For the 20-year-old Markham native, it was to earn a berth on the inaugural provincial senior synchronized swim team.

Through some diligent work in the water, Lee recently fulfilled her objective when Synchro Swim Ontario announced she would be a part of the 12-member contingent.

In being named to the team along with fellow 17-year-old Markham resident Courtney Brown, Lee will be making her international debut as the squad will represent Canada at an upcoming competition in Finland from June 12-19.

While excited to have made the team, Lee said her feat represents the highlight to her career thus far in the pool. As well, it will mark her first trip overseas to a European country.

"I've never tried out for a team that specifically competes internationally, so I'm thrilled to have made the senior provincial team," Lee said. "It was one of my biggest personal goals for this season.

"And I'm really looking forward to going to Finland as I've never been to Europe before. I feel so fortunate that I have this opportunity."

A second-year member of the Olympium Synchro Club, Lee felt she had as good an opportunity to make the team as any other entrant who auditioned. The participants, she said, included any athlete who might have made or might make the national junior, A or B teams.

In explaining the trials, which were held in Etobicoke in early April, Lee said the team was selected after each participant performed the routine to be utilized by the national team on two separate occasions. Lee noted each competitor swam the routine in front of a panel of judges who marked each participant on technical merit and artistic impression.

"Each swim was weighted 50 per cent for a combined 100 per cent and the team was selected based on the 12 athletes with the highest combined score," she said.

Acknowledging she was a bit nervous entering the trials, Lee felt having the trials in a pool which she regularly trained at along with having some of her Olympium teammates on hand made things easier on her.

As well, Lee attributed a large part of her success to her Olympium coaches in Julia Warren and Elena Podolsky, who had been preparing her since December.

"They made sure that we knew this routine inside and out and trained us so that we were fit enough to swim it with ease, which helped me feel more confident going into the team trials," she said.

A Markville Secondary School graduate and currently a part-time student at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus where she's taking business management and psychology, Lee's interest in synchronized swimming came about rather by accident.

It was while taking swimming lessons that Lee learned about synchronized swimming through her instructor, who had previously been a synchronized swimmer.

"She suggested I give synchro a try since I had completed all of the Red Cross swimming levels but wasn't old enough to take the NLS (lifeguarding certification) exam," Lee recalled. "She taught me a few basic synchro moves in the last class of the session and I was hooked."

Launching her synchronized swimming career seven years ago as a member of the Markham Synchro Club, Lee eventually progressed to the point where she wanted to compete at the national level. To do so, she moved to the Olympium Synchro Club last year to compete in their high performance program.

However, Lee hasn't forgotten her synchro roots as she still remains attached to the Markham Synchro Club program as an assistant coach with the tier one team.

"I love the sport and am glad there are so many different ways to stay involved. I'm sure it (synchro) will always be a part of my life."

Athlete of the Week is a York Region Newspaper Group feature highlighting local athletes and their accomplishments. If you know of a nominee, contact the Markham Economist and Sun at sports@econsun.com or by fax at 905 294-1538.