There were no big records or special qualifying times but the final meet for the Otters before the Christmas school break was exciting for all as inexperienced swimmers got their feet wet and veterans showed their skill.
Twelve members of the team attended the Prince Rupert Swim Invitational last weekend where they picked up a total 13 wins, 25 second places and 15 thirds.
Leading the pack were Zachary Durnin, 11, and Liam Belanger, 13, who picked up medals for their overall performance.
Belanger garnered the silver medal in the 13-14 boys category while swimming in events that are usually his second choice. After illness limited his training time, the longer events that he often selects were not the best choices but he stroked to wins in the 50 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 200 individual. He added a pair of seconds in the 50 breaststroke and the 100 butterfly for good measure.
Durnin, a medley swimmer, took the bronze medal with wins in the 200 butterfly, 200 breaststroke and 100 individual medley as well as second places in the 50 fly and 200 freestyle. He joined Billy Flint, Yoshun Kita-Sternberg and Ashton Wille to win the 4×50 freestyle relay.
Other winners in the meet included Claire McAulay, 12, in the 25 butterfly and 25 backstroke, Flint, 10, in the 25 butterfly, Wille, 11, in the 100 freestyle, and Fergus Hobson, 17, in the 200 butterfly.
All members of the squad who attended the meet had performances in the top three of their events. Byron Greene, 13, had a trio of seconds and a pair of thirds; Sadie Durnin, 7, in her first competition took a pair of seconds and a third; Jacenta Joseph, 14, had two seconds and two thirds; Konrad Thummerrer, 17, took a second and a third; and Jean Luc Belanger had a second.
Head coach Tom Best was pleased with the performances of his charges.
“A lot of the kids have been out with the flu or a cold and it has affected their training. They showed a lot of toughness and worked the technical side of their races to come up with some excellent performances,” he said.
Next for the team will be the regional championships in late January.
