U of R Cougars swim team captains breaks down the university’s aquatic program
The University of Regina (U of R) has a thriving aquatics program that often gets overlooked when it comes to school athletics. Tucked away in the Centre for Kinesiology Health and Sports (CKHS) pool or in the Lawson Aquatic Centre off campus, these athletes are hard working and have a lot to prove in the pool.
The team, made up of eight new recruits and ten returning players, had seven meets in 2025 including the USports final. Five of those seven meets were held right here in Regina.
Let’s look at what some people involved in the program have to share.
Jada Dickinson
Dickinson is a second year nursing student and the captain of the women’s side of the swimming program. She has been in the pool since she was about six years old and has been training with the Cougars Varsity Club since the 2021-22 season when she was in grade 10.
Dickinson found a passion for swimming thanks to her brother, Cougars’ swimming alumnus Aden Dickinson, who was a part of the swimming program from 2019-2024. Before the siblings’ separate stints with the Cougars, they swam together for the Regina Dolphins Swim Team. Aden is older by five years and, since his retirement, Dickinson is proud to say she can now beat him in a race.
She, however, has not had an easy road to the Cougars’ pool. When she was a child, Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer. At the age of seven, Dickinson had to go through treatments that took her out of the pool for a year and a half.
“I’m lucky it happened at such a young age, because if it would have happened later on, who knows how that would have affected me getting back into swimming,” Dickinson reflects. Now, 11 years later, she is healthy and excited for the start of her second season.
The Cougars swim team had two meets in Oct. 2025 namely the preliminary practice meet during the weekend of Oct. 3 and their first dual meet during the weekend of Oct. 11.
Dickinson was impressed with her team’s first performance of the season as they did “better than I was expecting and better than we’ve been in the previous years.”
For the preliminary practice meet, youth and varsity athletes came together at Lawson Aquatic Centre. Dickinson coaches with the Regina Dolphins and reflected on how special it was to compete in front of her swimmers. “At that practice meet, they’re also there, so they kind of get to watch me swim. It makes me feel good about myself because that used to be me. I used to look up to the varsity athletes and think they were so fast.”
It’s kind of a cool sport to watch, just because not a lot of people even know how it works.” – Jada Dickinson
Matthew Brough
Brough is a fifth year pre-dental student through the faculty of kinesiology and is the captain of the male side of the swimming program. Being the son of the late Dr. Michael Brough, a former water polo player and president of Water Polo Saskatchewan, and a synchronised swimmer, he spent his youth around the pool. His elder brother, Mitchell Brough, was also a swimmer and a member of the Cougars’ swim team from 2019-2024. Getting into swimming was a no-brainer for Brough.
Brough was an assistant captain last season which made the transition into the captain role easy. “I got a lot of experience from last year’s Captain, Jacob Korpan. He was a really good leader and taught me a lot about what to do.”
Brough was also impressed by the male swimmers’ performances at the practice meet at the beginning of Oct. 2025. He said that no one goes into the practice meet expecting to set personal bests. It is just a way to get the athletes back in the water before the competition season starts.
Although Brough had the entire swimming season to look forward to, he was most notably excited for his meet the weekend of Oct. 24. Having qualified over the summer for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup, Brough got the opportunity to swim alongside Olympic athletes and other accomplished professionals.
The world cup is a touring swimming competition that has athletes who swim for the whole tour with high ranking, non-professional athletes joining during certain stops. Brough qualified to attend stop three in Toronto. He remembered being very excited about being a part of a national competition.
Now that he is in his final year of eligibility, Brough said he is not planning on continuing swimming post-graduation. “I’ve swam my whole life, and I’m pretty happy with how my career’s gone. I think I’ll be able to perform well this year and finish on a high note, and then I’ll be fine to just retire and ride off into the sunset.”
Wrapping up 2025
U of R swimmers wrapped up their 2025 portions of their season on a high note at the Canada West Championships in Lethbridge. Both the men’s and the women’s teams finished sixth overall at the competition.
Dickinson tied for the highest individual finish on the women’s side and ended the weekend with 12 points. Brough finished the weekend with a total 13 points and a fourth place relay team finish with a time of 7:36.60.
The swim team is currently on hiatus until the Winter Classic meet which is to take place in Regina the weekend of Jan. 16.
What should you know?
The swim team has three scheduled meets in Regina, all at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. The athletes would love to see the support of their fellow students! When asked about what to expect at a meet, Dickinson said, “It’s kind of a cool sport to watch, just because not a lot of people even know how it works. It is actually really fun and I can say that because I’ve gotten a few of my friends to come watch, and they’re, like, amazed every time.”
Brough added,“The meets are just a lot of fun, like, music playing, like, watching people race each other. It’s just a fun environment! It’s good to watch, and it’s free. Everyone can just come on deck and sit in the bleachers and watch us for free.”
