Local swimmer qualifies for state

By Dion Teasdale
YARRA Junction Swimming Club is going from strength to strength with one of its swimmers heading to the State Championships next month.
The club, which reformed in August last year, sent two swimmers to the Dandenong Ranges and District Swimming Association state championship qualifying meet earlier this month.
Wesburn swimmer, Mathew Carter, 17, swam in the 50 metre breast stroke trials and finished eighth overall, qualifying him for the State Championships.
The championships will be held at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre late next month, ahead of the staging of the Commonwealth Games.
The club’s coach, Mike Roberts said he was delighted with the young swimmer’s performance.
“It was an awesome effort on Mathew’s behalf. He’s been training very hard for the past five months, but this result exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Launching Place swimmer, Mickey Smith, 10, also attended the state championship qualifying meet on 22 January.
He swam in the 50 metre freestyle event and finished in 15th place overall.
“Mickey did a fantastic job on the day. He took 7.5 seconds off his previous personal best time, which is an outstanding result,” Mr Roberts said.
The club meets three times a week at its home, the Yarra Aquatic Centre in Yarra Junction, and this is one of the keys to the swimmers’ success, Mr Roberts said.
“Training three nights a week requires commitment, but as these swimmers have shown, there are real rewards for all the hard work,” he said.
“The swimmers have spent a lot of time working on stroke technique and efficiency and they are improving out of sight.”
Mr Roberts said the progress of swimmers at the club showed there were many benefits to joining a local club.
“It goes to show that training at the local pool can lead to being part of state championships, and maybe even in time the Olympic and Commonwealth Games,” he said.
For more information about the club and membership contact Mike Roberts on 0413 106 023.