Jonathan Smirl (Coaching Team Leader)
I am a newish transplant to Kelowna, arriving here this past September to work on attaining my Certified Exercise Physiologist designation and Masters degree in Human Kinetics. Eventually I would like to establish a career working in the rehabilitation and sports medicine fields.
Over the course of my 13-year coaching career, I have been privileged to have worked with many different swimmers and triathletes ranging in age from 3 years old to 75+, introductory swimmers to national level competitors and everywhere in between.
As a coach, I am a firm believer in quality over quantity. As such I like to devote a great deal of time working with swimmers and triathletes on their improving their technique and try to help them develop a solid technical foundation. My experiences have shown that this is the key to becoming a successful swimmer.
When I’m not on the deck at practice or hitting the books at UBC Okanagan, I am hoping to be able to get a few training rides in and maybe even hit up the occasional triathlon.
I am looking forward to working with the Okanagan Masters Swim Club this summer, and hope that everyone has a good time training in our new H2O Centre.
Rob Swan
It is a pleasure to be able to help the new Master Swim Club at the new H2O centre as a swim/triathlon coach. A little about myself I started swimming at 17 when I started triathlons and was luckily able to train and compete on the SFU Varsity Swim Team while attending university and completing my BSc in Kinesiology(Exercise Physiology). During and post university I have been competing as a triathlete at the provincial and national level with some success. I have now been professionally coaching triathlon and endurance sports for 8 years but started coaching in the mid 90’s. I really enjoy helping athletes of all levels to achieve their goals. I have been advancing my coaching skills through the NCCP coaching program and am currently a Level 3 Biathlon coaching with numerous Level 2 certifications such as Running, Nordic Skiing and working toward Cycling Level 2. I would like to take Level 2 Swimming program in the near future. I am also one of 3 Level 2 FaCT Certified Testing facilities in the region and am a specialist in Respiratory Training. I am also the only practicing certified FIST Triathlon Bike Fitter in the region. I am currently having a great time coaching many of the areas best Triathletes, as the TriBC Regional Triathlon Training Centre Coach for the Okanagan and the Biathlon BC Provincial Development Squad Coach, along with many newbie triathletes to Olympic Distance Specialists and Iron Men and Iron Women. I hope to compete in several local races this season in between the little spare time I have as a coach.
Contact me at 250-764-2615 or coachrob@criticalperformance.ca or on the web at www.criticalperformance.ca for more information or questions.
Jacqualyn Conrad
My name is Jacqualyn Conrad and I am 100% a Kelowna girl (born+raised) I began competitive swimming at age 8 with the Kelowna Aqua Jets! I was a provincial qualifier in multiple events and held a club record and two in BC. I have a strong passion towards coaching which reflects my six years coaching with the Aqua Jets and 3 years on and off with the Kelowna Masters! I am currently a level 2 theory certified coach with full Lifeguard qualifications. I coach with an open mind, lots of enthusiaum and try to give lots of variety. I believe a good masters coach must coach individually and not as a whole.
Pascal Sutherland
I began swimming at 6 in Ontario as a summer swimmer in Port Credit. After completing the summer circuit I decided to abandon baseball and soccer and focus primarily on swimming. I swam competitively with Tomac in Mississauga before moving to Vancouver at the age of 12 and swimming for the Vancouver Dolphins. I swam with them until just after my 14th birthday when I strained a ligament during the Provincial 200 backstroke final. It was there that my age group career ended. I went to a small high school in the US where I turned my attention to golf and tennis.
I become a born again swimmer in Nanaimo at the age of 25 with a masters group that ran out of Frontrunners. Seven years and 7 masters clubs later (what’s the record?) I continue to enjoy swimming both for social and competitive pursuits. I have also been competing in triathlons for the past two years ago and have completed distances ranging from Olympic to Ironman. I have been coached by some high profile coaches including Tom Johnson and Graham Smith and am a strong believer in technique. I look forward to helping our members achieve their goals in their upcoming year.
Nelson Chapman
Nelson Chapman has been working part-time at the Kelowna Family Y as a lifeguard for the last 2 years. He began coaching for the Masters program there at the beginning of last summer.
Currently, Nelson is in his fourth year at UBCO working towards his BA in Psychology.
Sue Morrison
Sue has decades of coaching experience with swimmers and triathletes of all levels (recreational to competitive) and ages (children to over 85 yrs. of age). Sue also serves as Chair of the Central Okanagan Aquatic Society (COAS). COAS served a critical advocacy role in galvanizing community support for the new H2O Adventure and Fitness Centre. Sue’s credentials include: NCCP Level 3 – Swimming, Level 2 – Athletics – Distance Running and Level 1 – Triathlon. Also, she has coached Triathlon for a number of years (20) and has devoted much of her time to Iron distance with mostly age groupers who have finished, a lifetime achievement, to overall Age Group winners, top three Clydesdale finishes and Age Group winners.