MILDURA Swimming Club members are ready to take on the best in the state at their home venue this weekend.
As more than 650 future stars of the pool descend upon Mildura Waves for the Victorian Country Long Course Swimming Championships, 22 swimmers from the host club will want to show what they’ve got on the big stage.
Recently coming off a 42-medal haul as a team at last week’s South Australian Country Championships, Mildura has 68 individual entries for one of the biggest events on their calendar across multiple age groups and disciplines.
Recent state championships bronze medal winner Joaquin Leal-Kaiser has a team high 10 individual event entries, while rising star Danika Garner, who has competed at the Australian Age Championships for the past two years, has eight alongside four relays.
Kayla Wright, Elsie Cock, Johnny Guthrie and Jack Burford all have five individual event entries.
Locally based Murray Darling Swimming Club also have two entries, with Ava Harris competing in the girls 11-and-under 50m breaststroke, and Sophie Pollard in the same age group for the freestyle and butterfly.
Josh Barila, who will be fulfilling dual roles of Swimming Victoria event experience coordinator and as a coach of Mildura Swimming Club, said the excitement was building.
The venue last hosted the major event in 2022 and is locked in again for 2027.
“It’s definitely starting to feel a lot more real now, everyone is pretty excited for the weekend to get here,” he said.
“I think last time we didn’t really know what to expect but now that we’ve done it before we’ve a bit more of an understanding of the event and what needs to be done, which has helped it all run pretty smoothly.
“The grandstands are all in and we’ve been installing the new touchpad system as well, it’s all going well.
“We have 658 swimmers competing which is huge. It was 527 last time, but that was also just coming out of COVID.
“Obviously the majority of competitors have to travel a fair way, so it’s a great effort from everyone.”
Being at home will be an advantage for local swimmers, but with potential future Olympians and Paralympians set to make a splash, it won’t be easy for the host club.
“It was a great performance at the SA Countries last week, which should give a confidence boost,” Barila said.
“We’ve told the kids just to soak up all the hype and the buzz, especially in the lead up being the only club with access to the pool.
“For a small country town club which has struggled the past few months with the loss of coaches as well, to compete in an event like this and still get to sleep in their own beds is a big deal.
“It’s great for Murray Darling to have that representation too, it’s a big weekend for the girls to compete in their home town.”
The champions will begin from 9am Saturday and run through to Monday.
The event will be livestreamed via Kayo Freebies and the Swimming Victoria YouTube Channel.
Mildura Swimming Club squad: Josh Barila, Max Bell, Jack Burford, Zoe Burford, Adelle Cameron, Elsie Cock, Tully Dean, Danika Garner, Riley Garner, Johnny Guthrie, Grace Heley, Skye Knoll, Vincent Lamattina, Joaquin Leal-Kaiser, Mercedes Leal-Kaiser, Liana McClaer, Niamh McClaer, Claire Nokes, Jesse Sinclair, Addison Stephens, Layla Thornton, Kayla Wright.
