A local athlete will be heading to the University of Regina to get back in the water.

Sapphire Johnson is in twelfth grade at Portage Collegiate and has been swimming competitively for quite some time. She is really excited about the opportunity and says she's glad it's not too far from home.

"When everything got cancelled here in Manitoba, I started looking for places to go for next year. I decided I didn't want to give it up yet because COVID took a lot of that away from me," says Johnson. "So, I emailed a whole bunch of coaches and I heard back from the University of Regina and I accepted my offer as soon they gave it to me."

Johnson says she's been swimming for the last eight to nine years. She tries to compete in as many tournaments and competitions as possible in a typical year but last year she was only able to attend one. Johnson outlines how she got into the sport.

"I used to play hockey a lot and during spring I didn't really like 3 on three or like spring hockey," Johnson explains. "My mom used to be a swimmer so she signed me up for swimming. I started by only swimming after the hockey season was over and then I liked it, so I started swimming all year."

She's looking forward to spending more time in the water as she will be practicing eight to ten times a week in Regina. Johnson is also excited to get the opportunity to compete in a number of different places, noting the furthest she has been as of now would be Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Johnson describes what her biggest challenge will be initially.

"Right now, I'm not swimming at all. So, definitely getting back into swimming," says Johnson. "Hopefully, I'll be able to hit the pool before I go. Keeping up with the early mornings every day, doing the dryland workouts, and all the practice time will be a challenge as well."

Johnson is looking to fundraise for the University of Regina athletics by selling tickets to a virtual event featuring a number of prolific guest speakers. For all the details click here.

She is extremely excited for this next step in her journey and is glad to be able to continue her swimming career into University.