Saskatoon hosts first national swim competition

WATCH: Saskatoon is playing host to nearly 500 swimmers from across Canada, the United States and Great Britain for the 2025 Speedo Canadian Masters Swimming Ch

Saskatoon is hosting nearly 500 swimmers from across Canada, the United States and Great Britain for the 2025 Speedo Canadian Masters Swimming Championships at the Shaw Centre.

It’s the first time the city, and the Saskatoon Goldfins Swim Club, have played host on the national stage.

“Just having the presence of a national meet here is really cool,” said Ava Norman, a swimmer with the Saskatoon Goldfins.

“I swam at this pool growing up for ten years when I swam competitive and then now as a Master. Last night my friends and I came in to do a quick swim before. We walked in and the pool was set up all nice. We were just like, ‘wow, this is surreal.’ This is pretty cool.”

Fifty-eight members of the Goldfins are competing at home, and 150 Saskatchewan athletes are competing in their backyard for the first time.

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But competing tense won’t make you any faster in the pool, so Norman aims to use that support as energy.

“Just more excitement, and taking the nervousness and turning it into excitement,” said Norman.

“Just being able to really relax into the competitiveness and be like, ‘okay I’m learning from all these people that have come from other places.’ And seeing what their experiences are like, and just being able to race against them is a privilege.”

The host city for the event swaps from the east to west each year. Organizers and volunteers have been working on the Saskatoon bid for months.

“This has been a year’s worth of effort and it’s been a wonderful experience,” said Randall Keays, president of the Saskatoon Goldfins Swim Club.

“I definitely look forward to being able to do it again and to be a part of the whole process all over again. As much work as it was, its payoff has already been seen.”

Keays expects some records to be broken in the pool this weekend. But at the Masters level, it’s more about the friendships than where you place.

“Masters swimming really has this chill kind of collegial vibe to it,” said Keays.

“Everybody’s here to have a little bit of fun. There’s of course individuals that want to break some records or smash some previously set records, but all in all it’s to really enjoy the experience and have a lot of fun.”

SwimCanada agrees.

“It’s a national competition,” said Kyle Johnston, senior manager of marketing with SwimCanada.

“But it’s less about records and times here, and more about connection. Swimming’s really that lifelong journey, it’s all about promoting health and safety. That’s why you’ll see all different ages, shapes, sizes.”

Age categories start from 18-25, and there’s a competitor this year who’s 93-years-old.

Johnston says there are certain criteria needed to host a national-level event.

“Obviously it’s a lot of swimmers descending in, but there’s also key partnerships with local sponsors, hotels, infrastructure that are very important at these events. Primarily, 8-10 lane, 50-metre competition pool is the primary piece, but also that training pool is very important for the warmup.”

Johnston adds that in this day and age, the ability to add entertainment value through lights and music is helpful for creating a fun environment for both athletes and spectators.

CTV News asked Norman what she would choose as walk-out music, if given the opportunity.

“Maybe You Belong with Me by Taylor Swift,” she said. “My friends and I had a good time singing that one at Man-Sask [Provincial Championship].”

Competition continues throughout the weekend and wraps up Sunday afternoon.