Regina Water Polo athletes set to compete at Youth Pan Am Games in Brazil
Three Regina under 17 (U17) water polo athletes have been chosen for Canada’s National teams to compete at the Youth Pan Am games in Brazil in April.
Sydney Krushen and Makayla Ulmer-Lutudromu of Regina will compete on the Women’s Youth National Team. According to the Water Polo Canada Website (waterpolo.ca), their Regina teammates Taya Bumpas and Anna Ulmer have been named alternates. On the men’s side, Regina’s Reid Tatemichi and Zander Velestuk (alternate) are the only Saskatchewan products to make the cut.
“My parents woke me up in the morning, they had gotten the email before I did [that I made the team]. I was really shocked and wasn’t really expecting that but I was really happy and excited,” Krushen said.
“This is going to be my first international competition. I’m very excited, I didn’t make the team last year so I worked really hard over the summer and the start of this season,” the 17-year-old Tatemichi said.
Thirty athletes from across Canada have been selected to represent the red and white at the 2023 PanAm Aquatics Water Polo U17 Championships that will be held in Bauru, Brazil.
“I’m most looking forward to playing with everyone across Canada, like the teams that I’ve been competing against, but not getting to be like teammates with them,” Krushen said.
“I think it’s a good opportunity and it’s really exciting that I get to represent Saskatchewan. I’m really grateful for that experience and there’s a lot of pressure going into it. But I’m hoping to do well for Canada,” Ulmer-Lutudromu said.
Ulmer-Lutudromu has experience representing Canada on the world stage as she was a member of the Youth National Team in 2022 and attended the World Championship Games.
“I would say being one of the older ones of the team [will help me this year] because last year I was one of the youngest and I think it’d be a better experience to be one of the older ones,” she said.
The Championships, which are held every two years, will run from April 2-8. However, the last time the U17 event was held was in 2019 in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. The Canadian men’s team placed fourth, while the women’s team finished second.
“I think we’re going to have like 3 days when we arrive in Bauru but that’s about it,” said Tatemichi on how much time the team will have to get to know one another before competing.
“Obviously there’s going to be a little bit of nerves, but I think we got a good group of kids and I think we’ll be able to get together really fast,” he added.
The men’s team has never placed higher than third at the championships and Tatemichi noted the competition will be fierce once again.
“The U.S. and Brazil, they’re not in our group, but I think those are the top dogs. Argentina too,” he said on who will be tough to beat.
On the women’s side, Canada has one gold medal finish at the inaugural event back in 2011. Both Krushen and Ulmer-Lutudromu agreed the United States will be one of the top teams to beat.
The two are also excited to have familiarity of each other on the team.
“I think it’s something that’s really special and I’m really excited to be able to do that, just the two of us. It’s kind of hard to put into words just because I’ve never experienced this before,” exclaimed Krushen.
“I find it comforting that I’ll have people from home there,” said Ulmer-Lutudromu.
Each country at the event will be looking to qualify for the World Aquatics 2024 World Youth Championships. The top four teams from both the men’s and women’s competitions will earn a spot. But that is not the only goal for the Regina athletes.
“Just like the other two [Krushen and Tatemichi], hopefully, the Olympics,” Ulmer-Lutudromu said on where they hope to take their water polo career someday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.