She swam at the Com-monwealth Games and competed at world triathlon events. Now retired from competition, dual sport athlete Suzanne Weckend is trying to promote the positives of sport to future athletes.
Weckend was on the Coast last weekend speaking to students at Pender Harbour and Chatelech secondary schools as well as teaching some clinics at the new aquatic centre in Sechelt. The visit, hosted by the Sunshine Coast Regional District, was in conjunction with the official opening of the pool last Saturday night.
Weckend started swimming competitively at the age of eight in Victoria. By 11 she was swimming four hours a day and at the end of Grade 8 was swimming with the senior national team representing Canada for the first time.
"I swam until I was 19, so I swam at world championships and Commonwealth Games," she said. "I retired from swimming at 19 and went to the University of Victoria and started life-guarding there and stumbled upon the UVic triathlon club one day. "I was kind of done with the competitive thing, but gave it a shot at a small sprint race. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I knew I would be picking up a second sport. Six months later I joined the national training centre in Victoria training with people like Simon Whitfield. I competed for Canada again at the world championships and at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. I finished 11th there."
After finishing her competitive career, Weckend began her teaching career and is now the aquatics director at St. George's School in Vancouver. She also coaches the swim team and the triathlon team as well.
"Sport is still a huge part of my life. Even though I'm not still a competitive athlete, sport and physical activity have become a part of me," she said. "The new aquatic facility in Sechelt is fantastic and my message to the students, and really to the community, is to take advantage of this opportunity and get out and use the facility. I'm encouraging the students to make positive choices, because making good choices now will open doors for them later.
"Sports and athletics are about goal-setting and finding something that you enjoy and want to do. I just want to encourage the students to be active in sport and see where it can take them in the future."
