When Trafalgar Castle School student Elayna Y. was seven years old, she saw a poster of a swimmer demonstrating The Butterfly at her local community centre. At that moment, she knew she would one day be a swimmer, too.
Swimming has a reputation for challenging every muscle in the body. Swimming demonstrates strength, agility, and most importantly, a sense of creativity and artistry that elevates the sport into something even more complex. Elayna Y. looked upon the challenge with a smile and became committed to growing, learning, and succeeding in the sport. The Grade 9 student has determined that this is a dream she will proudly pursue. Although Elayna finds being in the water peaceful, her training schedule is rigorous. Elayna regularly swims two hour-long practices plus three dryland training sessions every week. Two days a week are ‘double training days’, which means she is in the water in both the morning and the evening. This schedule runs for the entire swim season, from September to July.
Competitions themselves are also quite lengthy, often lasting two to four days. Having recently competed in provincials in March, Elayna is now preparing to compete in smaller meets that will allow her to qualify for the summer provincials in July. Although Elayna’s training schedule is consistent throughout the season, in the weeks leading up to bigger competitions, Elayna puts an emphasis on rest so that she is able to perform at full capacity when it is time to race.
With Elayna finding herself in the water a number of hours a week, it’s easy to wonder: when does she have time for her school work? Luckily, Elayna is a part of Trafalgar Castle School’s High Performing Artists & Athletes program. HPAA is a unique Trafalgar programdesigned to provide students in Grades 9-12 with greater support and increased flexibility while pursuing athletics or arts outside of school at an elite level. The students who meet the program’s criteria are made known to the Senior School teaching staff, who coordinate with each other and the students to offer extra support when needed. (Grades 4 through 8 students are supported individually by their homeroom teacher.)
Elayna’s participation in the HPAA program enables her to work alongside her teachers, parents, and the senior leadership team to ensure that no educational time is missed. The program is structured to help Elayna with remaining up to date on all of her school work while also maintaining her training schedule. This way, Elayna is supported in succeeding academically without having to sacrifice her dream.
Elayna explains that HPAA allows her to participate in swimming both in and outside of the Castle walls: “It means a lot to me to know that my school is supporting me in swimming. I’m really grateful that we had a senior school swim team this year as it allowed me to represent Trafalgar at CISAA meets and eventually qualify for OFSAA, which was an amazing experience.”
Not only has she represented Trafalgar incredibly well at OFSAA, but HPAA has also given her the opportunity to succeed in individual pursuits outside of school sports. In 2023, she placed as the #1 fastest swimmer in Ontario for the Girls 50m freestyle in her age group.
Elayna continues: “Being part of the HPAA program is important to me because it helps me balance training and schoolwork. If I am feeling overwhelmed, knowing that I have some flexibility because of this program takes a lot of pressure off, which helps me to be more present in my daily life. Since I have a lot of early mornings and late nights with my training schedule, the HPAA program allows me to get the rest I need to perform at my best as an athlete and a student.”
When asked what her favourite part about swimming is, Elayna said that aside from swimming being an individual sport, she is glad she can still train as a part of a team. With its HPAA program, Trafalgar Castle School is proud to be a part of Elayna’s team.