Saturday morning brought forward a different type of workout than usual for Prince Albert fire fighter Chris Cherepacha.
Cherepacha was joined by members of the Prince Albert Police Service, the Prince Albert Mintos and faculty from Carlton Comprehensive High School and Christopher Lake School at Marion Aquatics as they swam through drills and performed a short routine as part of the Prince Albert Pikes annual water show.
“It’s a lot more exhausting than I thought it would be,” Cherepacha said. “There’s a lot more muscles groups that you are using compared to what you usually do.
“Since you are treading water there’s a lot of side shuffles going and you end up using your legs quite a bit.”
The workout was part of an initiative that the Pikes came up with this year to bring more awareness to their artistic swimming program.
“We were brainstorming one day and we came up with the idea of having people that would never have taken part in this before to join us,” Pikes head coach Katherine Johnson said.
“It’s been to see everyone try something that’s out of their element. Obviously the Mintos players are top notch athletes, but the muscles that they are using are much different than in a hockey game.”
The newcomers had to adapt quickly to swimming with the Pikes as they took to the water for the first time just prior to the water show.
“They were able to keep up really well,” Johnson said. “We could probably have a competitive all male team if they had a few more practices.”
After the Pikes take part in the Western Canadian Championship in Regina from May 2-5, the team will be hosting summer camps in Shellbrook during July and August.
More information on those programs will be posted on the club’s website at papikes.com
