Holy Names High School welcomed Mayor Eddie Francis to their library today to discuss a new future for Windsor.
The Mayor was joined with two time medalist of the International Children’s Games, Amber Lefler to talk about the possibility of Windsor hosting the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in 2016/2018.
Windsor, Abu Dhabi in the United Emirates and Hong Kong are being considered for the event. The mayor will be making a final presentation in Instanbul, Turkey to the FINA Bureau Tuesday to promote Windsor for the occasion.
Lefler said the FINA championship would be a positive experience especially if it was in Windsor.
Swimmer Amber Lefler speaks during a press conference at Holy Names High School about the upcoming FINA bid in Windsor on Thursday, December 6, 2012. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE / The Windsor Star)
“It’s a great opportunity for athletes to meet people from other countries,” said Lefler. “If I was at FINA I would be very nervous because all of the bigger athletes… It would be amazing to meet them.”
Holy Names students signed a banner which will be brought up during the mayor’s final presentation.
“I think it’s important for us to reflect the support of the community,” said Francis. “Going into this we wanted to put the city on the map and create a profile, create awareness within a federated body that is well known and hopefully create opportunities for the city. We’ve accomplished that element, but when you get involved in this, you want to win. We’ve accomplished half of our objective and we’re hoping to accomplish the second half. Being able to compete against Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi and to be able to win will go a long way for this region.”
The successful city to host the FINA championships will be announced Tuesday.
Mayor Eddie Francis speaks during a press conference at Holy Names High School about the upcoming FINA bid in Windsor on Thursday, December 6, 2012. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE / The Windsor Star)
Students sign an oversized swim suit during a press conference at Holy Names High School about the upcoming FINA bid in Windsor on Thursday, December 6, 2012. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE / The Windsor Star)
Swimmer Amber Lefler speaks during a press conference at Holy Names High School about the upcoming FINA bid in Windsor on Thursday, December 6, 2012. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE / The Windsor Star)
