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www.insidehalton.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, August 18, 2017 |18 Zavaros twins take different paths to woiid junior swimming championships By Herb Garbutt Burlington Post staff It w as a big step in Mabel Zavaros's swim m ing career. She had m ade her first national team and com peted in her first international meet, the Junior Pan Pacific Cham pionships in Hawaii. She even reached a final, finishing sixth in the 200-metre butterfly. But despite her success, there was som e thing missing. Since she w as six years old, Mabel had com peted alongside her twin sister Rosie. They progressed through the swimm ing ranks, achieving m ilestones together. At the 2016 Canadian Olympic trials, they each m ade a final -- Mabel in the butterfly, Rosie in the backstroke. That earned them each a spot on the Canadian Ju n ior Pan Pacific team. However, Rosie's chance to join her sister in Hawaii w as denied when she suffered a concussion a m onth before the meet. "It w as definitely different for me. We like going places together, experiencing things together," Mabel said. "It was good for me to try things and experience them by myself, but I love when Rosie com es with m e." A year later, the 17-year-old Burlington sisters will finally get that chance after earning their place on the Canadian team for the World Ju nior Swimming Championships, which begin next week in Indianapolis. While Mabel got a second taste of inter national com petition earlier this year at the Arena Pro Swim Series in Atlanta, where she m ade three finals, w orld juniors will mark Rosie's first international meet. "I didn't have a lot of training before trials, so going to juniors is exciting," she said. Mabel is com ing off a strong performance at the Canadian cham pionships as she heads into world juniors. She w on five individual medals, including golds in the 100m and 200m butterfly, as well as contributing to a pair of Oakville Aquatic Club relay wins, while finishing tied for the w om en's high point award. She also w on both butterfly events the previous week at the Canadian jun ior cham pionships. In April at the Canadian sw im trials, Ma bel earned bronze m edals in 50m and 200m butterfly and set personal bests in six events. And though she didn't meet the goal she had set for herself, she sees world juniors as an important stepping stone. "The big goal I had w as to m ake the senior team and I'll keep trying to m ake that team ," Mabel said. "Juniors will build som e experi ence and w e'll get the chance to race som e different girls, so I'm excited for that." World jun iors will m ark a big step forward in Rosie's return from the concussion that sidelined her. She w as enjoying sim ilar success last sum mer. By the provincial cham pionships in the first week of July, she had established personal bests in nine long-course events, Rosie Zavaros (top photo) and twin sister Mabel (above) are both competing at next week's world junior swim championships in Indianapolis. | photos by Scott Grant - Swimming Canada including the 200m backstroke to reach the final at the Canadian Olympic Trials. But while w arm ing up for the backstroke at nationals, Rosie bum ped heads with an other swimmer. Though she had suffered two concussions previously, she didn't ex pect to spend m onths on the sidelines. She finally got back to training this spring, ju st in time for the Canadian trials and still m anaged an 11th place finish in the 200m backstroke. "I still have som e limitations (on train ing). It's definitely been hard," she said. "It's been frustrating and emotional at times, but it's m ade me mentally stronger." She earned a silver m edal in the 100m backstroke at the Canadian ju n ior cham pionships and narrowly m issed another podium finish, placing fourth in the 200m back. She also earned three top-10 finishes at nationals. And despite not being back to a full train ing regimen yet, she m anaged to take more than a third of a second off her personal best in the 50m backstroke in May. It is improvements like that that have kept the sisters motivated since they started sw im m ing and helped them earn scholar ships to the University of Florida. "I think we j ust kept pushing," Rosie said. "W hen we were nine or 10, we m ade our first provincial times and we becam e more serious about it and getting to the next level. I've always enjoyed feeling the excitement of racing and setting goals and reaching for them ." Mabel said her experience at Ju n ior Pan Pacifics only made her want to reach for more. "It w as honestly so m uch fun racing with the older girls and the best sw im m ers," she said. "Being with them and gaining a lot of experience pushes me forw ard." And now the sisters will finally get to ex perience international com petition together. G iv e y o u r little o n e s th e b e s t e d u c a tio n p o s s ib le Having received the Prime M inister's Award for Excellcence in Education and continuously voted one of the top Preschools in Oakville, the Oakville Academy School for the Arts nurtures independent and creative thinkers, enthusiastic lifelong learn ers and active explorers in an arts-enriched learn ing environment for children 2.5 to 6 years of age, specializing in dance, music and art exploration. The program operates Monday to Friday, Septem ber to June with a variety of enrolment options, including half day and full day programming with extended care available for preschool, junior and senior kindergarten students. Interested in more information? Visit the Acad emy's open house on Sunday, August 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Oakville Academy School for the Arts would be delighted to provide your fam ily with a tour and more information on admis sions and registration. For further information visit oakvilleacademyschool.com or contact director, Berri Hoch at 905-844-2787.