>> Three-Peat for Synchro Swimmer

The Oakville Beaver, by Herb Garbutt
February 17, 2007

Jennifer Knobbs secures another Provincial Junior Title

TRIPLE GOLD

Oakville resident Jennifer Knobbs displays the hardware she has earned by winning the past three Tier 7 Provincial Junior Synchro Swimming Titles.

Familiar surroundings helped out Jennifer Knobbs once. Now she hopes for an opportunity to have them aid her again.

Competing at her home pool, the Etobicoke Olympium, the Oakville synchro swimmer won the Tier 7 provincial junior title last weekend for the third year in a row. Her victory moved her to within one step of returning to the nationals in Saanich , British Columbia . That would mark a return to the same pool where she won the 2003 national 15-and-under championship.

In her final year of junior competition, Knobbs said there was a little stress involved in going for a third straight title, though it evidently didn't show in her performance.

"There's always pressure, but it's good pressure. I like it," she said. "Some people might expect you to win but you still have to fight to make it happen."

Knobbs led after the figure portion of the competition after posting a score of 75.2795, then put an emphatic stamp on her victory with the highest score, 82.6667, for her routine.

Though she'll still have to qualify for nationals at the divisional competition in March, Knobbs is looking to improve upon a sixth-place finish at last year's nationals. She'll be adding extra hours to an already demanding training schedule in preparation for the event.

The 17-year-old attends Silverthorn Collegiate in Etobicoke because of its proximity to the Olympium and because the school offers a program for high-performance athletes that meets the demands of her education as well as her training and competition schedule. Each weekday starts with a five-hour training session that begins at 6 a.m. On weekends, she dedicates seven or eight hours to training.

Knobbs said it can be difficult balancing the two -- it's tough to stay up late to study or finish an essay when you have an early morning training session -- but said it is worth it to compete in the sport she got hooked on after seeing it on TV when she was seven.

"I always like gymnastics, swimming and dance, and (synchro) had them all combined into one," she said. "It was the perfect choice."

She has excelled at the sport, earning a spot on the Canadian junior team two years ago. She hopes to move up to the national B team but concentrated her efforts on the junior team this year because of the opportunity to go to the world junior championships in China . There, she helped Canada earn a fifth-place finish in September.

Knobbs has competed in solo and team events and, until a couple of years ago, was also active in duet.

"I love solo. It's fun to express yourself and have all eyes on you, but it's also fun to be a team member working together to achieve something," she said.

Whether it's on her own or with a team, Knobbs hopes to eventually represent her country at the Olympics.