Haley Black will try to bring home the gold at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.
Two years after suffering the disappointment of not qualifying for Team B.C. at the Western Canada Summer Games in Kamloops, the 16-year-old member of the Prince George Barracudas Swim Club will head to Sherbrooke, Que., to represent her province.
"I was really excited because I knew it would be my first Team B.C. event," said Black. "I'm just showing up to practice and trying to work harder everyday and trying to be more aggressive and focusing on my technique."
The student at Duchess Park secondary school will join nine other Prince George athletes, coaches and support staff, including six involved with swimming, in Sherbrooke from Aug. 2-17.
Other swimmers who have met the qualifying standards include Special Olympian David Dunn and Barracudas Patricia Fortier, Sterling King and Danica Ludlow. Marilyn King will join the swimmers as support staff.
Black hasn't had the opportunity to wear Team B.C. colours before now, but she has attended many training camps and prospects camps.
"We were at this training camp and they told us that some of the Olympic swimmers have been on the Canada Summer Games teams before and it's a really good experience for racing," said Black.
Unlike Black, Sterling King had the opportunity to compete for B.C. at the Western Canada Summer Games in 2011 where he won three gold medals (4x200 freestyle relay, 4x100 medley relay, 4x100 freestyle relay) and two bronze medals (100m and 200m fly).
Both Black and King were in Montreal last week at the senior national championship. After the Canada Summer Games (swimming takes place Aug. 4-9), King will head to the University of Calgary where he has earned both academic and athletic scholarships.
There are 12 athletes (six girls, six boys) on the Team B.C swim team for the Canada Summer Games.
Gemma Hansen, canoe/kayak racing, is the other Prince George athlete on Team B.C., while UNBC men's basketball coach Todd Jordan will lead the British Columbia men's team and Claudine Johnson and Lisa Shaw-MacLaren will join the team as mission staff.
