The 2019 Swim Alberta Conference took place in Canmore at the Coast Canmore Hotel September 27-29th. It was a time of inspiration, education and a time to celebrate the swimming achievements from across the province in the 2018-2019 season.
Presentations for sessions were given by Dean Boles, Ryan Atkinson, Frank Van Den Berg, Dina Bell-Laroche, Steve Indig, Kevin Dennis, Dr. Steve Norris and Keynote Speaker Jamie Clarke.
In recognition of Jamie Clarke’s inspiring talk Swim Alberta has made a donation to The Alex Center in Calgary. To learn more about The Alex please visit their website here: https://www.thealex.ca/
As well as the educational portion of the conference there was the Awards Banquet on Saturday evening. This evening is meant to celebrate Swimmers, Officials, Coaches and Volunteers with their contribution to Alberta Swimming.
The following were awarded for the 2018-2019 season:
| Outstanding Contribution to Coaching | Ildi Deliu |
| Official of the Year | Amanda Frayn |
| Junior Swimmer (Female)/ Coach | Emma O’Croinin |
| Paul Birmingham | |
| Junior Swimmer (Male)/ Coach | Finlay Knox |
| Todd Melton | |
| Provincial Age Group Coach | Dave MacDonald |
| Alex Wallingford | |
| Outlying Community Coach | Todd Melton |
| National Age Group Coach | Paul Birmingham |
| Desperado Award | Todd Melton |
| Para Swimmer (Female) /Coach | Morgan Bird |
| Wendy Johnson | |
| International Swimmer (Male)/ Coach | Tristan Cote |
| Mike Blondal | |
| International Swimmer (Female)/Coach | Emma O’Croinin |
| Paul Birmingham |
Swim Alberta also recognized all athletes that attended international competitions and five swimmers who achieved FINA A – Cole Pratt, Tristan Cote, Emma O’Croinin, Finlay Knox and Morgan Bird.
The Annual General Meeting was held Saturday afternoon. President, Dean Schultz and Vice-President Baerach Anderson were re-elected for another term and new Director Thomas (Tom) Holloway was voted onto the board. Lloyd Schoepp has stepped away from the board, the Board thanked him for his dedication and contribution to the sport of swimming in the province.
The 2019 Annual Report can be found here: https://swimalberta.ca/about/annual-reports/
During the weekend Swim Alberta revealed their pledge to create a safe environment in swimming with their Safe Sport video. To learn more about Safe Sport and see the video please visit our webpage here: https://swimalberta.ca/safesport/
Referee PD Day was held Sunday tying in with the Conference events. Officials were invited to spend the morning with speaker Dina Bell-Laroche with her session on Leading with Values, followed by Dr. Steve Norris remarks on Building Champions in and out of the Pool – Vision to Reality. The afternoon session was a stand-alone session regarding Aligning Best Referee Practices with the Alberta Officials & Competitions Committee.
Overall the weekend was packed with knowledge and camaraderie to contribute to Swim Alberta’s vision every swimmer has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Thank you to everyone that attended this weekend and braved the weather. We couldn’t do what we do without all of you!