A trip to Florida for 2PPCLI’s Cpl Nicholas Bartchouk could earn the water sprinter a berth on CISM swim team.

“I feel good going to Florida in my preparation,” the 23-year-old told the Stag before a lunch hour swim practice. “I really enjoy competitive swimming. I feel refreshed after coming out of the pool … it’s like going for a run for me.”

In the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) for three years — his first posting was to CFB Shilo where he joined 2PPCLI after his DP1 graduation.

“I don’t have any relatives who have served in the military,” he said. “I decided I wanted to serve my country, to do some travelling, so I joined.”

Cpl Bartchouk started competitive swimming as a six-year-old. From Ancaster, Ont., he swam for four years with the Alligators Club. He then played other sports like soccer and hockey when he arrived at high school, but it was a return to the pool which piqued his interest to focus on totally.

He soon discovered CAF had a swim team, which saw him attend a camp in Moose Jaw, Alberta in 2020.

“I qualified for nationals that year, but because of COVID, the competition was cancelled,” he recalled. “Now I’m looking to make the CISM team when I attend another camp in Destin, Florida.”

He added, “I’m focused in what I’m going to do in the pool. I prefer the sprints, so I will swim the 50-metre freestyle, and 50-metre fly. I can swim the longer distances, but my preference has always been sprints in the pool.”

While he qualified for the Ontario high school championships (OFSAA) in his youth, he admits he still had a lot to learn in the pool facing some of the top provincial swimmers. He’s more confident in what he can do now in his early 20s, but knows he will have to work hard in the pool to earn the attention from CISM coaches.

“If I look at my times at OFSAA and how I swim today, I’d easily beat my best times from when I was younger,” he said.

CISM’s swim camp is not just doing lengths in the pool. Cpl Bartchouk explained there’s another part to the Florida camp, where CAF members will also take part in a lifesaving event, where weighted dummies are placed in a pool and ocean setting. Swim camp goers will then have to use lifesaving skills to retrieve those dummies, timing and technique being judged.

CFB Shilo has had representation on a number of CISM teams in sports like soccer, volleyball and fencing.

It will be a busy travel month for Cpl Bartchouk, who is one of three badminton players leaving for Vancouver Island, BC, after he returns home from Florida. CFB Esquimalt is hosting Canada West men’s and women’s badminton and squash regionals Feb. 19 to 24.

1RCHA’s Bdr JM St. Laurent, 27, and 2PPCLI’s Cpl Coleton Diewold, 26, are also on the badminton team, while the squash team features two more Patricias, MCpl Michael Anthony, 33, and MCpl Jonathan Stell, 30. Winners advance to nationals this spring.

•  •  •

CISM was founded on April 18, 1948 in Nice, France by five nations — Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. CISM was created while these five founding nations were meeting in Nice at a fencing event.

Although they were all European countries, the five founding nations had a more global project in mind. This desire among the military to meet in sports arenas instead of battlegrounds was not new in 1948.

Indeed, just after the Great War in 1919, Gen John Pershing established the Allied Forces Sports Council and organized the inaugural Inter Allied Games in France. These Games involved 18 nations representing five continents — featuring 1,500 athletes competing in 24 different sports in front of a large audience in Joinville, located in the Paris suburbs. 

Following the Second World War in May 1946, the Allied Forces Sports Council was revived by Col Debrus and Maj Mollet, who were among the founding fathers of CISM. The second Inter Allied Games were held in Berlin in 1946, however, only athletics was organized at these Games.

Unfortunately, because of political discord, the Allied Forces Sports Council was disbanded in 1947. However, the idea was rekindled the following year with the founding of CISM and the rise of a global vision.

Since its founding in 1948, CISM’s universality became increasingly real, developed as it was by the presidents and secretaries general who led the organisation over the years. In 1950, Argentina and Egypt joined the — by then — nine European countries.

In 1951, the USA joined, followed in 1952 by Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Syria. Over the years, membership has progressed at a steady pace.

The political turmoil at the end of the 1980s and more specifically the fall of the Berlin Wall gave renewed impetus to CISM’s expansion. In the space of just four years — 1991-1995 — 31 new member countries joined CISM. Such rapid progress led to recognition by international institutions such as the IOC and, more recently, by the UN. 

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) joined CISM in 1985 and has been involved in this unique international military organization through participation in CISM activities at all levels, including attending numerous World Military Championships (WMC) and attending all editions of the Military World Games (MWG).

Canada has also hosted numerous events, including MWCs in a wide variety of sports and meetings, such as the board of directors. Additionally, the CAF has been involved in the leadership of CISM, from representation on various sport committees and other commissions, to membership on the board of directors and as vice-president for the Americas.

The current CAF teams which compete at CISM competitions includes: basketball (men’s and women’s), fencing, golf, running, sailing, shooting, soccer (men’s and women’s), swimming, taekwondo, triathlon and volleyball (men’s and women’s). 

From Canada’s participation in sport championships, to the provision of assistance and leadership, the CAF and Canada has a very strong reputation within CISM and with its membership. As a result, the CAF is highly sought for the hosting of events or in the attendance of high level working groups and activities.

Following Canada’s leadership role, CAF has also been very active in implementing new initiatives for the organization.

When considering women in CISM, in 1993 Canada became the first country to include women’s categories while hosting in the sport of taekwondo. Canada also had the first female sports committee president (sailing) and hosted the first Women in CISM week in Kingston, Ont., in 2008.