Young guns of the pool take on state sprinters

Nambour Amateur Swim Club is gearing up for a big weekend, with seven swimmers to compete against the state’s best sprinters.

Bas Martinuzzi, Autumn Gaylard, Charlotte Cartwright, Cody Elson and Luca Martinuzzi are five of the seven Nambour swimmers who have qualified for the State Sprint Championships.

THE Nambour Amateur Swim Club is gearing up for a big weekend of racing, with seven swimmers qualifying to compete against the state’s best sprinters.

To be held on February 15 and 16, the Queensland Sprint Championships are open to swimmers who have met set qualifying times at approved meets. Nambour pool head coach Lisa Spink said the event was great experience for the 10 to 13-year-old swimmers.

“A lot of them have only just started racing in the last 12 or 18 months, so they are just going down there for experience and some fun,” she said.

Thirteen-year-old Luca Martinuzzi started swimming as a four-year-old and said this would be his first time competing at the championships.

“We’ve been trying to reach that goal for the whole year now and I’ve been training two to three times a week,” he said.

“I’m just looking forward to competing there because it will be my first time at the state championships.”

Competing in the 50m backstroke, Martinuzzi was looking to improve his personal best.

“I’m just hoping that I can achieve a personal best, which would be around 37 seconds — about one to two seconds faster than my current time,” he said.

Club president Annette Baker said having seven swimmers attend the event was great for the small club.

“As a life member and president, I am very proud of our swimming club,” she said.

“It is heartening to see that these seven young swimmers have achieved the qualifying times to allow them to swim at the championships.”

The championships will be held at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler.