Cohort of top Canadian swimming talent exhibits viability of U Sports despite NCAA lure

When high-school athletes join the University of Toronto swimming team, they typically come with one goal: represent Canada.

"It's always there sitting in the front of their brain because obviously you need to work really hard to get to that level, you've got to improve. And that means you've got to push yourself. And there is a carrot at the end there," said Byron MacDonald, the U of T head coach and CBC Sports swimming analyst.

The same goes on the West Coast too, where Derrick Schoof leads a University of British Columbia program featuring multiple Canadian Olympians.

"Culturally inside of the sport of swimming, every time I speak to a recruit, they all say, 'I want to make a national team. I want to represent Canada,'" Schoof said.

"It's just very culturally ingrained in our sport that the epitome is to make a team one day."

At the Paris Olympics last summer, Canada swimmers with U Sports ties included U of T's Kylie Masse, Manitoba's Kelsey Wog and Finlay Knox, Emma O'Croinin, Ingrid Wilm, Blake Tierney and Yuri Kisil of UBC.

Kayla Sanchez, who recently switched allegiances from Canada to the Philippines, also currently competes at UBC.

Sanchez, Knox, O'Croinin and Tierney are all now set to compete at the U Sports national championships, which will be held at the U of T pool from March 6-8. Live streaming coverage will be available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Live streaming schedule is available here.

MacDonald said tickets are sold out at the 4,000-seat venue, which can sometimes feel like more given its fishbowl shape.

"I think that it's a learning experience. Obviously the Olympic trials or whatever are a huge learning experience as well, but there aren't a lot of people that go to their first Olympic trials and knock it out of the park. They've usually had to have some type of an experience before," MacDonald said.

Schoof said he is looking forward to seeing his athletes adapt to the new surroundings and overcome the pressure — even when they're racing against each other.

"You're going to see Blake and Finlay racing each other. Well, they're going to try to beat each other, even though they're teammates, right? So it's going to be a great opportunity for a lot of Canadian university athletes to really take it to the next level," Schoof said.

There may be another reward at nationals, too. U Sports is currently finalizing details on a deal that would send select non-Olympic swimmers to compete in a dual meet against England over the summer.

Several U Sports coaches said the opportunity could be a game-changer in giving U Sports athletes international experience and helping fulfill that initial goal of wearing the Maple Leaf.