Avery Movold was already one of the top young swimmers in B.C. Then she and her family moved to Prince George so she could join the Barracudas.
For the 15-year-old Movold, relocating from Prince Rupert has proven to be beneficial indeed. Since becoming a member of the local swim club in September, Movold has gotten much quicker in the water. So far this season, she has posted five times that were fast enough to qualify her for the Canadian Olympic trials, April 5-10 in Toronto.
Not surprisingly, Movold has been loving life with the Barracudas.
"It's great," she said. "It's a good group and everyone gets along. Hard practices, definitely, but it's good. I'm training more than I trained in Prince Rupert."
Movold's Olympic trial times have come in the 50-metre freestyle, 1,500m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke. Along with 15 other Barracudas swimmers, she's currently in Victoria for the B.C. triple-A short course championships and is aiming for more clockings that meet the standards for trials. Provincials started on Thursday and conclude on Sunday.
One of the factors in Movold's improvement this season is the fact she's now surrounded by other swimmers who can push her to be better. One of her training partners is 16-year-old Barracudas veteran Hannah Esopenko, who claimed three medals at the 2015 Canadian age group championships, including a gold in the 50m breaststroke. Esopenko also got a taste of competition at the 2015 senior national championships and will be in the pool for April's Olympic trials.
With Esopenko's previous national-level experience, she's able to be a bit of a calming influence for Movold.
"She just has to focus on her own thing, do what she knows," Esopenko said. "It's just another swim meet, basically. It's just going to be really fast swimming and it's going to be super exciting.
"I love having her here," Esopenko added. "She's a great person to train with and race with."
Last weekend, Movold was part of a Barracudas contingent at the Western Canadian long course championships in Winnipeg. While there, she stroked to gold in the 1,500m freestyle in a time of 17 minutes 51.35 seconds. That time was a new personal-best and landed her at number six in the Swimming Canada power rankings for her age group. In a grueling race like the 1,500 free, Movold is helped not only by her technique but also by her frame - she stands almost six feet and has proportionally long arms.
"Most people have to swim closer in to the wall, and since my feet are further away I can flip further away (on turns)," she said. "It's also a reach thing - I can reach longer. The height definitely helps."
Jerzy Partyka, who coaches the Barracudas' youth national group, is thrilled to have Movold in the club and said she has fit in perfectly with the other swimmers.
"She's a very big asset to the program and my group," said Partyka, who first coached Movold at the Vancouver-based Mel Zajac meet last season when Movold's own coach wasn't able to make the trip from Prince Rupert. "She's improving a lot so it is very exciting to coach her. I really enjoy working with her."
Movold, a Grade 10 student at PGSS, also has a younger sister in the Barracudas, 12-year-old Emma.
Other Barracudas currently at the triple-A provincials are Esopenko, Hannah Coates, Jackson Girard, Trey Kish, Kayla Korolek, Mackenzie Lewington, Skylar Lewington, Evelyn Marchand, Samuel Marchand, Jordan Ozcan, Alivia Soares, Jenna Stevens, Jordan Vertue, Julie Wing and Alexandra Winkel.
