
Let's send Casey to the Nationals and Olympic Trials
Donation protected
Summerland, let's help Casey fund his dream of qualifying at the Olympics trials and competing at Nationals!
Casey’s swim path began with a phone call from an Olympic Swimmer when he was 6 years old. He was taking swimming lessons at the Summerland Aquatic Centre when Olympic Swimmer, Joanne Malar, called us at home to say she thought that Casey should join Orca Swim Club. Our immediate reaction was – if an Olympian calls you at home and tells you to do something then you do what they say!
Casey began swimming with Orca in Grade 1 and right from the start he began telling us that he was going to swim at the Olympics one day.
Throughout his elementary, middle school and high school years he would bring home endless projects written about his love of swimming and reiterating his goal of swimming at the Olympics one day. At age 17 Casey has been asked to speak at school wide assemblies at Trout Creek Elementary and Summerland Middle School about his swimming accomplishments, goal setting techniques and his “superpowers”. He has been a Junior Coach with Summerland Orca’s Development program for three years and loves working with the younger swimmers on their swim techniques, getting comfortable in the water and getting them hooked on the swimming lifestyle.
A few of the awards and achievements over the years:
- Most Sportsmanlike for Summerland Orca Swim Club for the 2017/2018 season
- Male MVP for Summerland Orca Swim Club for 3 seasons in a row; 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023
- Grade 10 Male athlete of the year for Summerland Secondary School for 2021/2022
- Top overall Swimmer for The Summerland Secondary High School Swim Team: 2021/2022 and 2022/2023
- Qualified for Swim Provincials, Westerns, Nationals and Olympic Trials
- Club records for the Summerland Orca Swim Club
- Placed 4th in BC in the 200 fly at the Swim BC Provincial Championships in March 2024.
*This was also the race that qualified him for Olympic trials! His smile when he got out of the pool was a moment I will remember forever. Complete happiness, he was one step closer to his reaching his dreams!
Casey will be competing at the Olympic trials on May 11 - 19 in Toronto and then the Nationals on July 22 - 30 again in Toronto. By donating you are assisting with the costs of getting Casey to Toronto to achieve his Olympic dreams!
The support that Casey has received from his dedicated team, his fellow Orca swimmers and the amazing community of Summerland are beyond words. Casey is honoured to represent Summerland to the Nation, and one day, to the World. He demonstrates that coming from a small town doesn’t limit your access to success. Raising your family in a small town is such a gift and we have been blown away by the amount of people who have reached out and congratulated Casey on his accomplishments and are helping him to reach his goals. Casey has found success through his hard work AND through the heartfelt support of so many people.
From the bottom of our hearts – Thank you Summerland.
Warmly,
Linnaea
*Organized by Team Casey (Edgehill Homes, Friends and Neighbours cheering very loudly for our boy!)
Organizer and beneficiary
Edgehill Homes
Organizer
Summerland, BC
Linnaea McDermid
Beneficiary