The Canada Games Aquatic Centre in Saint John is playing host to the annual Maine State Swim Meet.
“It’s a swim meet with mostly Maine clubs,” says meet director Jim Willis. “But we’ve expanded the last few years to include New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, we have a couple kids from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and we also have one kid from Trinidad.”
The competition has been held at the Aquatic Centre for the past 14 years. Organizers say unless Maine gets an Olympic-size pool, it will continue to be held there.
“There are some 50 metre pools in New Hampshire, but this is the closest one and I guess this year because the dollar is so strong, it’s even a better place to be,” says Willis.
Willis says since Maine doesn’t have a facility to host the meet, he’ll continue travelling across the border.
“My coaches have always wanted a pool,” says swimmer Nate Samson. “Just so expensive. But yeah, I would love a pool, especially training for Olympics and stuff. A long course would be nice.
Samson says many swimmers at the meet make their trip a vacation.
“We have a lot of fun,” he says. “My team camps out. It’s more of a team bonding experience than fast swimming. It’s fun.”
There are 328 swimmers competing over the three-day competition. Hundreds of competitors means hundreds of families staying in the city, meaning an economic spin-off from sport tourism.
“We would estimate that about 390 thousand dollars will come back to the community,” says Victoria Clarke from Discover Saint John. “Whether it’s folks going out and having dinner, staying here in our hotels, using taxis and doing some shopping.”
Participants say the meet can qualify them for other races around the United States, so they’ll be going hard to make it to the next level.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ashley’s Blackford.
