AA Sydney Meet Review
20 swimmers made the journey to the Eastern edge of the province to complete in Sydney May 10 and May 11. Junior and Novice group members totaled 84 personal best times and added 7 new events. SWAT was the second largest contingent at the meet ahead of other big clubs like Dartmouth Crusaders and Halifax Trojans, and behind only the host Cape Breton Dorados. It is great to see SWAT AA swimmers and families taking full advantage of every opportunity to improve, and support clubs across the province.
Novice was represented by 9 swimmers earning 38 best times and taking first attempts at 7 events. Katia swam to 5 best times including a big 11 second improvement in the 200 Back. She also swam her first 100 Free under 1:30. Olesia also earned 5 new personal bests and added a new event to her repertoire. She made a huge improvement in the 200 Free with 13 seconds off her previous best time. Rachel earned 1 personal record by taking 5 seconds off her 100 Back. She swam her first 200 Fly and her first 400 IM. Alex B was a perfect 6-for-6 on the weekend led by 11 seconds off in the 100 Breaststroke and 9 off in the 200 Free. Isaiah was also perfect with 4 best times and 2 new events; adding 400 Free and 400 IM to his SCM list of events. He had really big improvements in SCM 100 Free, 100 Back, and 100 Breaststroke; taking off 19, 24, and 11 seconds off respectively in those events. Avery also earned 5 best times in events she had previously raced and added her first 400 IM. She bettered her old 200 Backstroke time by 10 seconds. Jude swam his first SCM 400 IM and took his 200 Free time under 3:00 for the first time after a 7 second best time. Kayden improved 4 personal bests, highlighted by 17 seconds in the 100 Breaststroke, 10 int h e50 Free, and 8 in the 50 Back. Camden swam to 5 best times. He also swam under 3:00 for the first time after cutting 16 seconds from his previous best in the event.
11 Junior swimmers also made the journey to Nova Scotia’s end and earned 46 best times. Erica B bested 3 of her old times including a 3 second improvement in the 400 IM. Madelynn earned 4 best times sweeping the Fly events including 11 seconds off the 200 Fly and 5 off in the 100 Fly. Wyatt had a very good meet with 5 best times. He made his first AAA standard in the 200 IM after cutting a huge 32 seconds off in the event. He also dropped 11 seconds in the 200 Free and cracked the 1:30 mark in the 100 Back for the first time. Charlotte also made 5 new personal bests including 13 seconds off in the 200 IM. Farrah made 3 best times on the weekend led by 9 seconds off in the 800 Free. Ethan boosted 5 of his previous records. He took 5 seconds off both the 100 Breaststroke and 200 IM. Kennedy broke the 3:00 mark in the 200 Free officially, after a 4 second drop, as part of her 5 best times. She took off another 4 seconds in 100 Breaststroke. Leonie made 5 best times of her own including a 4 second improvement in the 200 Breaststroke. Erica R had 4 best times. She improved her SCM 800 Free by 40 seconds slipping under 12:00 for the first time. She took off another 32 seconds in the 400 IM SCM. She also regained her 200 Fly AAA cut after turning 13 and raced under 3:00 in the event for the first time. Ryan raced to 5 personal bests. His 200 IM improved by 14 seconds, his 200 Free by 11, and his 50 Fly by 5. Morgan managed to better 2 of her times while managing some chronic injuries.
AA swimmers complete their racing season at AA Summer Championships June 6-8 at Dalhousie University. This will be their final opportunity to qualify for AAA competition for this season. Championships include finals so many SWAT swimmers should have the opportunity for multiple attempts at points, medals, and best times. Junior and Senior swimmers may also test their Open Water Chops on July 8 at Long Lake in HRM.