The two-day competition, held at the Melbourne Sport and Aquatic Centre outdoor pool on Saturday and Sunday, will be the club’s last long-course swim for the season.

Junior squad coach Peter Finnigan said it was a great achievement to have so many qualify to make the trip to the under 14 age groups event in Melbourne.

“They’re training very well and putting a lot of hard work in,” he said.

“They’ve been training two nights and one morning a week for the past five months.

“It’s not all about getting to finals. We’re hoping they can get their personal best times and maybe then we might make a few finals on Sunday.”

Warrnambool Swimming Club also had 14 members participate in the Tasmania State Age Group championships last weekend.

Coach Jayson Lamb said the squad performed strongly at the 15-and-over event, which they have attended the past eight years.

“They went really well – every single simmer, basically, swam a personal best,” he said. “It’s a pretty full-on weekend of competition. It was one of the last chances to qualify for the national championships in April.”