From left to right: Joy Simon (orange suit), Vanessa Reeve (purple), Tara Agnew (blue), Kirsten Mills (red), Lori Noiles (blue), Robyn Parashyniak (purple), Shannon Savage (orange).

Jul 26, 2005
By Al RivettSports Editor
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DURHAM - It's been a wonderful and productive trip back in time for Robyn Parashyniak and a group of her longtime synchro swimming friends.

The 28-year-old behavioural therapist and a group of seven 20-something teammates from the Durham Synchro Club, who last competed 10 years ago, are having the time of their lives climbing back in the pool as adults in master synchro swimming competitions.

They're not only competing and having a blast - they're winning, too.

The eight-member Durham Synchro Masters team captured three gold medals in the pool at the recent Canadian National Masters Synchro Swim Championships in Toronto, which earned the squad a trip to the World Masters Synchro Swimming Championships, starting this weekend. The group leaves today (Wednesday) for Edmonton.

"We feel like we're teenagers again," says Parashyniak, originally from Ajax and now living in Courtice. "We all have lives outside of the pool, but when we get back in the pool, we feel like we're 15 or 16 years old again. We're not old by any means, but it keeps us young."

Parashyniak will be joined in Edmonton by Tara Agnew (nee Fowler), of Whitby, Kirsten Mills, of Pickering, Lori Noiles (nee Durand), of Ajax, Teri Pearce, of Ajax (who also serves as the team's coach), Vanessa Reeves, of Pickering, Shannon Savage (nee Murdock), of Whitby and formerly of Ajax, and Joy Simon, of Scarborough.

The trip to worlds was made possible after an outstanding national masters competition. The team members placed first in the technical team competition and first in the free routine.

Mills and Savage earned gold in the duet competition, finishing first in technical routine and first in the free. Simon earned gold for her solo performance.

Parashyniak says the eight women have kept in touch over the years since they stopped competing at age 18, with most going on to college or university at that time. Most of the friends have known each other since age 11 through swimming at the Durham club.

"Ten years later, we've stayed in touch. We get together at Christmas time," says Parashyniak.

But, with the world masters coming to Canada, the girlfriends, at the behest of Pearce, made the commitment to train and prepare for the high-level competition. The training started last September, but it wasn't anything akin to jumping on a well-worn bicycle, explains Parashyniak. It was a lot harder than that.

"We had no idea what we were doing," laughs Parashyniak. "When we went upside down in the water, it was like a completely foreign world. We would do a lap of the pool and be completely exhausted."

The friends, however, stuck with the training regimen, swimming four hours per week, two hours per session, at Pickering's Dunbarton pool and at the Anne Ottenbrite pool at the Whitby Iroquois Sports Centre. Last April, at a regional competition in Ottawa, the group won gold in the team category.

The team moved on to the Provincial Synchro Swimming Tier Championships in Waterloo in May where the team again won gold.

During the regionals and provincials, the team's solo and duet swimmers also captured medals.

At the upcoming worlds, Parashyniak notes she and her teammates have their sights set high again.

"Well, we have our fingers crossed and we're going there in hopes of winning gold. There's one team we haven't seen. If we can beat them, we're going to get gold," she predicts.