They came from far and wide with representative swimmers from Inverell, Narrabri, Moree, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Armidale and Tamworth. The youngest swimmer to take a dive into the pool was five years and ages ranged all the way to 37 years. 

There were a few success stories during the event.

A number of kids qualified for the country championships, however a few pool records were also broken.

Inverell’s Sophie Mijic broke an Inverell Swimming Club record from 1997 in 400 metres freestyle. 

“It means that training has had an impact and is making me faster,” she said. 

Mijic, a swimmer since the age of six, is no stranger to breaking records and this is by no means her first.

“It’s not new, but I’m quite excited,” Mijic said. “Being able to break a 20-year-old record is pretty amazing.”

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It’s moments like this that keep her going, but she also just loves the club’s atmosphere and the sport itself.

“What motivates me are the friends around me, and also how supportive my friends and family are of me. But I also just like the sport.” 

Armidale record-breaker Beth Counsell can relate.

She too has been swimming since the age of six, and has broken many records – but never a pool record.

“My time for the 400m freestyle was 5 minutes 2 seconds, and I don’t know by how many seconds I broke the previous record. All I know is that it feels pretty good,” she said.

Her love affair with swimming has had its ups and downs. “Sometimes you’ve got to push yourself but at other times it’s all, ‘Yeah, let’s do this’.” 

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