They didn’t end up here on porpoise
Dolphin Bay Seven part of the Optimist pod strictly for the love of swimming
Seven members of the Regina Optimist Dolphins know all about swimming pools and car pools.
After all, each of them lives on the ideally named Dolphin Bay.
“It’s kind of ironic that seven Dolphins swimmers live on Dolphin Bay,” 13-year-old Olena Rashovich, a member of the club since 2012, says with a chuckle.
“As a kid, I thought it was kind of funny,” adds Noah Choboter, 21. “There just seemed to be more and more Dolphins.”
Choboter’s parents Steve and Nannette moved to Dolphin Bay 22 years ago. Back then, there wasn’t any connection to the swim club. It was just a matter of finding a home they liked in the Whitmore Park subdivision.
Everything began to change, however, when the Choboters’ children developed an affinity and aptitude for swimming. Noah and his 16-year-old sister Emily are current members of the club — of which Nannette is president.
“When I say my address as the president, people say, ‘You live on Dolphin Bay?’” Nannette says. “They think it’s pretty funny.”
The Dolphins have had as many as nine swimmers residing on Dolphin Bay. This season’s Dolphin Bay Seven consists of the Choboter siblings, Rashovich, Noah Wasyliw, 21, Simun Jelavic, 21, Kianna Coghill, 15, and Haydyn Krenbrink, 12.
“I didn’t know about Haydyn (living on Dolphin Bay) until yesterday,” Noah Choboter says, laughing.
They are among 149 swimmers with the Dolphins, whose membership has doubled over the four years in which Nannette Choboter has served as president.
“We’re really proud of our team,” Nannette says. “We’ve got a great team and great coaches and everyone cares about each other. The kids all work so hard and they’re amazing.”
The location isn’t bad, either. The Dolphins’ current roster includes several members of the University of Regina Cougars swim team, including Jelavic (who is from Croatia), Wasyliw (from Winnipeg) and Noah Choboter. He, Jelavic and Wasyliw live in a rented house on Dolphin Bay, on which five of the 58 households include at least one Dolphins swimmer.
That residence is close to the U of R and, if younger members of the Dolphins need a lift to the team’s home base at the Lawson Aquatic Centre, several vehicles routinely head in that direction.
On Dolphin Bay, the Dolphins’ population has gradually increased over time. The connection is more of a result of happenstance than a product of planning.
“I don’t really know how it happened,” Nannette Choboter says, marvelling at the odds against so many Dolphins swimmers living on a street with an identical name.
Rashovich became part of the Dolphin Bay connection in 2012, when her parents (Dan and Laura) moved to Regina from Calgary.
“It’s really awesome,” Rashovich, whose father is a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Plaza of Honour, says of the Dolphins club. “We’re all kind of one big family. I don’t think there has even been a time when I didn’t want to be a part of it.”
Rashovich was a member of the Cascade Swim Club in Calgary before joining the Dolphins.
“They really try to make us a team,” she says. “Even at meets, we cheer together and we stay together. We’re not all with our families at the hotel. We room together, we eat together and we do everything together. There’s no alone time.”
The close-knit nature of the team is appreciated by Jelavic, who moved to Regina from Croatia in September 2016. He is a secondyear member of the Dolphins.
“I really enjoy it,” Jelavic says. “The coaching staff is really big and really good. There’s a lot of team support and also a lot of parent support. It’s nice to have people who support you all the time.”
Noah Choboter, who has won two gold medals and one bronze medal for the Cougars at U Sports nationals, is quick to concur.
“All of my best friends are in the Dolphins club,” he says. “I’m sure that the friendships that I’ve formed with the Dolphins will last a lifetime.”
Dolphins swimmers are preparing for the sixth annual Optimist Prairie Cup, which is to be held Friday to Sunday at the Lawson.
The event’s age-group meet will consume all three days. A developmental meet is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
When I say my address as the president, people say, ‘You live on Dolphin Bay? They think it’s pretty funny.