The Camana Bay Aquatic Club (CBAC) travel team returned home from Toronto last week to a great reception from CBAC families and friends. The well deserved airport celebration capped an exciting weekend of swimming at the 14th Annual Mega City Short Course Special and the North York Aquatic Club (NYAC) 30th Annual Youth Cup, which took place 29 November to 2 December 2012.

The Mega City Short Course is a developmental meet for young emerging talent, while the Youth Cup is a nationally-renowned swim meet for competitive swimmers aged 11 to 17. Both meets are highly respected in the international youth swim circuit. The meets took place at the Etobicoke Olympia Pool in Toronto with over 1,200 Canadian swimmers competing, as well as 30 CBAC swimmers.

The two meets saw the young CBAC swimmers make significant strides toward their individual goals. “The Youth Cup was a very fast meet with many talented swimmers,” said CBAC Head Coach Katie Lambert.

“For some of the younger swimmers, the Mega City was their first international competition. Overall, CBAC achieved more than 150 personal bests, 60 top ten finishes, six bronze, ten silver and eight gold medals.”

Gold medals went to Isabella Tognazzo, 14, for the 200m Backstroke and 200m Breaststroke, Matthew Somerville, 11, for 50m Butterfly, Jordan Crooks, 10, for the 50m Butterfly, Zororo Mutomba, 10, for 50m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle and 50m Butterfly, and Lauren Hew, 13, for 50m Freestyle. “We are hugely proud of Avery Lambert and Zororo Mutomba, who both broke national records in the 100m Backstroke and 50m Freestyle, respectively,” added Lambert.

The relay races were also a highlight for the team. Ben Somerville, Dylan Lewis, Jordan Crooks and Derek Peene held their place in a competitive race to earn Silver in the 10 & Under Boys 200m Medley Relay. While the final race of the meet came to an exciting end when Isabella Tognazzo pulled ahead in the anchor leg to secure the 13 & 14 Girls 200m Freestyle Relay team third place. Also swimming fast in the race was Lauren Hew, Flynn Hope and Zororo Mutomba. Hew, Tognazzo and Matthew Sommerville also achieved CARIFTA qualifying times.

The Camana Bay Aquatic Club marks its second anniversary this month. In two short years, the Club has grown to almost 150 team members, spanning ages 5 to 15, and celebrates the launch of a new swim school in January 2013. “I am very proud of the team for working so hard over the past few months,” said CBAC President, Jeffrey Wight. “So many of the swimmers had set great personal goals and competing in the Youth Cup and Mega City meets is just the beginning. I would like to congratulate and thank the travel team swimmers, coaches and parents for their dedication, enthusiasm, and support and MaplesFS for their continued support and sponsorship. Keep up the great swimming!”

For more information on the Camana Bay Aquatic Club, visit www.camanabayaquaticclub.com  or contact [email protected] . For additional highlights from the Youth Cup and Mega City meets and to stay up to date with the latest happenings at the Club, like Camana Bay Aquatic Club on Facebook.