Bringing the noise

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This article was published 09/07/2025 (262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The atmosphere in Pan Am Pool will be no short of electric this weekend, as provincial pride is on the line at the 2025 ManSask Summer Long Course Provincial Championships.

It’s one of the largest swim meets hosted in Winnipeg in years, with around 460 athletes from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, who will compete from July 10–13 in timed races based on age groups, before ending the meet on Sunday with a provincial relay where it’s a province-versus-province showdown.

“So Canada Life Centre is loud, this place gets ridiculous,” said meet manager Dale Gustafson on the provincial relay.

To qualify for ManSask, swimmers must meet their AA level qualification times, something many have been preparing for all season, with coaches tailoring the training and swimming programs leading up to the meet.

“These swimmers have all qualified because they have reached that threshold of time standards, so they’re a little bit faster,” said Gustafson. “We’ve got some pretty fast swimmers that are coming from across Ontario and Western Canada, so that’ll be really cool to see this weekend, too.”

But it’s the final event of the competition that is set to be the highlight, as coaches across the 40 attending teams select their top swimmers to represent their provinces in relays and medley relays.

And as the athletes pull on their provincial swim caps, Pan Am Pool will erupt with loud and proud cheers for the young athletes.

“It’ll be the highlight, I can assure you of their weekend, for some of them, their season,” said Gustafson. “It’s so rowdy and supportive as the provinces go against each other. It’s a wonderful way to finish (their season) off.”

The ManSask competition is the final Swim Manitoba event this season in Winnipeg, although some swimmers will continue training leading up to the Canada Summer Games.

For those on Team Manitoba headed to St. John’s in August, the meet serves as a launchpad, being their last major competition before the Canada Games.

“It’s a wonderful way to finish the season,” said Gustafson. “And for the Manitoba swimmers who qualified to be here at home, for most of them in their home pool, and also to be welcoming and bringing everybody here, it’s a wonderful weekend for that.”

With ManSask being one of the largest swim events at Pan Am, the organizing committee — formed in March by Swim Manitoba — has been preparing for the meet for nearly eight weeks.

“It takes a ton of work to put this all together, and it’s through the good graciousness of all the volunteers that pull this stuff off,” said Gustafson.

Preliminary rounds of competition start Thursday morning.

“This gives the kids the opportunity to swim against people they’ve probably never seen before, to hang out in the stands with teams from across the better half of the country,” said Gustafson. “It’s going to be a fun time.”

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca