BLUE Lake Y Swim Club had 21 swimmers make the journey to Broken Hill to compete in the South Australian Country Championships.
Despite being a relatively small squad compared to previous years, it was one of the most rewarding championship for the BLY club.
Over the course of the event, the club collected an impressive total of 90 medals, 48 of which were individual medals, while 42 were from relay competitions.
This saw every swimmer who was 10-years-old or older and eligible to win medals, come home with at least one.
Three swimmers – Louise O’Callaghan, Mikayla Pearson and Charlee Spicer – competed in the Superfish event only on the opening ceremony night.
BLY finished second overall for the championships and had two swimmers, Leila Croker (11 and Under) and Thomas Bignell (12-13yo) win the perpetual trophies for their age groups.
Two records were broken by BLY swimmers, with Croker taking the South Australian Country Championship record for her 50-metre backstroke.
Croker also took home the 14 and Under medley relay record, with her teammates Emma O’Callaghan, Hayley Pearson and Ashleigh Spicer.
Another highlight of the meeting was the girls 11 and Under 50-metre backstroke, where BLY achieved a clean sweep of medals with Croker finishing first, followed by Aleisha Pearson and Mia Kleinig.
This year’s championships also saw the introduction of regional relays, which saw four BLY swimmers compete in South East Regional relays, alongside swimmers from Mount Gambier Swim Club and Dolphins Bordertown.
The BLY coaching team of Jamie MacDonald, Julie Moran and Andrew Opie have put the club’s swimmers through their paces over the last few months in preparation for the Country Championships, which is the highlight of the swimming calendar and the hard work has paid off.
Conditions during the event were extreme, with temperatures 40 degrees plus over the three days of competition.
Evening sessions were cancelled, so all events were swum in the morning, meaning swimmers had an extremely heavy schedule each day.
However, they still managed to perform at their best, achieving some solid personal best times.
