In early July, five members of the Cochrane Water Ninjas, the highly decorated lifesaving swimmers club, travelled to Swansea, Wales to compete as members of Team Canada in the 2025 Commonwealth Lifesaving Championships.
From July 10 to 13, Isaac Thibodeau, Jack Dunse, Oliver Johnson, Caebri Smith, and Danica Fisher competed as members of Canada’s national Commonwealth team against some of the most elite members that belong to their very niche sport.
On August 12, the five Cochrane Water Ninjas and veterans of Team Canada’s Commonwealth team were on hand to receive a $5,000 cheque from Cochrane Home Treasures, money that will go towards supporting the athletes in their lifesaving water sport journeys.
Isaac Thibodeau is a veteran of Team Canada’s lifesaving team. This was his third time representing the country– his first being at a Commonwealth Games two years ago in Windsor, Ontario, and again last year at the World Championships in Australia.
Competing for Team Canada has given members of the Water Ninjas opportunities to travel far and wide. Caebri Smith recently travelled to the Netherlands to compete in lifesaving, an experience he said he’ll never forget. Smith and his teammates shared a memory of times spent swimming in the ocean off the coast of Swansea, time outside of the Commonwealth Championships that the members of the team look very fondly upon.
“It was a pretty incredible experience,” Thibodeau, who is also a leading member of the Cochrane Piranhas summer swimming club, said as he and his teammates awaited the cheque presentation at Cochrane Home Treasures. “This was one of the strongest teams we’ve had. Every year we get stronger and stronger and more competitive.”
Canada, like all other competing teams in the Commonwealth Games, sent two teams to Wales. One was the ‘open’ team, which competed in the elite category, and the other was the “development” team, which consisted of younger and less experienced swimmers.
Thibodeau said overall Canada placed seventh in the Open category and two athletes representing the team competed in each event finals. All in all, Thibodeau, who competed on the Open team, said Team Canada brought home five medals from the Commonwealth Championships.
“I was really excited and happy to compete,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge competing against those elite athletes.”
Locally, the athletes on the Cochrane Water Ninjas belong to one of the most decorated and highly sought-after teams in the sport. It regularly sends athletes to represent Canada at international events, but because the sport of lifesaving is fairly small in its reach, teams and athletes have to get the support of their community to continue to compete and meet the necessary travel requirements.
The money the team received from Cochrane Home Treasures will be divided up equally amongst the team, and in return for the financial support, Thibodeau and his compatriots will commit volunteer hours to Home Treasures.
“It’s truly incredible to get this support, we’re so thankful our community is so supportive of this sport,” Thibodeau said. “It’s a small sport so any support is really appreciated.”
