FORTY-eight swimmers plus 102 finals appearances plus 15 individual medallists equals an extremely successful Victorian Country Swimming Championships for Warrnambool Swimming Club.
President Peter Logan was amazed at the progress the club had made in a year.
"At this year's championships we finished second with a total of 1402 points," he said.
"In 2009 we finished fourth overall with a total of 674 points."
While last year the club had seven individual medallists, this year there were 15.
Logan couldn't attribute the improvement at the three-day titles, held at AquaZone on the weekend, to one particular thing.
"I think as the kids get older, they've been training for longer which helps them and there's more self-belief that they can do well," he said.
"Part of being successful is athlete management. The kids had a regime about what to do after an event and the right foods to eat. It was a real professional approach.
"It also comes down to great coaching from Jayson (Lamb) and his team."
The Traralgon club was ranked No. 1 after the championships.
"To go from fourth to second is a pretty big jump," Logan said.
"Traralgon is the benchmark and have been the dominant club for 10 years.
"Something they are able to do is retain older swimmers.
"They definitely do things that all the other club aspire to," he said.
"Hopefully we can edge a little bit closer to them next year but it's not the premier aim.
"It would take at least two or three years to develop to their capacity."
The president admitted Warrnambool was aiming for second place at the titles but didn't expect to secure it.
"While it was a surprise, it was a pleasant surprise," he said.
"It's a mammoth program over the three days and the kids did very well to do as well as they did.
"It's a great testament to their development and their ability.
"There are some really good swimmers here, there's no doubt about that."
The largest medal hauls came from Xavier Darcy (four gold), Brittney Berger (one gold, one silver, four bronze and three relay), Jordan Logan (one gold, one silver, three bronze and three relay), Matt Logan (two silver, one bronze and two relay) and Isaac Jones (one gold, one bronze and two relay).
All relay medals were either silver or bronze. Logan also highlighted performances from Jamin Baulch, Gabriella Vallence, Billy McPhee, Jack Paulka, Daniel Unwin and Tarsha Umbers.
The club has three major events coming up - the All Juniors program in February and March and the national swimming championships in March and April.
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