Summerside Dolphins back in the pool looking to make waves

After a year of major growth, the Summerside Dolphins Swim Club is looking for more big things this year.

The Dolphins started in the fall of 2025 with 53 swimmers and saw that number grow to just over 80 by the end of the season.

“Then we started this season with 102 (swimmers) and we got a few more since we started,” Dolphins head coach Robin Loyola told the Journal Pioneer in a recent phone interview. “The energy is so great, and the swimmers are super excited…

“It’s great to see so many kids wearing the red T-shirts. We’re pretty excited about it.”

The Dolphins’ season in the Credit Union Place pool began on Sept. 14. Once again, the Dolphins are offering learn-to-swim and competitive programming, and the club has 11 coaches overall.

“Our learn-to-swim program is not competitive,” said Loyola.

“We do hope that they will catch the bug and want to compete, so we do teach them all the rules, turns, starts and dives that will make for a successful integration into the competitive program (should they decide to transition).”

Loyola explained that the Dolphins offer different levels of competitive programs.

“We have a multi-sport stream and then we have a performance stream,” said Loyola. “They start out with our White squad, which is our first level of competitive (swimmers), and they swim four times a week. Then our swimmers in Gold train seven times a week.”

Loyola said the competitive swimmers set goals for the season with their target meet the East Coast championships.

“With that one, there’s an extra carrot for our athletes that get to that level of a meet,” said Loyola.

“Because the competition is so high, they become eligible for the external sport credit program that Sport P.E.I. got off the ground, which is just a fantastic initiative.

“It gives our athletes a school (extracurricular) credit, but they have to meet a certain requirement of training and performance to be eligible to apply.”

Loyola pointed out that there are also mental and dryland training components for competitive swimmers.

“When you are training, I always say that it’s like 90 per cent physical and 10 per cent mental, but then when you start going to swim meets that switches – it becomes 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical,” said Loyola. “It really depends on the mindset.

“So, it’s talking to the athletes to prepare them for competition; getting them to understand that being confident isn’t about never feeling doubt – it’s how to respond to doubt or how to bounce back when things don’t go the way you want.”

Loyola said it’s important for swimmers to understand they can’t always control what goes on around them, but what they can control is how they react to situations.

“That’s the tools we’re giving our swimmers in those mental training (sessions), plus goal-setting and all that other good stuff that comes into it,” said Loyola. “It’s a lot bigger part of sport than I think we realize, and this is all part of those life skills that sport is so amazing and gives to our athletes.”

Loyola said swimming is a combination of a team environment and an individual sport.

“It’s about building confidence and being better than you were yesterday,” said Loyola. “It’s about doing what others won’t today, so tomorrow you can do what others can’t.”

The Dolphins will host four meets at Credit Union Place this season. The first one – Spooky Spud – is scheduled for Oct. 24.

“That is for our 12-and-under (swimmers), and our 13-over non-qualifiers,” said Loyola. “It is an entry-level meet and we call them the festival meets.

“It’s just a fun way to introduce competition for our athletes.”

The Dolphins are also scheduled to host the following meets: Fall Splash from Nov. 20 to 22; Cheeseburger Festival on April 10, and the Setting Day Festival on May 8.

Loyola is excited about a Swim P.E.I. initiative for swimmers attending meets.

“Each swimmer that attends (a meet) gets part of a pin,” said Loyola, who added swimmers have five opportunities to collect the four different pins. “The pin is a lobster with a bathing cap on, of the three (P.E.I.) counties. So, there’s Kings, Queens and Prince…

“If they attend all the meets at the end, it comes together to make a picture of this lobster with the P.E.I. counties behind it. It’s pretty neat and we’re excited Swim P.E.I. made this happen for us.”

Jason Simmonds is a sports reporter at the Journal Pioneer in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached at jsimmonds@postmedia.com and followed on X @JpsportsJason.