Hundreds of athletes from 14 provincial lifesaving sport clubs across Alberta, B.C. and the Northwest Territories are competing in the 2025 Alberta and Northwest Territories Pool Lifesaving Championships and Junior Games this weekend at the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton.
Around 350 athletes of all ages are showcasing their skills in events such as Line Throw, Obstacle Swim, Manikin Carry, and more.
One competitor, 17-year-old Isaac Thibodeau, said. “I love it. It’s so much fun. The teamwork that the sport has is really like nothing else.
“It takes so many humanitarian aspects that you get in the lifesaving aspect,” he added, “and then it takes it and just transforms it into a really unique and crazy competition.”
Last summer, Thibodeau was a member of Team Canada at the Life Saving World Championships in Australia.
“I am a lifeguard, and I’m a member of the Canadian national team competing in this sport,” Thibodeau said, “so it’s really opened up a lot of doors and really advanced my future in the world of lifesaving.
“People just need to know more about the sport,” he said. “It’s such a unique and incredible sport that not a lot of people know of and it truly is like nothing else.
Lifesaving Society director of communications Madison Lalonde said the event boils down to a single, identifiable goal.
“Everything has to do with practicing lifesaving skills to support our mission in drowning prevention,” she said.
Lalonde said Saturday’s events featured senior athletes, while Sunday will feature juniors from the age of six and up.
“There’s about 450 people to 500 people in Canada who drown every single year,” she said. “There are a lot of ways that we can prevent that. This is one of the ways.
“If you’re interested in registering for lifesaving sport, visit our website at lifesaving.org.”
She encouraged parents and kids to drop by the Seton YMCA Sunday to check the competition out.
With files from CTV’s Tyler Barrow
