Sixteen-year-old Zoe Palmer led the way with a clean sweep of seven events. She slashed 3.98 seconds off the club’s individual medley record.

Liam Novley also competed in the 16 years age group, recording a PB in the medley in going under the pool record. Liam added a further three gold and a bronze to his swag.

Rising young star Savannah Lyons, 9, went 4.11sec under the pool record for butterfly but was relegated to third place in a hotly contested event. Savannah registered six improved times and picked up three bronze and a silver, while little sister Georgia, 7, won silver in fly and bronze in breaststroke.

Bayley Williams was another record-breaker, slashing 7.98 seconds from his entry time in the medley in finishing third. The talented 16-year-old went on to win the 200m freestyle, and also collected three silver and two bronze.

After a successful summer season, nine-year-old Darcy Hannaford continued his good form, picking up three gold and two silver medals and four improved times. His sisters Ava, 11, and Audrey , 7, were also competitive, with Ava shaving almost 10 seconds from her best in the medley, while Audrey improved in three events and scored a silver and two bronze medals.

Chelsea Palmer and Maddie Coombs turned in pleasing performances in the 14-years division, with improved times and placings. Chelsea has come ahead in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months and it showed in the pool where she improved in six of seven events and finished third in fly, breaststroke and freestyle.

Maddie continued her good from in backstroke with strong wins in the 50m and 100m events. She also won the 50m butterfly and finished second in freestyle and the 200m medley, and third in the 100m and 200m freestyle. Brodie Coombs recorded three improved times with his best performance in the 11-12 years medley (fourth place).

The McCumstie brothers added to the club’s medal tally, with Ben, 9, placing second in the 50m and 100m fly and 50m backstroke. Paddy turned in an impressive performance in the open 200m medley, stripping an incredible 23.32 seconds from his entry time to jag third place. He was just edged out of medal contention in three other events.

The Rennick siblings, Kurt , 15, Brooke, 12, and Jedd, 11, were big improvers at the carnival, with Kurt swimming into second place in the 100m backstroke and 200m freestyle and coming a close fourth in three other events. Jedd came third in the 11 years 50m butterfly, while Brooke just missed medals in fly, breaststroke and backstroke.

Jacob, Liette and Lylah Tindall are rapidly emerging talents in the tadpole division, with the trio placing in almost every event. Six-year-old Lylah punched above her weight to claim gold in the seven and under breaststroke, with silver in backstroke and freestyle and bronze in fly, registering an improvement of five seconds. Liette, 8, came second in two events and third in the 100m individual medley, while Jacob (9) placed third in three events. 

The Hobson brothers have also improved dramatically over the past year, with Charlie recording personal best times in three events and taking home bronze medals in butterfly and backstroke.

Eight-year-old Angus Hobson showed the opposition a clean pair of heels in the 50m freestyle and went on to grab silvers in butterfly and backstroke and bronze in breaststroke.

Amelia Lush and Angus Waerea represented the club in the 11 years division, with Angus picking up third place in the fly and the medley in improved times, while Amelia won bronze in the fly.

Promising young star Chloe Sumpter swam into second place in the 13 years 50m fly and breaststroke and third place in backstroke and freestyle, while Jack McCulloch won silver and bronze in the nine years division.

Although unplaced on the day, Scout Newbery recorded four improved times in the 10 years division.

Entries close on August 7 for the area short-course championships at the TAS pool in Armidale (August 12-13). The next regional carnival will be held at Glen Innes on September 24.