HAMILTON Olympic Swimming Club (HOSC) is holding its second meet of the Winter Short Course series this Sunday at Hamilton Indoor Lesure and Aquatic Centre with the first held in May.

Back in 1956, as part of the Olympic games movement that swept the nation, the HOSC was formed, and the outdoor pool was the base for the club to train and compete.

Currently the club has just over 70 swimmers with up to 50 of these in regular training each week

The HOSC holds two meets a year, but it wants to hold a summer meeting but the outdoor needs to be repaired before this can happen.

The carnival will see swimmers from Ballarat, Blue Lake, Mount Gambier, Casterton, Cobden, Colac, Horsham, Portland, Warrnambool and Surrey Park make the trip to Hamilton to compete, plus a big contingent of local swimmers.

In total there will be 120 swimmers competing in 22 different events that cater for all genders plus multiclass competitors, with a total of 35 local swimmers entered.

The HOSC has some very good emerging swimmers within its ranks and none better than 17-year-old Dominic Hoggard who will be competing in the Multiclass freestyle and butterfly events as he seeks to post qualifying times for both State and Country Championships.

Another pair of 17-year-olds, twins Hayley and Emily Jellie, will appear at the meet, with Hayley Jellie aiming to achieve qualifying times in the 50m freestyle for State and Country Championships.

Currently she is posting 28sec times in the event, while her sister Emily will be in the water for freestyle and butterfly events with the aim to qualify for the Country Championships.

The club is not just looking at its older swimmers to achieve their goals tomorrow as 13-year-old Imogen Wedding is looking to add another event to her burgeoning time table at state level.

She already competes in the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle events, plus the 100m Individual Medley but she is aiming to add the 200m backstroke to her time table.

 One swimmer who has already qualified for the Country Championships is Alani Wedding (11-years-old) who has posted the qualifying mark in all her possible events which include the 50m backstroke, the 100m freestyle and the 100m Individual Medley.

Young Archie Dahl (13) is aiming for big personal best times in his chosen events, the 100m butterfly, and he has continued to improve and is seeking the better the qualifying times for the various championships.

Another youngster who has made great strides in her swimming is Gemma Kyle (12) who is also seeking to qualify for the Country Championships in butterfly and breaststroke.

Hamilton Olympic Swimming Club president, Ali Wedding is excited for the carnival and how her members will perform.

“The talent we have here at HOSC is very good and the swimmers are getting better with every competition they swim in,” Wedding said.

“We have lots of younger swimmers who are emerging and it’s really exciting to see them coming through”