The Port Pirie swimming club competed at the South Australian country championship in Loxton earlier this month and they came home with some impressive wins.

This event is the major goal of many country clubs, and for Port Pirie, each year it gets bigger with even more competitors attending. This year, club sent over 13 swimmers.

To kick off the event, the club participated in an opening ceremony, making them a notable standout.

Their achievements included 28 personal best times, 24 finalists, including three relay teams, two gold medals, three silver and three bronze medals.

While the whole team performed well, the two stand-out swimmers were Alex Brock and Paige Court.

Alex won the two gold medals and a silver and bronze, while Paige picked up the other two silver and two bronze medals.

Port Pirie even held onto five records from 1998, 2 records from 1988 and 1 record from 1989.

This year’s performance at the championships has definitely put a smile on the faces of the committee members.

“It was the best results Port Pirie has had in years,” said team manager, Kerry Court.

Angela White, one of the committee members, added, “The atmosphere was great.”

On the back of success came all the hard work and preparation.

As there was not enough accommodation in Loxton, many families stayed in nearby towns, which meant the team had 5.30am starts for a long day that would not finish up until 9 at night.

It paid off and even the parents got involved, with some even participating in the open division events and others taking workshops which were held by SwimmingSA. The Port Pirie finished in 11th spot out of the 21 clubs which competed.

Next on the swimming club’s agenda is the Carnival and Open Swim which will take place at the end of February.