For some swimmers - Matthew Abbott, for instance - these past few months represent the final time (in all likelihood) he will enjoy touching the finishing wall in a competitive race environment.
For others, like the troika of Jayda Hartley, Owen Baas and Alexandre Landry, it was merely time to do a flip turn and push off from the wall, beginning the next phase of their lives, both inside and outside the pool.
The four athletes above comprise the graduating class of the Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club – and also offer a wide-ranging spectrum of “next steps” for a quartet of highly accomplished northern teens – and beyond (Landry is in his twenties).
Though Matthew Abbott is heading off to Carleton University in Ottawa and the Ravens do offer a varsity swim program, his primary focus outside of his studies will lie with the Canadian Armed Forces as the graduate of Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School has committed to the Regular Officer Training Plan (ROTP).
Abbott is the only one of the SLSC foursome for whom competitive swimming is not part of the plan next year. Owen Baas will not be located all that far away from his current teammate, attending the University of Ottawa in order to pursue his studies in Bio-Medical Science.
All of which means that the 17 year-old who will join SLSC products James Bertrim (heading into Year 3) and Alexandre Landry (continuing his studies at U of Ottawa after spending the past four years at Laurentian) is sure to be a very, very busy young man – even if it is in a setting which excites him to no end.
“The swim team culture really stood out to me,” said Baas, a native of North Bay who decided to billet in Sudbury these past two years and attend Lo-Ellen Park in order to train with coach Dean Henze and the SLSC senior group. “I found the (University of Ottawa) coach really easy to talk to, really enjoyed being with the guys on the team.”
“It just felt like the place for me.”
Baas will be coming off a 2025-2027 swim season that offered a whole lot to like, most notably a 15 second + improvement in his signature 400 metre individual medley event. “I’ve grown a bit and definitely gotten a bit stronger,” said Baas, reflecting on his progress. “But it’s also my second year with Dean and just having that consistency of another year of practices really helped.”
“I’ve gotten better at training.”
That is important as Baas looks to make the jump to even more mileage in the pool, immersed in an environment that features some noteworthy distinctions to what he has grown accustomed to in club swimming.
“At university, it’s a lot more about team points,” he noted. “The big goal this year is to win a conference championship. It’s a lot more strategic about what races you get put into – and relays matter a lot more – but it’s a great atmosphere to train in.”
Baas will also join Landry as the two SLSC delegates compete at the 2026 Bell Canadian Swimming Trials in Montreal (Montreal Olympic Pool) from July 5th to July 9th.
“I would really like to make the junior finals,” said Baas, who will be making his first appearance at the meet after hitting standard in both the 200m and 400m individual medley.
For her part, Jayda Hartley will now turn her attention to the sprints as she begins her post-secondary studies within the Business program this fall at the University of Guelph. “I will be in their sprint group and while I still have pretty good endurance, I am not going to be doing as much distance, focusing on faster stuff,” said the 17 year-old senior at Marymount Academy.
“I have a really hard time pacing myself (with longer distances),” Hartley added. “I go out way too fast. With sprints, I can can just go all out.”
That said, shorter distances come with their own distinct package of details that require swimmers to stress over areas of greater minutia in their races.
“You really have to focus on everything: the starts, walls, making sure my turns are on point,” said Hartley, who sees herself as a freestyle swimmer primarily at the U Sport level, though all those who reach this stage in their aquatic careers are more than capable of comfortably competing in all four strokes.
“I am kind of competitive when I swim so I like to see everybody in the water,” said Hartley of her preference towards the freestyle. “With the backstroke, I can’t see anybody.”
Having already posted times that would qualify her for the provincial (OUA) swim championships as a freshman member of the Gryphons swim team, Hartley is crossing her fingers that elements that are, to some extent, beyond her control do not curtail her plans to achieve a few more personal goals in the pool.
“If Jayda can stay healthy, she will be a really big benefit to that (Guelph) program,” noted SLSC head coach Dean Henze. “If her body lets her down, there’s not much that she can do about that.”
Rounding out the group, Alexandre Landry is easily the elder statesmen of the graduating class. He joins the Ottawa Gee Gees swim team while devoting the next two years to completing Teachers College in French – all while looking to contribute in a big way to the U of O goal of capturing a conference banner.
“We’re trying to get him back into the top ten in the country,” said coach Henze, looking for a second swim (beyond preliminaries) from the Valley East native as he competes at Trials next week. “Alex is ready to swim with adults. I think he’s looking forward to that.”
