Eleven swimmers from Wangaratta Amateur Swimming Club competed at the Victorian Country Short Course Championships in Bendigo last weekend.

“This event has the best country swimmers in all of Victoria attend,” head coach Debbie Hogg said.

“It is a fantastic stepping stone for young swimmers to gain experience at premier events, and we have found these meets are not only competitive, but a great way for young athletes to make new friends from all around the state.”

The championship event was held at Gurri Wanyarra Wellbeing Centre in Kangaroo Flat over two days.

The meet was attended by 37 clubs from across the state, with a total of 570 athletes competing.

“We had 11 swimmers attend the meet last weekend and each one performed well above expectations," Hogg said.

"Between the 11 swimmers, we were represented in 31 events over the two-day meet.

"A total of 25 personal best times were swam, and 23 of the swims resulted in the swimmer or relay finishing higher in the ranking than they had entered.

“Max Chandler came home with two bronze medals, and Ingrid Brettig and Darby Hunter finished in the top eight for their events."

The club placed second overall, which Hobb said was an excellent result given the larger teams were scoring points ahead of them.

"As a club we are very proud of our athletes," she continued.

"They work hard and strive to meet their goals.

"While swimming is an individual sport, there is a lot of teamwork that goes into training, local competition, and especially at meets like the one attended on the weekend.”