A Collingwood Clipper is diving head-first into competing at the national level.
Avery Knight, 15, recently competed in the Summer Ontario Swimming Championships, finishing seventh in the 100-metre butterfly and ninth in the 100-metre backstroke in her age group. At the same time, the Collingwood Collegiate Institute student got word her times in the 100-metre butterfly had qualified her to compete in the Canadian Junior Championships on Aug. 5.
Knight’s qualifying times for the nationals were recorded at the Ontario Youth Junior Championships.
“When I was going to provincials, I had already made nationals,” she said. “I was shocked because I didn’t think I was going to (qualify). It was really exciting.”
Knight has been swimming with the Collingwood Clippers Swim Club for eight years.
“I joined because my older sibling did it,” she told CollingwoodToday. “I thought it was cool, and it felt good to be in the water.”
Over time, Knight says she has refined her skills, naming the butterfly and the backstroke as her main events these days. She also swims as part of CCI’s team, and placed fourth in the 100-meter butterfly at OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) this year.
Knight and teammate Liam Paterson both attended the event this month to represent Collingwood on the provincial stage.
“It was a good experience because it was a high-level meet and we both did really well,” said Knight.
If Knight does well at the nationals, she could qualify for the Olympic trials, which are in May.
“I’m pretty nervous. It’s a lot,” she said. “I didn’t start making big time standards until this year. I’m also excited to be training with higher-end people and racing against them.”
When she looks back on her success, Knight says she gives a lot of the credit to her coach Morgan Kierstead and her personal trainer Terrence Barber.
“When (Kierstead) came to the club, I was making youth juniors. It’s only been a year and I made nationals,” she said. “She believed in me.”
Looking ahead, Knight says she doesn’t necessarily have Olympic dreams, but she might be interested in partial scholarship opportunities when it comes time for her to apply for universities down the road.
