Gaël Chaubet, a kinesiology and Varsity Blues alum, was recently awarded the 2020 Masters Excellence in Coaching Award by Swimming Canada. Chaubet was rewarded for successfully motivating and encouraging his swimmers inside and outside of the pool since 2016, when he started to coach in the Downtown Swim Club, a gay, lesbian, trans, bi, straight masters swim team in Toronto.
“I was introduced to the team in my second year by my swimming coach Byron MacDonald, who knew I was looking for a job and had previous experience with coaching. What I didn’t tell him was that I had few experiences with coaching swimmers older than me,” says Chaubet, who embraced the opportunity to gain new experience.
“My role is to create an environment where swimmers feel supported to achieve their goals, whether competitive or not. I want them to enjoy the workouts while meeting their needs. Some enjoy the social aspect of it, some are interested in their health and others are looking to win a medal at the World Championships. The challenge is to create workouts that are beneficial for all, while also making sure I can be flexible and adapt to different needs.”
Chaubet particularly enjoys the inclusive and welcoming nature of the club.
“It lives up to its reputation as Toronto’s LGBTQ2S+ and allies’ club. It is open and accepting of all swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds. As an ally myself, I have always felt welcomed and supported by the club and have really enjoyed working with a diverse group of swimmers,” he says.
Over the five years of swimming as a Varsity Blue, Chaubet has been a member of five straight Ontario University Athletic (OUA) championship teams and also helped U of T to the 2015-16 U SPORTS national title in his rookie season.
The five-time OUA all-star has been a member of 10 OUA gold-medal winning relay teams, while also reaching the provincial podium four times. He claimed two silver medals and one bronze medal in the 200 freestyle, while also placing third in the 100 butterfly in 2018.
On the national stage, Chaubet is a three-time U SPORTS second team all-Canadian as a member of three silver-medal winning relay teams.
Now that he has used up all five of his eligible years to compete at university level in Canada, Chaubet plans to stay involved with swimming through the Downtown Swim Club.
“My friends and I joke that I stopped swimming competitively for the university at the right moment since I would have been forced to stop regardless given the current closure of all pools in response to the pandemic,” he says.
Come September, Chaubet will be returning to the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, where he obtained his undergraduate degree, to start a master’s degree in exercise science with Assistant Professor David Frost.
“I am deeply interested in teaching people to move better in the gym, in sport and, ultimately, in their everyday lives,” says Chaubet. “I want to help people improve their quality of life through better awareness of their movement, as well as encouraging them to be more active. I also hope to help advance knowledge of training principles and hopefully find ways to facilitate training that transfers into better performance in the most efficient way possible.”
With files from Jill Clark.