Lifetime experience for small town swimmers

Members of the Biloela Swimming Club will battle with the best at State Championships

CLOSE TEAM: Young swimmers from the Biloela Swimming Club are excited to compete at the State Championships.

TWELVE of the region’s best swimmers are keen to make some waves at the State Championships this weekend.

The Biloela Swimming Club is sending three teams (boys 12 and under, girls 9-10 and girls 16 and under) to compete in the really events of the 2019 McDonald’s Queensland Championships at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.

On December 14, Biloela’s three teams will compete against every other club in Queensland, followed by the regional relays where five Biloela swimmers will compete as part of the Central Queensland team.

Anna Kurtz from the Biloela Swimming Club said that for her young swimmers this carnival was a great opportunity to gain invaluable experience.

“They are there to have fun and a lot of the kids you’re competing against are from bigger places that train harder than the kids here and at better facilities,” Kurtz said.

“Some of these kids haven’t been before, so it’s a good experience for them being able to compete alongside their friends.

“There’s a social aspect as well being able to go down to Brisbane and meet new people and swimmers from different areas.”

The swimmers for the Biloela club team and those few who made the Central Queensland team were selected through an expression of interest application where coaches picked from the fastest times.

“Both the Biloela club team and the Central Queensland team will do two relay events, the medley and freestyle,” Kurtz said.

“We generally have the younger age group in the Central Queensland team.

“When they are younger they all want to go just the same but they don’t always get their paperwork organised however our crop have.

“You find as the swimmers get older there is a bigger pool of applications to make the Central Queensland team.”

Kurtz said there would also be professional swimmers at Olympic level competing at the State Championships for their club.

“For someone from Biloela to go out and meet that calibre of athlete, it’s a lot of fun and a great opportunity,” Kurtz said.

The State Championships wrap up on December 20.

Next year in January is the CQ Sprints event in Emerald followed by the Biloela Swimming Club Shortcourse event in February.

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