Three days of racing with three bronze medals made the 2026/27 Victorian Age Short Course Championships at MSAC a fantastic weekend for DTSC. Eleven swimmers represented the club across individual events and relays, with 31 personal bests recorded across the meet. Our swimmers backed up their heats with some outstanding finals performances, while the relay teams brought plenty of excitement to each night. 🏊💚💙
Friday 28 August - Day 1
Competing at her first State Championships, Alyssa made an outstanding start, qualifying for the final in every event she swam. She opened her first finals session with 6th in the 200m individual medley in 2:32.44, then backed it up with another 6th in the 100m breaststroke in 1:17.96.
Her speed was on display again in the 100m butterfly, where she knocked 1.65 seconds off her PB to finish 5th in 1:08.97. Three finals and big improvements across the board. Well done, Alyssa! 🏆
Jasper also made his State final debut, this time in the 100m backstroke. He took the race out strongly and, although he was a little outside his heats time, still finished under his meet entry time to place 10th in 1:08.29. A fantastic milestone, Jasper!
The night finished with the Boys 12–14 Years 4 × 50m freestyle relay. Jasper led the team off strongly before Cody produced the team's fastest split. Mathew followed with a swim under his individual PB, then Ian brought the team home to finish 11th overall in 1:48.23. Great work, boys!
Saturday 29 August - Day 2
Alyssa returned to finals in both her events and went one better, claiming bronze in the 100m freestyle in 1:01.25! She then held her speed from the morning in a closely contested 100m individual medley final, finishing 6th in 1:09.03. What a night, Alyssa! 🥉
Jasper was back in action in the 100m freestyle final. After a small PB in the heats, he found another improvement in the final, swimming 57.58 to finish 8th. His strong back end was a highlight, bringing the second 50m home in under 30 seconds.
The relays gave us plenty more to cheer about. In the Girls 12–14 Years 4 × 50m medley relay, Zoe took the backstroke leg out fast before Joanna swam more than 2.5 seconds under her individual breaststroke PB. Alyssa followed with a butterfly split under her individual PB, moving the team up two places in the heat, and Skylar held their position with a freestyle split under 30 seconds. The team finished in 2:15.92. Well done, girls! 🏊
The Boys 12–14 Years 4 × 50m medley relay was another standout. Jasper led off in 30.32, a backstroke PB that also qualified him for State Opens. Sam followed with a breaststroke split of 33.11, 1.75 seconds under his best, to move the team into second.
Ian kept the momentum going with a sharp start and a 28.68 butterfly split, 1.3 seconds under his best. Cody chased Melbourne all the way to the wall, swimming the fastest freestyle split of the heat in 25.27. The boys finished 2nd in their heat and 9th overall in 1:57.38. A fantastic team performance! 🏆
Sunday 30 August - Day 3
Alyssa opened the final night with the 200m breaststroke, taking four seconds off her heats time to finish 4th in 2:50.96. She then finished her meet in style, sprinting home in 27.72 to claim bronze in the 50m freestyle. Two medals and finals in seven events. Congratulations on an amazing first State Championships, Alyssa! 🥉
Jasper qualified third fastest for the 50m freestyle final and backed it up with bronze in 25.44. Ian joined him in the final after qualifying tenth, finishing equal 9th in 26.56. What a way to finish the individual racing! 🏆
Our final race was the Mixed 12–14 Years 4 × 50m freestyle relay. Jasper led off in under 26 seconds, then Cody moved the team up a place in the heat. Skylar delivered another sub-30-second split before Alyssa anchored in under 28 seconds, bringing the team home 13th overall in 1:49.99. Well done, team!
Eight new club records
Congratulations to Alyssa, Jasper and Ian for setting eight short course club records during the championships. 🏆
- Alyssa: 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke, 100m individual medley and 200m individual medley.
- Jasper, 13 Years: 50m and 100m freestyle.
- Ian, 13 Years: 100m individual medley.
Alyssa's 100m breaststroke and 200m individual medley swims also lowered records that had stood for seven years. An incredible achievement from all three swimmers!
DTSC finished 34th out of 63 clubs that scored points. To come away with three medals, a top-ten relay finish and so many personal milestones is a fantastic result. Congratulations to every swimmer who qualified, raced and supported their teammates throughout the weekend.
A huge thank you to coaches Darren and Nooshin, and to club captain Thomas for their support across the championships. Thanks also to our families and everyone who helped our swimmers get to the blocks.
Exciting times ahead. Let's go DTSC! 💙💚