We have recently arrived at the competition site for the FINA World Cup in Changshu, China, after a gruelling two week training camp in Penang, Malaysia.  Oh yeah! :)

Like an army on the front lines we are primed and ready to fight for our spot on the podium. However, as in any sport, the fight begins long before the competition. The story of our team's uphill battle towards the podium began two years ago. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to go that far back into history, so I'll fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when we landed in Malysia; excited, exhausted from 20 hours of travelling, and slightly apprehensive about the training camp that was ahead of us.

Penang is an exotic island with scenery that combines mystical mountains and an enviable beach front. Scenery I was lucky enough to witness from my hotel room on the 22nd floor!

Our training conditions weren't what we're accustomed to with the high humidity, salt water pool, and spontaneous thunderstorms.  Not to fret, we adapted quickly and trained as per usual.  No, wait... not quite... let me rephrase that: we trained harder, longer, with more concentration, and more intensity than ever.

That said, we could not wait to take off for China.  Finally we will be able to show off all our hard work.  We've polished our routines with our blood, sweat, but never our tears. Watch out world, we're on a path towards the podium and we're never looking back.

Camille Bowness
Synchro Canada's 2010 FINA World Cup National Team Member