The Merritt Otters Swim Club got their 2012 season off to a great start with some solid performances at the brand new Penticton Community Centre Pool this past weekend. A total of 11 club members were in attendance.
Leading the way for the Otters was Div. 5 swimmer Taylor Carmichael who picked up five first-place finishes and one third to convincingly win the aggregate title for her age group.
Carmichael’s win in the 50m butterfly event set a new club record time of 33.09 seconds, eclipsing the mark of 33.31 set by Alex Rubner back in 2008.
Div. 1 swimmer Bianca Cavaliere wasn’t far behind Carmichael on the weekend in terms of overall achievement as she picked up five seconds and a third en route to second place in her age group.
Cavaliere also set a new club standard in her 50m butterfly race with a time of 50.01 seconds, shattering the previous Otters’ record by over two seconds.
Other top-3 finishers for the Otters in Penticton were Liam Warren (Div. 2, 3rd. 50m freestyle), Jensen Cavaliere (Div. 3, 3rd. 100m IM) and Dylan Carmichael (Div. 3, 2nd. 50m breaststroke)
Otters’ head coaches Julia Dutove and Gia Bogetti were delighted with the early season results which saw a total of 25 new personal best times.
“We certainly weren’t expecting any club records,” stated Dutove. “That caught us completely by surprise.”
The Otters now have a couple of weeks of uninterrupted training in the pool in preparation for their own Otters’ Invitational on the June 16-17 weekend. Dutove and Bogetti are expecting to see a strong showing by the home team which currently boasts a membership of 45 swimmers.
The Otters are still welcoming new members, and are planning to have their second free ‘Oughta Be An Otter’ promotion on June 25 and June 27 at the Aquatic Centre. Enthusiastic youngsters can come and meet the coaches, take part in some practices, and be part of the fun that is summer swimming.
For more information on the Merritt Otters and their programs, you can visit their website at merrittotters.weebly.com, or contact the club’s registrar, Carol-Anne Rubner at 378-9018.
