Ask most competitive swimmers what the hardest stroke is and chances are they will pick the butterfly.
It requires both arms moving simultaneously to pull the water and a dolphin leg kick that demands precise technique and a great deal of energy -- enough to shoot the arms, head, shoulders and part of the chest right out of the water. The benefit of all that effort is a swimming stroke that makes swimmers move in the water faster than freestyle, one that would result in quicker times than the front crawl if not for the lost time of moving those arms out of the water.
Brianna Pallot loves moving fast and she's not afraid to tax her muscles and aerobic capacity to their limits when it comes to racing the fly. The 12-year-old Prince George Barracudas Swim Club athlete proved she's right at home making butterfly waves at the Aquatic Centre this past weekend at the Fall Invitational meet.
Pallot won the bronze medal in the 11-12-year-old girls 100-metre butterfly (1:37.88) and was fourth in the 50m butterfly (38.82). Her 100 butterfly was nearly 27 seconds quicker than her previous best 100m time and shed 13 seconds off her 50m PB. Not surprisingly, it's Pallot's favourite stroke.
"I'm fairly fast at it,and I take off time usually every meet," the 12-year-old Pallot said.
"It just takes hard work in the meets and practices."
Overall, Pallot finished 14th in the 11-12-year-old girls aggregate standings. She placed sixth in the 100m backstroke, was eighth in the 100m freestyle (1:20.58), a 20-second improvement over her seed time, and was ninth in the 100m individual medley (1:27.74).
"I've gotten first in pretty much all heats (at the Fall meet) and I've taken off lots of time -- at least 10 seconds every race and usually more," she said. "I really like swimming. My day care lady got me started and I just really like it."
Pallot, a Grade 7 honour-roll student at Van Bien elementary school, is in her fifth season with the Barracudas. As part of the 'Cudas Development 1 group, she practices five times per week with coach Jerzy Partyka. As far as her schooling goes, that is her top priority.
"I miss a few practices a year because of homework but not that many," she said.
Pallot is not the fastest swimmer in her group but her results in the Fall meet showed significant progress the Barracudas coaches say is a product of her ability to soak up everything she's taught in her swim lessons and put that into practice.
"She is one very smart girl, even outside of school, and that carries on into swimming with the club," said Barracudas coach Jason Smith. "She pays attention and she improved on her skills and you can see her results in the pool this weekend. I think she had a very good meet."
Added Partyka: "She's a little girl who has just jumped from nowhere, swimming very, very well. She has very good skills, she's technically very good and she's a very positive kid. She's very funny, you can joke with her and she's very coachable. If you ask her to do something, it's done.
"She didn't finish in the top five, but the improvement is not only in the skills but her times. The results will come, depending on what she wants to do with swimming in the future."
Pallot had some fast company at the meet from the 11- and 12-year-old girls within her own club to help inspire her to crank up the intensity. Kathryn Chrobot won the aggregate, with Montana Forster tied for second with Paige Collier of Points North, followed in the standings by Barracudas Samantha Bleackley (fourth), Riannon Petrovicky (sixth), Suzy Tsog (11th), Morgan Norn, Chelsea Godden (19th), Ciara Camozzi (20th) and Hannah Coates (21st).
Pallot will be chasing more triple-A provincial qualifying times at the Kamloops Ice Classic meet, Dec. 10-12.
