The Kootenay Swim Club attended its third meet of the short course season in Kamloops before Christmas break. This meet marks the halfway point of the short course season in preparation for the AA and AAA championship meets at the end of February.
The Kootenay Swim Club has doubled in size this season and the swim meet was the club’s largest turnout thus far. Swimmers ranging from ages nine to 18 participated in the meet.
Young swimmers, coming from both Castlegar and Nelson, where the club practices, swam up to eight races each plus relays over the course of the weekend in Kamloops.
For the shorter distance events of the meet, there were console and final swims in the afternoons, for which three Kootenay Swim Club members qualified to compete in.
Niallan Collier made afternoon swims in all of the events he competed in placing top eight in 50 free, 100 breaststroke, 50 fly, 100 fly, and 200 individual medley. Collier dropped over a second and a half off his 50 fly and 50 free and over nine seconds in his 100 fly swim.
Gabby Hanvold qualified for an AAA time in the morning swim in the 50 fly and was within tenths of a second to a national age group qualifying time; Riley Mager swam 100 breaststroke, also qualifying for his first AAA time.
Two swimmers successfully competed in their first ever swim meet, Lee-Ann Zaitsoff and Ella Koth, both learning the ways of a swim meet and performing exceptionally well for first-time meet goers.