the coach’s time. But really the students had to pay for a building in their own facility,” said manager of HPA and High Performance Programs Ben Bahrami.
This year, Bahrami opted to change this set up. As of this semester, OUA teams will be allowed to train in the HPA free of charge during specified open hours.
“I’ve proposed removing the team-specific training for any essentially teams that aren’t U SPORTS level and anyone that’s OUA, and some of our U Sports teams that just have a lot of class conflicts with their team times. Anyone in that category essentially comes in during open hours. This way they can have access more than the one or two hours they’re scheduled in,” said Bahrami.
The goal is to allow more athletes to use the space, help to maintain their health throughout the season and the offseason, and help them reach their goals.
“We want to provide a high enough product for students who came to McMaster to then go to the professional ranks or to play for a national team, so you have to provide that high level but also provide a basic program for someone that just wants to stay healthy and play sports for a few years,” said Bahrami.
“We want to provide a high enough product for students who came to McMaster to then go to the professional ranks or to play for a national team, so you have to provide that high level but also provide a basic program for someone that just wants to stay healthy and play sports for a few years,”
Ben Bahrami, HPA and High Performance Programs Manager
This change could bring some drawbacks, with the HPA space being a limited 3700 square feet and containing only 10 racks, which can lend itself to overcrowding.
“That's kind of the biggest challenge is balancing out the resources versus everything you want to do and everyone that wants to do X, Y and Z for their own development,” said Bahrami.
Ultimately though, this change will hopefully be a great step for McMaster sports moving forward as allowing more athletes to access high performance spaces will improve the student athlete experience and help teams and athletes reach their goals.
The men and women place fourth overall in the standings following strong swims at their playoff meet in London
The McMaster University swim team competed at the Ontario University Athletics championships on Feb. 9 to Feb. 11 at the Western Student Recreation Centre in London. Against 10 other participating schools, both the men and women’s teams placed fourth after tallying 512 and 428 points respectively.
The Marauders were coming off an impressive performance at the University of Toronto Winter Invitational on Jan. 23 after first place finishes from the men and women’s team.
On the opening day of the competition, McMaster finished first in the women’s 4x50m free relay race with a time of 1:46.00. Backed by a team of Hiva Fazeli, Michelle Wang, Leah Russell and Heather Aylward, the Marauders set the competitive tone early to capture their first medal of the OUAs.
Following the women’s race, the men also battled their way to the podium for the 4x50 meter free relay, earning the silver medal behind the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The quartet of Cyrus Drabik, Bijan Ziaian, Josiah Terejko and Cameron Johnsen finished the race with a time of 1:31.60.
To finish off their first day, Johnsen swam a time of 1:01.59 to nab the bronze medal in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke. The time was less than a second off of Graeme Aylward and Gabe Mastromatteo from Toronto, who rounded out the podium with times of 1:01.29 and 1:01.05 respectively.
“This year, I felt really lucky that we were back to that environment that we haven’t been in three years, which was the place just being absolutely electric, so loud during the relays that you can’t even hear your own voice. . . That was just awesome,” said Johnsen.
“This year, I felt really lucky that we were back to that environment that we haven’t been in three years, which was the place just being absolutely electric, so loud during the relays that you can’t even hear your own voice. . . That was just awesome.”
Cameron Johnsen, McMaster Men's Swim Team
On the next day, Johnsen continued his strong performance with a gold medal in the men’s 200 meter breaststroke. Swimming the race in 2:11.98, Johnsen finished just over half a second faster than the former Olympian, Mastromatteo, who settled for silver with a time of 2:12.51.
The men collected another medal in the men’s 4x200 meter free relay. Max Angove, Trevor Laupland, Kevin Baghdassarian and Colin Campbell finished in 7:36.41 and placed third behind the teams from Western University and Toronto.
To round out their OUA outing, the maroon and grey team collected three more medals on their final day in London.
Johnsen’s dominance carried over into the men’s 4x50 meter medley relay, where he finished in second alongside Campbell, Ziaian and Drabik with a time of 1:41.43. The three-time OUA athlete concluded his spectacular showing by inking the bronze medal in the men’s 50 meter breaststroke.
Aylward, Naeva Scott-Bouris, Andie Llyod and Chelsea Zhou secured the team’s final medal of the competition in the women’s 4x100 meter free relay. Their time of 3:55.26 was good for third place and the race’s bronze medal.
“OUA magic is kind of what we call it on the swim team, which is that feeling of swimming for the team, feeling that electric energy from your teammates on the sideline. . . That’s what turns underdogs into champions and that’s what happened this past weekend,” said Johnsen.
“OUA magic is kind of what we call it on the swim team, which is that feeling of swimming for the team, feeling that electric energy from your teammates on the sideline. . . That’s what turns underdogs into champions and that’s what happened this past weekend.”
Cameron Johnsen, McMaster Men's Swim Team
With eight medals across three days, the McMaster men and women teams each finished fourth in the contest overall. The Toronto Varsity Blues finished first in both the men and women’s standings to defend their title as provincial champions.
To wrap up the season, the Marauders traveled to Victoria, BC to take on the national U Sports Championships at the Saanich Commonwealth Place from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25.
Among those who represented McMaster, swimmers with qualifying times included Terejko and Johnsen in the men’s 100m breaststroke, Will Clarke in the men’s 50m breaststroke, Maggie Smith in the women’s 50m backstroke and Scott-Bouris in the women’s 400m freestyle.
The McMaster men’s baseball and rugby team lead the way in fundraising for men’s health issues
Raising money for men’s health is an annual November initiative for athletes at McMaster University. As the end of this year's Movember campaign nears, Marauder sports teams have quietly raised over $25,000.
The McMaster men’s baseball team and men’s rugby team spearheaded this year’s fundraising efforts, with over $11,900 and $9600 in donations respectively. In addition, the McMaster men’s volleyball team and wrestling teams fundraised over $3600 and $1100 each. Other participating teams include the McMaster rowing team, swimming team and men’s soccer team.
The McMaster teams primarily fundraise through the Movember campaign website. Established in 2003, the international campaign looks to allocate resources to various areas of men’s health such as mental health, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Over $19 million was donated to men’s health projects in Canada just last year.
Though growing a mustache and fundraising for Movember is a tradition amongst McMaster sports teams, the movement has not lost its meaning to repeat participants such as Marco Dilaudo, Maclean Van Raay, Josh Kalmain and Aiden Muldoon.
“We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health,” explained Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health.
Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team
In addition to leading the baseball team’s fundraising efforts with over $2,000 raised individually, Dilaudo plans to bike 300 kilometres over the month of November – an opportunity for Dilaudo to embrace a challenge and support others that are battling illnesses in their day-to-day lives.
“Everyone struggles with mental health in some way. Being an athlete, it becomes really stressful trying to balance school and athletics. The mental health part of it definitely plays a factor [wanting to raise money] as well,” said Maclean Van Raay, third year student and middle infielder for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
For some McMaster athletes, raising money and awareness is especially important because of personal experiences with loved ones. Participating for his fifth in a row, Aiden Muldoon became particularly connected to the cause after experiencing the loss of his father to cancer in 2021.
“It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction,” explained Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team.
It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction.
Aiden Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team
As club captain for the McMaster men’s rugby, Muldoon organizes various fundraising events with other members of the team. The rugby team held a Touch 7s Rugby Tournament that took place earlier this month where all profits from the event were donated to Movember. In the past, the team has also welcomed guest speakers or held raffles to raise money.
“For us, as much as it is a serious issue, we do like to make fun of each other’s mustaches a little bit . . . It’s another way to encourage one another to not only support the cause but also support each other in raising money for a good cause,” said Kalmin, a third year student and pitcher for the baseball team.
Along with raising awareness and fundraising, Movember is a chance for McMaster teams to bond and boost team morale. The competitive aspect that McMaster athletes bring into sport also translates into friendly competition to raise the most money.
To learn more about the Movember movement, visit their website. To donate or keep up with the fundraising teams, visit their Instagram pages or link here.
C/O Serena Repice Lentini (Unsplash)
One podium, numerous medals: A wrap-up of the recent OUA swimming championships
As the school year nears completion, many varsity teams would have been expected to finish off their season and dive into their post-season period. However, the Marauders swimming team just started off their season midway through March. From March 10 to March 14, the Marauders competed in the Ontario University Athletics championships.
Although not much has been heard about their season thus far, the swimmers were ready to impress and do their best in their races, and indeed, they did impress.
Although not much has been heard about their season thus far, the swimmers were ready to impress and do their best in their races, and indeed, they did impress.
The OUA championship was hosted by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Although the championship format stayed the same, this year the OUA’s would solely include the final races, excluding the qualifiers and preliminaries. The Marauders still had plenty of swimmers with impressive results on the first day of the competition.
Starting off on the first day with the women’s races, the 200-metre free relay featured Cindy Shu, Heather Aylward, Leah Russell and Hiva Fazeli. The four Marauders swam with a final time of 1:46.17, which earned them a silver medal to start off the competition.
Capturing the second and third medals of the day for the Marauders were Sarah Little and Emma Schlyter. Little earned a bronze for finishing with a time of 1:02:33 in the women’s 100-metre butterfly, while Schlyter also earned a bronze with a time of 4:52.32 in the women’s 400-metre individual medley.
As the day continued, more women’s marauders gathered points, which awarded the women’s team with third place overall, scoring a total of 164 points. The only two teams ahead of them were the Varsity Blues and Western Mustangs, with 386 and 230.5 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, there were also some impressive races on their first day. The most notable, was the 400-metre Medley Relay, which featured Colin Campbell, Cameron Johnsen, Bijan Ziaian and Josiah Terejko. Although they missed out on the podium, the quartet managed to achieve a relatively strong time of 3:49.07, which narrowly stood short of third place.
In terms of the best individual men’s result, Kevin Ireland managed to place as high as fifth in the men's 400-metre individual medley, earning himself a time of 4:37.55. Although he missed the podium, this race proved to be important for the team to regain some key points as they fought for fourth place in the championship.
By the end of the first day the men’s team claimed the fourth position with a total of 138 points. The teams in front of them were the Varsity Blues, Waterloo Warriors and the Mustangs, with 342.5, 234 and 176.5 points, respectively.
On days two and three of the competition, the women’s team further impressed with their podium finishes throughout. The first two medals came in way of the 50-metre butterfly and 800-metre free relay. The 50-metre butterfly awardee was Sarah Little, who achieved a time of 27.89, earning herself a bronze medal. The second bronze medalists were Maeve Bailey, Andie Lloyd, Emma Schlyter and Erin Anderson, who achieved a time of 8:32.27 in the 800-metre free relay.
The other two podiums achieved by the women’s team came on day three, with Schlyter earning her third podium of the championship tournament after winning a silver in the 200-metre individual medley with a mesmerizing time of 2:17.86. Schlyter was hungry for more. She continued her medal streak by coming out with the team’s last — and her fourth — medal of the championship for the 400-metre free relay, achieving a time of 3:53.11 to take home her third bronze.
Schlyter was hungry for more. She continued her medal streak by coming out with the team’s last — and her fourth — medal of the championship for the 400-metre free relay, achieving a time of 3:53.11 to take home her third bronze.
On the men’s side, the only podium finishes that were picked up on the second and third days were by Campbell, Johnsen, Ziaian and Terejko, who achieved an impressive silver medal finish in their 200-metre medley relay with a time of 1:43.25. As for the rest of the team, numerous swimmers worked hard to pick up additional points for the Marauders in the hopes of retaining the fourth place from day one.
Overall, the OUA championships ended with both teams capturing a top-five spot. After three days of competing, the women’s team grabbed third place with 583 points, whereas the men's team achieved fourth place with 356.5 points. Though this was only a regional tournament, the Marauders also received an invitation to the U Sports championships, taking place in Montreal.
Despite the pandemic limiting in-person interaction, various McMaster sports teams have found ways to instill community while growing their month-long moustache.
Ever since its founding in 2003, the Movember campaign has funded more than 1250 men’s health initiatives with twenty countries participating. Since its origin in Australia, over 6 million individuals have cumulatively participated in the campaign, raising $1.13 billion since its inception. Within the last year, $20.8 million was raised in Canada, where 66.5% was allocated for men’s health projects.
Movember was brought to life by two Australian men, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, who wanted to raise awareness regarding four main areas of men’s health: mental health, physical activity, testicular cancer and prostate cancer.
From raising $0 in their founding year, they were able to fundraise $50,468 the following year, while increasing their participants 16-fold from 30 to 480. The aim of the campaign is to reduce premature death of men by 25 percent by 2030. In fact, males comprise 75 percent of all suicides, with one man dying by it every minute.
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For the past six years, McMaster men’s rugby athletes have participated in the initiative. This year, Max Pinkerton, a fifth-year player taking a senior role on the team, expanded the initiative to encompass all Marauder athletes.
“We reached out to our friends who are on other sports teams and decided to bear this initiative. Fortunately, we grew to seven teams this year . . . We see that no sports are going to be played this year so we figured that why not expand Movember so everyone can partake in it and I think that’s something teams took pretty well,” said Pinkerton.
“We reached out to our friends who are on other sports teams and decided to bear this initiative. Fortunately, we grew to seven teams this year . . . We see that no sports are going to be played this year so we figured that why not expand Movember so everyone can partake in it and I think that’s something teams took pretty well,” said Pinkerton.
This year was quite different during the campaign as many of the typical events had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Typically, we’re more hands-on with gathering sponsorships, donations and hosting events,” said Pinkerton.
As the pandemic has taken a toll on many individuals’ mental health, the rugby team did a modified team photoshoot with a collage. They also created a bottle drive, both with the goal to instil a sense of community amongst the team.
They also partnered with the Movember organization to create an online trivia night, where family and friends joined in on the fundraising campaign. Athletes have also done personal challenges where they would interact with the community on their route.
“It's definitely interesting to create a sense of community while being virtual, you kind of take granted the face to face moments,” said Pinkerton.
At the end of the month, the rugby team was able to raise just over $8,900, beating their goal of $7,500.
Among the seven teams, the men’s baseball team and volleyball teams also participated in this year’s campaign. Bennett Swan, a fourth-year player on the volleyball team, led his team’s campaign, raising a collective total of over $12,000, surpassing their initial goal by $5,000. For Swan, Movember has a personal connection to him, after losing his dad in the eighth grade to cancer.
“It took a lot of courage and taking that first step for checking my mental health and testicular cancer, something men may find awkward to do. But it is essential to do. It's really easy to fall into the trap of Movember for not shaving, but if you peel back the layers and see the deep meaning behind wanting to see men live longer,” said Swan.
Swan further emphasized the importance of admitting to oneself they need help and continues to advocate for loved ones checking-in on themselves, such as speaking with a counsellor.
“It took a lot of courage and taking that first step for checking my mental health and testicular cancer, something men may find awkward to do. But it is essential to do. It's really easy to fall into the trap of Movember for not shaving, but if you peel back the layers and see the deep meaning behind wanting to see men live longer,” said Swan.
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For Julian Tymochko and Kenny Noguchi, fourth- and sixth-year players on the baseball team, this was their first year participating in the Movember campaign. They successfully raised over $4,500, surpassing their goal of $2,000. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team decided to ramp up their social media presence.
“We did a round-robin tournament for best moustache. That was one way we got people involved. We got quite a few donations from that so it’s been quite effective,” said Noguchi.
“We did a round-robin tournament for best moustache. That was one way we got people involved. We got quite a few donations from that so it’s been quite effective,” said Noguchi.
To raise awareness regarding mental health, Tymochko also did 10-kilometre runs to help clear his mind but wanted to expand to his entire team for future years.
“You see 20 big, burly guys running down the street and people will be asking what’s going on there? It’s just to bring more eyes and awareness,” said Tymochko.
“You see 20 big, burly guys running down the street and people will be asking what’s going on there? It’s just to bring more eyes and awareness,” said Tymochko.
For all the teams involved, raising awareness, in general, has been the predominant goal.
“We’re dropping interviews to help break down the barriers affecting the stigma of dealing with mental health and testicular cancer. Something I usually sign off with every November is “check your balls”. It feels a bit taboo, but the main thing about Movember is getting to know yourself, physical but also the mental health side of it as well,” said Pinkerton.
Pinkerton, Noguchi, Swan and Tymochko all emphasize the importance of reaching out for support and not fighting your battles yourself.
“We’re dropping interviews to help break down the barriers affecting the stigma of dealing with mental health and testicular cancer. Something I usually sign off with every November is “check your balls”. It feels a bit taboo, but the main thing about Movember is getting to know yourself, physical but also the mental health side of it as well,” said Pinkerton.
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OUA and U Sports cancel all games and competitions for the winter 2021 term.
Following the cancellation of fall 2020 sports by U Sports, the organization recently announced its decision to cancel the winter 2021 championships, thus completely shutting down the 2020-2021 competitive season. The championships cancelled include basketball, swimming, wrestling, hockey, track and field and volleyball, in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Official statement from U SPORTS / Une déclaration d'U SPORTS
🔗EN: https://t.co/b75Z0lXqdp /🔗FR: https://t.co/TNfQ98XdsG pic.twitter.com/i6TLptiS6c
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) October 15, 2020
As COVID-19 cases around Canada began to rapidly increase due to the second wave, it would not be feasible to hold games in tournaments while sacrificing the health of student-athletes and team members. With Quebec and Ontario being the greater sources of recent cases, having teams travel between each other for away games would not only potentially harm the athletes, but their families and friends as well.
Furthermore, as provincial governments are now implementing indoor gathering restrictions, it would be difficult to continue planning for a season due to the unpredictable nature of the virus.
#BREAKING: Ontario reported 1,042 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday - the highest single-day total recorded since the pandemic started.
— CityNews 680 (Inactive) (@680NEWS) October 25, 2020
"It is not logistically possible for teams to be travelling across the country at this time. Therefore, U Sports is in the unfortunate position where we are unable to offer the 2021 winter championships,” said Dick White, interim chief executive officer of U Sports.
U Sports’ decision is also supported by Atlantic University Sport, Canada West, Ontario University Athletics and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec. Despite “Return to Competition” being officially cancelled, “Return to Train” is still occurring, with guidelines being determined independently by each university’s athletics department, including McMaster University.
“We have a modified return to train plan, which offers student-athletes some level of engagement while socially distanced and in safe settings. It’s about maintaining fitness, engagement, but also supporting people’s sense of belonging. We obviously have to do this while under public health guidelines and those of the university, but we have worked internally with teams (i.e. basketball) and public health to come up with a plan that allows certain members of teams to get back into training, like a pilot project,” said Shawn Burt, director of Athletics and Recreation at McMaster University.
“We have a modified return to train plan, which offers student-athletes some level of engagement while socially distanced and in safe settings. It’s about maintaining fitness, engagement, but also supporting people’s sense of belonging. We obviously have to do this while under public health guidelines and those of the university, but we have worked internally with teams (i.e. basketball) and public health to come up with a plan that allows certain members of teams to get back into training, like a pilot project,” said Burt.
Despite the clinic having reduced hours, the minimal contact athletes undergo in part of this training program limits the probability of major injuries.
As courses are completed remotely for the 2020-2021 school year, very few students are on campus and thus, have limited access to their support services. Alongside implementing the “Return to Train” program, the McMaster athletics department is also providing mental health support to their athletes and virtual opportunities to train.
Burt explained that the department is working alongside the Student Wellness Centre to make appropriate accommodations for the athletes to ensure they get the support they need.
“We’re making [the Student Wellness Centre] aware of some of the changes among our student-athletes and aware of the unique stressors that go hand-in-hand with losing your competitive season, training and travel. Our team also contracted a social worker to conduct seminars to stay engaged and positive. The team continues to further look at other offerings to help the athletes at this time,” said Burt.
“We’re making [the Student Wellness Centre] aware of some of the changes among our student-athletes and aware of the unique stressors that go hand-in-hand with losing your competitive season, training and travel. Our team also contracted a social worker to conduct seminars to stay engaged and positive. The team continues to further look at other offerings to help the athletes at this time,” said Burt.
The Athletics department continues to offer department-wide seminars while teams also conduct their own support programs individually.
With that being said, the cancellation of the winter 2020-2021 season was tough to digest for student-athletes, faculty and fans alike.
“My heart goes out to all the student-athletes who did everything right to get to McMaster and qualify academically and then to have this taken it away from you is really difficult. It started with the cancellation of the fall season and then going to winter, it’s difficult for everybody from administration to coaches to athletes. Even though some of these things weren’t unexpected, it doesn’t make it any easier to share that news,” said Burt.
“My heart goes out to all the student-athletes who did everything right to get to McMaster and qualify academically and then to have this taken it away from you is really difficult. It started with the cancellation of the fall season and then going to winter, it’s difficult for everybody from administration to coaches to athletes. Even though some of these things weren’t unexpected, it doesn’t make it any easier to share that news,” said Burt.
Despite there being a possibility of a spring and summer season, it’s quite difficult to speculate the outcome due to the fluctuation of COVID-19 cases and budgets for schools. Ultimately whether it’s a safe decision is dependent on the province’s number of cases moving forward.
UPDATE🚨@OUAsport and @USPORTSca have announced the cancellation of all sanctioned sports seasons through March 31st, 2021https://t.co/5G95ApPsFw
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) October 15, 2020
With regard to financial consequences, the department of Athletics and Recreation has taken a major hit with fee reductions, overall revenue generation and changes to staffing, yet their commitment to support their athletes remains the same. Despite this financial impact, the university and its faculties gave their support to research initiatives and mental health support according to Burt.
With the possibility of school not even returning for fall 2021, Burt said the department is not leaving anything up to chance.
“We don’t even want to contemplate sports not being there next fall, but we are planning for all situations because it would be irresponsible for us not to . . . The tricky part is we are going to be at the behest of the City of Hamilton and the province of Ontario on what we can do,” said Burt.
While hoping that some sort of normalcy returns to the playing field with greater access to training, it’s important to maintain a positive mood while supporting the McMaster Athletics community during these difficult times.
The McMaster swimming team will be heading to the University of British Columbia for the U Sports Swimming Championships on Thursday, Feb. 21 through Saturday, Feb. 23. After competing at the Ontario University Athletic Championships this past weekend, the women’s team finished with 545 points as a group, beating out Western University for second place for the first time since 2007. A large part of the team’s success is thanks to Isabelle Lei’s silver medal in the 200m individual medley and bronze in the 400m freestyle. Lei also helped win three medals in team relays. On the men’s side, Mitch Muizelaar took home the team’s only gold medal, repeating as OUA champion in the 1500m freestyle. The qualified Marauders will be competing during nationals this weekend.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwcNp8Bcrf/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=fhlmv9tqo6em
The McMaster wrestling team will be heading to Calgary for the U Sports Wrestling Championships, hosted by the University of Calgary on Feb. 22-23, 2019. The Marauders, who medaled during the OUA championships, will be attending the national competition. On the men’s side, Ameen Aghamirian, who was previously named U Sports Athlete of the Week, was named the OUA's Most Outstanding Male Wrestler, and first-year Trystan Kato took home the men's Rookie of the Year award. While for the women, Ligaya Stinellis and Joelle Vanderslagt each took home a silver medal.
The cross-country team will take their talents indoors this reading week for the OUA Track and Field Championships, which will take place at the Toronto Track & Field Centre on Feb. 22-23. The team completed their outdoor season with great success, and have been competing in indoor meets ever since in preparation for these championships. The medalists of the meet will move on to compete at the national level for the U Sports Championships at the University of Manitoba on March 7-9.
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By: Coby Zucker
The swimming season is a short one punctuated by smaller meets, split in half by the Divisional Championships and capped off with the climactic Ontario University Athletics Championships. For the team, the OUAs give the opportunity to show the improvements made across the season, and encourage their teammates in an event packed with some of the best swimmers from across Ontario.
“We’re very excited about the OUAs,” said head coach Grey Fairley. “This is always the most fun meet of the year. The passion and the excitement that all teams exhibit but especially, obviously, our team, it's just so infectious. We're all exhausted at the end of it, but it's like we've taken ourselves to a higher plane of existence.”
Hannah Dvorski, now in her fifth and final year of eligibility on the team, will be looking to add to her collection of hardware in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, and on the three team-relays.
“I think physically, we're all there right now,” said Dvorski. “We're just getting into the right mental headspace and just believing in ourselves. I think, as we get closer, we're going to start to feel what we refer to as the ‘OUA magic’. So I'm excited for that to take place and I know we're all really really excited.”
Dvorski is looking to improve on her bronze finishes in the 50m and 100m at the Divisional Championships, and put forward a performance that will help the women’s team climb the standings.
On the men’s side, third-year Simeon “Mony” Tchervenelekov is coming off a dominant performance over Waterloo University in a recent dual meet at McMaster. Tchervenelekov is looking to notch his first podium OUA finish in the intermediate medley, breaststroke or team relay categories.
Chosen as one of the team’s captains for the season, Tchervenelekov has the added responsibility of looking out for the rest of the team and helping them get into mental form for the OUAs.
“I know a couple of the guys who got sick this past week,” said Tchervenelekov. “And you know they're getting worried about their performance. That's kind of where [Mitchell Muizelaar], the other captain, and myself, on the men's team at least, stepped in and kind of give them a little boost of morale.”
Emotional and mental readiness, as well as generally getting into the right headspace, is a pivotal part of the OUA preparation. As practice eases up and distances decrease in favour of shorter sprints, the shift in focus moves from the physical side and starts to emphasize capturing the championship mentality.
“I feel like the team a couple of weeks out of OUAs, we're all physically there,” said Tchervenelekov. “And then about like a week out, it starts to hit us and we get a little bit nervous. But that's good because OUAs is coming up and you know it's the meet of the year and everyone gets a little nervous, and that's how you know that we're ready.”
For Dvorski, the emotional frenzy of the OUAs is underscored by a degree of sentimentality as she participates for her final time.
“It's special to wear the Marauder on your cap and to represent McMaster on the blocks,” Dvorski said. “I think I've done it well for the past five years, and I'm excited for what the future holds for me.”
Although the University of Toronto Varsity Blues have swept the OUAs for the past five years, the Mac women were able to score a bronze medal finish two years running, and are looking to keep the streak going. Their male counterparts will also have their sights firmly set on a return to the podium. This year’s OUA Championships, hosted by Brock University, runs from Feb. 7-9.
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Isabelle: Second year, health sciences.
I: Planning for university in Grade 11, I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to swim. So my initial interest in McMaster was because of the health sciences program, and it’s unique approach to interdisciplinary studies. However, as Grade 12 approached and started, I knew that I would miss the sport too much to stop before the varsity experience. The Mac swim team was one of the first recruit trips that I came on, and it was the one I remember the best because I felt at home and part of the family immediately.
I: The team has grown significantly compared to last year because quite a few first-years came in, especially on the women’s side. It’s been great to integrate them into the team, and having new training partners and a new dynamic is both refreshing and exciting as we prepare for [the Ontario University Athletics Championship]. I would say that this year, our winter break training camp in Florida was collectively viewed as the hardest training camp that the team has been through, and our hard work is starting to show in the pool as we begin to taper down and see positive results.
I: I eat at least one jar of peanut butter a week.
Their efforts in @McMasterU's dual meet with the @WlooWarriors earned Mony Tchervenelekov and Isabelle Lei the @PitaPitCanada Athlete of the Week honours this week.
READ ⬇️https://t.co/ATlPlTRB0p
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 23, 2019
I: Receiving OUA Rookie of the Year last season was very humbling for me, because I came in with no expectations. This second time around, there is definitely pressure for me to perform because I do not want to let the team down, but I know it all comes down to stepping on the blocks and just leaving it all in the pool. I know that my team is there for me stroke for stroke, as I will be for them. If I can finish every race knowing for a fact that I could not have gone any faster, or tried any harder, I will be satisfied, and posting personal bests would be the cherry on top.
I: I am very excited for both Ontario University Athletics and U Sports championships because the calibre of swimmers at both meets has increased, even from last year. To be able to compete with people who have international experience is an amazing, inspiring opportunity, and I would like to just go into the field and race with joy and make the team proud. I’m also swimming a couple of different races from last year, so I’m excited to reach outside my comfort zone and spice it up.
The 2019 Swimming OUA Championships will be held Feb. 7-9 at Brock University.
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