Ready to make a splash at state championships

OVENS and Murray Swimmers won't have to travel too far to compete at this weekend's Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships, which will be held for the first time at the multi–million dollar Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre. It will be the debut of the new state–of–the–art 50m outdoor pool at the centre as a major event venue with the Ovens and Murray Swimming Association hosting the championships. Myrtleford Swimming Club coach Sally Kellet said the proximity of such a world–class swimming pool was a major boost for local swimmers. "The Wangaratta pool is one of the best pools in regional Victoria and as our local swimmers compete in it they get more confidence when they go to Melbourne for other major events and swim in such large complexes," Ms Kellet said. "It's fantastic that it's so local for us and it gives our swimmers greater incentive to try and qualify for the events held there." Ms Kellet said Myrtleford Swimming Club members learn invaluable life lessons through competition. "As swimmers compete and achieve qualification to compete at a higher level it gives them greater self–confidence," she said. "Working as a team they also learn to go that little bit harder to achieve better results." Local 11 year–olds Daisy Howell and Milla Corcoran have qualified for the Victorian Country Long Course Championships in the under–11 category. Milla has qualified for all four strokes – freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke, freestyle – so she will be competing on all three days. Daisy qualified for freestyle, which is on Sunday. Both Daisy and Milla said they particularly enjoy swimming with their friends. "It's like a hobby and a sport at the same time," Daisy said. "Especially when it's hot it's nice to just get in the pool." Daisy said she is looking forward to competing at WSAC as it's her "lucky pool". "I just always go fast in it," she said. Myrtleford Swim Club secretary and Daisy's mother, Helen Howell, said the club is proud of all the swimmers who tried to qualify, especially since swimming lengths increase as competitors get older. "As the age groups get older they have to qualify in 100 metre events – it's a lot harder to get the time to qualify for those," Ms Howell said. "We've got some really strong swimmers who came close but as you get older it gets tougher." And while the competition is serious, the atmosphere around the pool is more of a carnival atmosphere, with music over the public address system and plenty of colour in the stands. Wangaratta council's sports, aquatic and precinct manager Sonya Dalgliesh said all was in readiness for a memorable event. "Having the Victorian Country Long Course Championships is a significant win for our centre and greater community," Ms Dalgliesh said. "State–level sporting events are a huge boost for regional towns and cities. "The aquatic facilities at WSAC are a standout in regional Victoria and our team here has done an incredible job in having everything ready to go for the 1200 swimmers registered to compete from Saturday, January 21 to Monday, January 23. "We welcome spectators to come down and watch this state swimming event." The aquatic centre will be closed to the public due to the championships on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday, however, the gym is unaffected and will remain open, and all group fitness classes will continue to run except for aqua. Anyone interested in finding out more about the Myrtleford Swimming Club can visit their Facebook age. For more information on the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships visit the O&M Swimming Association Facebook page.

Ready to make a splash at state championships

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