Tentative Schedules for upcoming Provincial & National Stream meets
Both the Waterloo Invitational Meet and the Leslie Taylor Meet are coming up soon!
Check out the tentative schedules below:
Attention Regional League parents: These schedules do not apply to Regional League. Your first competition is scheduled for the weekend after Family Day.
From Coach Selina
January Routine Meet was a great first routine meet for our National and 12+Provincial teams! Many personal successes and many new experiences - ranging from first time wearing makeup to having an “impromptu break” due to a fire alarm. Our athletes took it all in stride and showed their resilience by getting back in the water and performing with everything they had!
I want to thank the 11-12 HP parents for listening to the coaches during the confusing times.
Which brings me to the topic of club and coach expectations during a meet. We discussed expectations in the parent meeting at the start of the season and there is much in the parent hand book - however it is time for a refresher.
We, at YORK, expect athletes to be part of the entire club community. This means they arrive on time to the venue based on the coaches schedule, not the OAS schedule and are present to cheer on their teammates and clubmates.
Coaches schedule our athletes to ensure athletes are continuously supported by others who are competing. For local meets, you may even be asked to come to support the club on days you do not compete - this occurs organically at away meets.
This means your athlete is expected to be on time and to stay after they perform to cheer on other club athletes - unlike other sports and other clubs - you do not go home right after your performance. It is important to support other club athletes.
In addition to cheering for each other - we expect athletes to let the coaches know when they are leaving - in light of the recent “fire drill” if we do not know where our athletes are, we begin searching and messaging in a panic.
Our 11-12 age group athletes did a great job with the “fire drill” on Sunday and the coaches knew where everyone was!
Moving forward, our Provincial and National athletes will be attending Waterloo Invitational, February 1 and Leslie Taylor Meet, February 13-16, 2025 at MPAC. Please note: athletes could be asked to attend a practice at ANY time during these 4 days - may that practice be during our regular times at SARC or MAGNA or during available pool time at MPAC.
It is important to view all meets as “away meets” - this means that the athlete should not have scheduled appointments or school during this time. If they are not competing - they are ready to cheer, to train or be able to rest so they stay healthy for their performances.
Blackout periods are designed to ensure we have a full team ready to compete. During the blackout period, coaches are expecting ALL athletes to be in attendance - not missing due to other scheduled appointments or activities.
Provincial-National athletes:
Waterloo Invitational, Saturday February 1 - black out period has started.
Leslie Taylor, Thursday February 13-Sunday February 16 - black out period starts January 29
Regional League athletes:
Winter Meet February 22-23 - black out period starts February 7 and includes the Family Day weekend - your athletes will be expected to be at the “MOCK Meet” during practice on Sunday February 16.
For our Provincial and National parents who have suggestions for degrees of difficulty and have provided us videos of other teams - we acknowledge your enthusiasm and commitment to the further success of your athlete - however - the sport of artistic swimming is not a “sprint” but more akin to a “marathon”. Coaches and athletes have seasonal goals and YORK has “long-term” ideals for our younger athletes to be achieved. Success for each athlete is not determined by the one routine meet or even the one figure meet but the gradual improvement of the individual and team as a whole over the season with improvement that sets the athletes up for success in their next age-group.
As in all sports, there are meets where the athletes need to peak in order to achieve a level that will allow the athlete to move to the next stage. An invitational meet is NOT one of those meets. YORK uses invitational meets as “performance training” and to evaluate each routine for strengths and weakness AND for judge feedback.
Meets where athletes are required to Qualify for the next meet are where we need to peak.
Please trust your YORK Coaching team - I do. Coaches were evaluating routines, discussing and suggesting upgrades within moments of completion. YORK coaches are working tirelessly for the success of your athlete and establishing the CORRECT strategy to gain success when needed.
If you are a parent of a Provincial athlete in an age-group level which also has a National division - PLEASE do not compare the abilities of the Provincial versus National stream athletes. Remember the HP streams have more hours of weekly training, which when multiplied by the number of weeks, encompass much more training. Similarly, if your child is a Regional League athlete, please do not compare a Regional League athlete’s ability to that of a Provincial athlete - Regional league train 4 hours a week, whereas Provincial train 9 - 12 hours depending on program.
After all that has been said, YORK coaches and our programs are moving forward. Regional League still requires a stronger parent commitment to ensure athletes have better attendance, so as to ensure success at their first meet - February 22-23.
Provincial and National parents, please let the Coaching staff do their jobs. Your job, as a parent, is to support your child by ensuring they are well rested, fed and at training with big hugs after they train and compete.
We are all looking forward to the next few competitions!
- Head Coach Selina
YORKSynchro.com Club Store
Our online Club Store is now open! It provides another convenient way to browse, order, and pay for items online. Currently, we offer a select number of products and merchandise, with more options coming soon.

We accept credit card payments online with no additional fees. All orders will be fulfilled through in-person hand delivery. Visit Club Store
In the Community
CYGHA U22 Panthers vs. Team China

Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 2:30 PM. Join us at the Aurora Community Centre – McAlpine Ford Arena to cheer on our very own CYGHA U22 Panthers as they face off against Team China.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Join us for face painting and a poster-making before the game
JOKE OF THE WEEK 🤪
What’s the best way to spot a swimmer in winter?
A: They’re the ones wearing flip-flops… in a snowstorm! 🩴☃️
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