The new coach of the Duncan Stingrays Swim Club is a familiar face in the Cowichan Valley swimming community.

Leanne Sirup is back with the club she helped coach between 2001 and 2004, and is looking forward to working with the Valley's talented young swimmers.

"I'm really happy about this," she said. "I'm excited about the coming season. I want to push swimming in the Valley and get more people involved."

The Stingrays are just as excited to have Sirup leading the team.

"I am absolutely thrilled to have her on board as our new head coach," said club president Michelle Vogelgesang. "She has tons of great ideas, and such a positive attitude about joining our team, I'm excited about all the great things to come."

Since she last worked with the Stingrays, Sirup has been involved with the Cowichan Stseelhtun recreational swim club and Cowichan Aquannis Masters club. She started Cowichan Stseelhtun in order to provide opportunities for youngsters who wanted to swim, but who weren't interested in competing at a high level.

"I saw a need in the Valley for recreational and multi-sport kids who wanted to swim and swim well," she explained.

Also on Sirup's slate is her position as provincial swim coordinator and head coach for Aboriginal Swimming British Columbia. She has also been working with Cowichan Tribes to help develop young swimmers and promote the sport of swimming in preparation for the North American Indigenous Games.

One of Sirup's key goals with the Stingrays is to increase the club's membership.

"The club has been rebuilding very well, and I'm excited about building it to the size it was in the days of Gary Vandermeulen and Bruce Clark," she said.

Last year's team included 44 swimmers. Under Vandermeulen in the early 2000s, the Stingrays boasted 75 members, while Clark's team consisted of 146 members.

She wants to make sure that the current competitive swimmers are also given what they need in order to be successful.

"I want to encourage them to keep doing what they're doing and bring in new kids as well," Sirup related. "If they want to compete, I want to help them, but I'm not going to push them into competing."

The Stingrays will be holding registration on Wed., Sept. 5 and Thurs., Sept. 6 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Nitinat Room at the Cowichan Community Centre. The regular season will begin Sept. 10, but registration will be accepted throughout the season. For further information, phone 710-3278 or visit www.duncanstingrays.com.