AA Spring Championships Meet Review
AA Spring Championships is meet two in Spring Championships season. SWAT had a great meet! 29 swimmers from 4 groups represented the team including: a Tidalwaves debutante to AA competition, 13 Novice swimmers, 14 Junior swimmers and one Senior swimmer. From those 29 swimmers there were an astounding 132 best times! We also saw swimmers dive into 12 new events. SWAT’s success was also evident on the score sheet with 81 Finals earning 1518 points and 31 medals including: 13 Gold, 8 Silver, and 10 Bronze. The icing on top was 2 SWAT swimmers being awarded TOP 3 Hi Point Awards in their age groups. We also see three swimmers make the jump to AAA competition and race at AAA Championships the following weekend.
Tidalwaves offered their first representative to AA competition this year after Patricia made the standards at the Nova Tech Explosion at the end of May. Patricia left the meet with 2 best times and 2 new events. It was a weekend of firsts for her as she swam in her first non-Free 200m races and first relays at her first AA Meet. She took 7 seconds away from her 100 Free time.
Senior sent Gabe C along for his final meet of the year. Gabe swam to 5 best times and earned lanes in 4 finals heats. He earned 61 total points from those finals. He won a silver medal in the 200 free after a 7 second improvement swimming under 2:30 for the first time. He also won Bronze in the 400 Free after a 4 second pb.
Novice had a strong showing form the 13 swimmers they had at the event. The group earned 58 best times and swam in 10 new events. After the prelim swims Novice group members earned 31 finals swims and won 580 total points and 13 medals. Katia earned herself 3 best times including a big 11 second pb in the 200 Breaststroke and a 2 second pb in the 50 Breaststroke. Olesia bested 5 of her old best times. She also had an 11 second pb, but in the 200 IM and bettered her 200 Breaststroke by 8 seconds. Rachel was 6-for-6 on the weekend. She took 10 seconds away from her 200 IM and cracked the 1:30 mark in the 100 Free for the first time. Alex B made 5 pbs and swam 1 event for the first time. He made his way into 3 finals swim and earned 36 points for his efforts. He swam his first 400 Free and pushed for 10+ second improvements in both the 50 Fly and the 200 Free. Jae had a standout meet for his first racing experience for SWAT this year. He had 6 finals from 6 swims and earned a massive 156 points and 4 medals. He was under 1:30 in the 100 Fly en route to a bronze medal. He won gold in the 50 Fly and silver medals in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke events. He also met the 200 Breaststroke AAA criteria. Isaiah had 4 best times and 2 new swims. He found himself in finals heats in 4 events earning 93 points and 2 medals. He had 5 seconds come off his 400 IM. He earned a silver medal in his first 200 Fly and a bronze medal in the 100 Fly. Avery was a perfect 6-for-6 on the weekend earning finals appearances in 2 events and winning 26 points. Her weekend highlights are a 21 second pb in the 200 free swimming under 3:00 for the first time, and a 29 second pb in the 400 Free. Jude finished with 4 best times. He swam his way into 3 finals worth 98 points and winning 2 medals. He dropped 9 seconds in a gold medal performance in the 200 Free meeting the AAA criteria in the event. He also dropped under 13:00 in the 800 Free after a 12 second best time and earning a silver medal for his trouble. Kayden earned 5 pbs and 2 finals appearances. He earned a surprising 25 second pb in the 50 Fly and matching 13 second improvements in both the 50 and 100 Breaststroke. August was another 6-for-6 swimmer and making finals in all 6 events as well. He finished the weekend with 123 points and three silver medals in hand. He dropped 15 seconds in the 200 Free. He also swam under 30 seconds for the first time in the 50 Free to win himself a silver medal. Mylee left 6-for-6 as well. She earned her first finals appearance winning 14 points. She had a big 25 second improvement in the 200 IM and swam under 1:30 in the 100 Back for the first time after taking off 8 seconds. Camden got himself 3 best times and 1 new event. He earned lanes in 3 finals and won 23 points. He swam his first 400 Free and took 2 seconds off his 200 Breaststroke. Matt made 5 new personal records and swam in 1 final earning 11 points. He dropped 10 seconds in the 200 Free and 40(!) in the 200 IM.
14 Junior Group swimmers showcased their talents. The group earned 67 best times. They raced in 46 finals lanes and won 877 points and 16 medals. We saw 3 swimmers finish their AAA qualification and 2 left the meet with Hi Point awards. Ryan swam to 5 best times and finals in all 6 of his events. He won 101 points and 3 medals. He won gold in the 100 Fly after a 20 Second improvement in the day. He won bronze medals in the 200 Free and 200 Back. He finished the weekend fully qualified for AAA competition and won the 3rd place Hi point award for 13-14 boys. Morgan earned 3 best times and an appearance in 1 final. She dropped 18 seconds in the 200 Breaststroke and 7 in the 200 Free. Erica B helped herself to 1 best time and 1 finals appearance. She dropped 6 seconds in the 100 Back. Angus raced to 4 new personal records and finals in 4 events. He earned 79 points and a gold medal in the 200 free after a 9 second best time. Claire had 5 pbs from the weekend and 1 finals swim. She won a gold medal in the 1500 Free after taking off 15 seconds. She also cut her 400 Free time by 7 seconds. Madelynn was 6-for-6 for best times. She earned appearances in 3 finals swims and earned 15 points. She took 12 seconds off her 200 Back time, 5 seconds off her 200 Fly time, and went under 3:00 in the 200 Free for the first time after dropping 6 seconds. Wyatt was 6-for-6 and found himself in 5 finals heats. He won 4 gold medals and scored a whopping 214 points from his events. He swept 1st place in all 3 Breaststroke events and added the 200 IM gold as well. He earned his AAA cut in the 200 Breaststroke completing his AAA qualification. He also left the meet with 1st place Hi Point award for 12u boys. Charlotte left Dalhousie with 4 best times, 6 finals, 112 points, and 2 medals. She took 9 seconds off her 200 Fly winning bronze in the process. She also won the 100 Fly after a 4 second pb in the event. Ocean was better in 4 events and earned 2 finals lanes and 26 points. She improved her 800 Free time by 16 seconds and her 200 Breaststroke by 18. Farrah was a perfect 6-for-6 and made 2 finals events winning 12 points. She had a big 37 second improvement in the 800 free, 21 seconds in the 400 free swimming under 6:00 for the first time and took off 9 more seconds in the 100 Breaststroke. Ethan M bested 5 of his old times and swam in 3 finals lanes winning 28 points. Had a 4 second pb in the 200 Back, a 5 second pb in the 100 Fly, and a 6 second pb in the 200 IM. Kennedy was another 6-for-6 swimmer. She appeared in 2 second swims. She took 4, 5, and 6 off the 100 Fly, 100 Free, 100 Back respectively. Leonie was also 6-for-6 and swam in 5 finals. She won 125 points and 3 medals. She won gold in the 100 Breaststroke and a 2 second pb. She made her AAA cut in the 200 IM after a 6 second best time and won silver and bronze medals from the 50 and 200 Breaststroke events. Erica R completes the 6-for-6 club with finals 115 points and 2 gold medals. She won gold in the 200 Fly after a 5 second improvement. Her other gold came from the 50 Fly. She also had success in the freestyle events with 4 seconds cut in the 100 Free, 3 in the 200 Free, and 6 in the 400 Free.
AA Spring Championships closes the book for many of these swimmers for the 24/25 season. It was a great weekend with lots of success. We look forward now to the SWAT awards banquet later in June. However, Championship season is not over! 3 swimmers continue their journey and tag along with the AAA crew at AAA Spring Champs at Dalhousie June 13-15. After that qualifiers continue their journey to East Coast Champs in July and a select few make their way to Canada Games in St. Johns, NFLD with Team Nova Scotia in August.