Australian Dolphins visit Central Victoria during visit

Mikayla Smith has joined her younger brother Brandon on the Dolphins swim team — the first sibling pair since Emma and David McKeon. Watch the training video.

Mikayla Smith will debut with the Aussie Dolphins at the world championships in Melbourne next week, joining her younger brother Brandon who is already on the team.

The siblings have spent the week at Bendigo for a training camp inside the Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre.

Snorkels, flippers, hand paddles and bungee cords were being used on Friday morning to help the elite team of swimmers hone their skills.

Emma McKeon, seen in the video, was working on her powerful finish with the use of a bungee cord to repeatedly bring her to racing speed to perfect those final moments to the wall.

An enthusiastic crowd of onlookers has gathered each morning to see the team hone their skills in the pool.

Mikayla, who swims the 200m breaststroke, said she had spent much of the week working on her timing.

“In breaststroke, timing is everything,” she said.

“I’ve been getting the feel of the timing, responding to the starts and not slowing down.”

The 36-strong Dolphins squad will travel to Melbourne for the 16th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) from December 13 – 18.

Swimming Australia’s high performance director Tamara Sheppard said the team intended to network with local clubs while they were in town.

“The opportunity to represent your country on home soil is rare in swimming and we wanted to ensure we took the chance to involve our passionate swimming family in regional Victoria as part of this experience,” she said.

Leah Neale at the Australian Dolphins swim camp at the Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre in Kangaroo Flat ahead of the World Short Course Championships.

Bendigo is home to Dolphins athlete leader Jenna Strauch, who helped kick off the region’s Christmas in the park last Friday.

“Growing up I idolised the Dolphins and I know how much it will mean to the kids in Bendigo to see us around town and have the opportunity to watch us train in their pool,” Strauch said.

“It’s fantastic to take this camp out to the regions and ensure we maximise the platform provided by a World Championships in our own backyard to inspire as many of the next generation as we can.”

A community signing session will be held on Saturday from 11am – noon. The full Dolphins team will be involved in the session before departing for Melbourne.