Holiday Invitational

The SLS Centre was buzzing on December 12th as our junior swimmers turned the 2025 Holiday Invitational into a hardware-collecting workshop. With 26 podium finishes on the books, it is clear the team arrived for this winter racing session with a checklist for success and a pen that only writes in gold, silver, and bronze.

Benjamin Timmins led the charge by securing two of those gold medals in the backstroke events, anchoring a very successful group of medalists. Lauren Craig earned her way onto the podium with two silvers in the breaststroke, while Madeline Quon grabbed a bronze in the 100 Back. Esme Hockey was a consistent force throughout the weekend, collecting five different medals across multiple disciplines to help bolster our impressive podium total.

Standard-chasing is a serious business at this time of year, and our athletes rose to the occasion with four new Festival marks. Huxley Maaskant locked down two of those standards in the 200 Back and 200 IM, while Samantha Campbell earned hers in the 100 Fly. Marcus Ying was also a standout, achieving a new Festival standard in the 100 Back alongside a massive haul of six individual medals.

The 8 & 9 year-old club records are looking a bit different after this weekend as well. Jasper Phillips rocketed up to the #2 spot all-time for the 200 Back, and Cael Coulman also saw his name climb higher on the list, moving into the #4 spot for the 100 Back and breaking into the top ten in four other events. Lucas Chee and Griffin Maaskant rounded out the record-breaking performances, both carving out new spots in the all-time top ten for the 200 Back.

While the medals are great, the sheer improvement across the roster was the real story at the SLS Centre. Mishika Aarini led the way with a staggering 24.1% time drop in the 100 Back, showing exactly what happens when technical focus pays off. Mya Warwick and Olivia Stuart also saw huge double-digit percentage improvements in their backstroke events, while Abigail Spackman and Ivy Dashevsky demonstrated massive progress in the 200 Free and 100 Breast respectively.