Over the years, Katie Mann has had to say 'no' to a lot of tempting offers from her friends. As a swimmer who was always looking to go just a little faster, staying out late for parties and movies never meshed well with early-morning practices.
Mann's dedication to her sport has paid her back in a big way. The 18-year-old member of the Prince George Barracudas has accepted a full-ride scholarship in the United States. In the fall, she'll continue her swimming career with the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, who compete in Division 1 of the NCAA.
"I've worked my butt off all these years," said Mann, a national-calibre athlete who is in her 13th season with the Barracudas. "I've sacrificed so many social things to wake up at 5 a.m. four mornings a week, go to swimming before school and after school. It's such a huge commitment."
Mann's scholarship is worth an estimated $45,000 per year, and she'll attend classes at New Hampshire for either four or five years. She'll enter the school's liberal arts program, with the plan of eventually obtaining a law degree.
Mann's road to New Hampshire started last August when she hired an agent to put together a package of all her accomplishments. He distributed the information to major institutions across Canada and the U.S. and about 30 of them sent Mann letters of interest. Between August and November - during which time she spent countless hours on the phone speaking with coaches about their programs - she narrowed her choices to the University of Kansas, Washington State University and New Hampshire.
Mann's first visit was to the Kansas campus and she loved everything about it. In fact, she was so convinced it was where she wanted to be, she was ready to sign her letter of intent on the spot. But, she had already made arrangements to check out New Hampshire so she decided to follow through with that trip, which took her to the eastern seaboard town of Durham.
"[The schools] appealed for different reasons," Mann said. "Kansas was a really big university with a really big sports program and you would be like a superstar going there. It was insane how well they were promoted within their university. New Hampshire had a more subtle approach. There were definitely pros and cons when comparing them, but in the end I just followed my gut feeling and I knew that New Hampshire would be where I would be most excited to head to next year."
With the Wildcats, Mann will swim for coach Josh Willman, whom she said reminds her of Barracudas assistant coach Jason Smith.
"[Willman] just made me feel welcome and made me feel at home immediately," Mann said. "It was just something I was really looking for in a coach."
Barracudas head coach Jerzy Partyka is, of course, happy for Mann and proud of her accomplishment.
"She deserves to get this," he said during the weekend Dental Moose Meet, held at the Aquatic Centre. "She's been working for so many years and has qualified for senior national championships and Swim B.C. teams. I think she is doing a very good job so we'll see how she's going to do at the university.
"I think it's good for her that she's going to start training with people the same age," Partyka added. "There will be more swimmers like her, to push her a little bit harder and that will be better motivation for her."
A second Barracudas athlete, Grace Ni, has also secured a university scholarship. Ni will attend Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
"She has shown lots of dedication and lots of passion for swimming," Partyka said of Ni. "I think it's great she can go and continue swimming at the next level."
