The Novocastrian Swimming Club has sent its largest ever squad to the upcoming 2022 Australian Age Championships in Adelaide.

Nineteen youngsters packed their bags for the prestigious meeting, which takes place at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre from now until 18 April.

The team members recently received their uniforms and caps during a special ceremony at the Coughlans Swim Centre in Warners Bay, heightening the excitement among the group.

“From what I understand, we’ll boast the biggest representation from any club in the Hunter,” Novocastrian Swimming Club vice-president Leon Bubenicek said.

“Usually, we’ve had between six and eight swimmers attend, sometimes as low as four.

“So, it’s thrilling to support 19 kids on this occasion.

“After two years that decimated our organisation, due to COVID-19 restrictions, which also limited our ability to fundraise, to put forward such a quality squad is an exceptional feat.

“They’ve all produced a big effort [during that time].

“Don’t forget, public pools were closed during the pandemic, so I guess a lot of them did their own training.

“It highlights how impressive this achievement is.”

Bubenicek admitted there were a number of factors behind the club’s recent surge in national representation.

“With the Olympics being announced for Brisbane in 2032, a lot of the younger kids are excited by what that means to them, by way of a journey,” he said.

“Then, there’s that culture that we have [within the organisation] of supporting our swimmers.

“It’s not just a bit of fun, people enjoy the focus that we put on inclusion, on getting better, on improvement.

“I guess the club has a rich history of producing Olympians and representative-level swimmers.

“It’s kind of what we do.”

Bubenicek said it was necessary for the Novocastrian Swimming Club to play a major role in all facets of a swimmer’s development, too.

“We’ve got some great coaches [here] – and we’ve had many experienced mentors over the years,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.

“One of our long-time instructors is now the president in Michael Legge.

“He’s been a swimmer all his life and that fosters new coaches and assistants to come through the ranks.

“To have people like that involved certainly has a flow-on effect.

“It’s a real continuity.

“Our committee, and their focus, isn’t just about hosting sausage sizzles.

“It’s ‘how do we serve [them], how do we support swimmers when they make rep squads and how do we go about subsidising them?’

“We help the parents take their children to Adelaide and cover some of the costs.

“That gives them every opportunity to concentrate on being the best they can be.”

And, Bubenicek is quietly confident of success in South Australia.

“We’ve got plenty of medal contenders, that’s for sure,” he said.

“We have shown in the past that the Novocastrian Swimming Club has a habit of unearthing champions.

“We’ve had our hands tied trying to keep the organisation afloat during the pandemic.

“So, it would be nice to revel in some good news.”

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