Grande Prairie Piranhas send Minic off to Olympic trials with drive-by parade

The Grande Prairie Piranhas Swim Club threw Catherine Minic a drive-by parade on the evening of June 15, as she gets ready to travel to Toronto for the Canada Olympic swimming trials.

The parade was held right outside of the Eastlink Centre. Members of the Piranhas Swim Club decorated their cars, made signs and gave flowers to show support and give Minic a big send-off.

Photo: Shane Clausing

Photo: Shane Clausing

Photo: Shane Clausing

Photo: Shane Clausing

Minic is the first person from the Grande Prairie Piranhas Swim Club to ever qualify for the Olympic trials and she is just one of three swimmers that’ll represent Alberta.

She tells EverythingGP seeing all the support before she leaves was a pretty cool experience.

“I thought it was really cute, I’ve never had something like that done for me,” said Minic.

“It’s nice to see the support and stuff like that because it’s been a pretty weird year. Having the whole team come together (for the first time this year) was nice.”

Initially, the parade was supposed to be a surprise for Minic. However, given her personality, the Piranhas felt they should tell her about it.

Karri Robideau with the Piranhas Swim Club says seeing Minic get to the Olympic trials is a very special moment for the organization.

“It doesn’t happen every day in Grande Prairie, let alone the Piranhas. She’s the first one to go. The club has been getting very excited all year. It’s kind of been a focus in showing the young kids that you can be like Cat.”

Robideau says the club is thrilled to see Minic head to Toronto for the trials. She’s disappointed, however, that they didn’t get to watch her swim in her final year with the club because of COVID-19 restrictions.

With the trials now just days away, Minic says she’s excited for the opportunity that awaits.

“I am so excited! I’ve been feeling good in practice, I think that I’ve prepared really well and I think it’s time to show what I can do after all that hard work.”

However, she adds it’s a weird feeling knowing this will be her last time representing the Piranhas at an event.

“I think it’ll hit me a lot when I come back, when I realize I’ll never go to another swim meet with my coach again. That makes me really sad, but it’s okay, it was a good way to end the year.”

Minic will be participating the 100 and 200 metre fly and the 200 and 400 metre individual medley.

The Olympic trials in Toronto run from June 19-23.