Kelowna AquaJets Hires Marc Tremblay from Cascade Swim Club as Head Coach

The Kelowna AquaJets in central British Columbia, Canada, has announced the hiring of Marc Tremblay as their new head coach.

Tremblay comes to the club from the Cascade Swim Club in Calgary, Alberta. There, he was the head age group coach for over 190 swimmers.

“We view Marc coming back to BC as a significant asset both for KAJ and the province. Marc is a well-rounded, highly experienced coach, and is very well regarded as a leader in the coaching community,” said Swim BC executive director Ken Radford. “His most recent experience with Calgary Cascade gives him a ton of applicable knowledge regarding club management and direction, which is very much in line with the Head Coach / CEO approach Swim BC has been advocating.”

The Cascade Swim Club is a club that has been represented by many national and international swimmers in its history. That includes Tokyo 2020 Olympians Yuri Kisil, Rebecca Smith, and Cole Pratt, Alexander Pratt, Joel Greenshields, Russell Wood, Brooklynn Snodgrass, Jillian Tyler, Bronwyn Pasloski, and Ingrid Wilm.

Tremblay has over 35 years of experience as a professional swim coach, a master’s degree in sport science, and NCCP Level IV certification – the highest level of coach certification in Canada.

Prior to Cascade Swim Club, Tremblay worked with the Vernon Kokanees, Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, and the University of Alberta varsity programs.

Among other athletes, Tremblay was named the coach of record for Canadian National Teamer Hanna Pierse during his time at Edmonton Keyano.

He has had several international appointments as well. He was on the Canadian coaching staff for the 1997 and 2002 Pan Pacific Championship meets.

Tremblay replaces 61-year old Emil Dimitrov, who took over as head coach in 2015 when the club fired Lois Daigneault for not disclosing a USA Swimming suspension during the hiring process. His prior club, Liquid Lightning, was ultimately folded into the club, giving him a combined 13-year history in the area.

Prior to that he spent 14 years as the head coach of the Milton Marlins Swim Club and 3 years as the head coach of the University of Calgary Swim Club.

Among Dimitrov’s most famous charges is breaststroker Kierra Smith, a two-time Canadian Olympian, NCAA Champion, and the 2015 Pan American Games champion in the 200 breaststroke.

Smith trained with Dimitrov from 2010 through 2012 full-time, summers from 2012 through 2019, and returned to him full-time in December 2020 to prepare for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

He also coached Axana Merckx, who swims collegiately at the University of Arizona.

Kelowna, with a population of around 142,000, is the center of British Columbia’s third-largest metro area.