The Valley East Waves Swim Club are looking to make another big splash at the Age Group Nationals in July as they'll be sending both sixteen-year-old Ian Blechta and fourteen-year-old Justin Leclair to Calgary to compete against nearly 1,500 of the best young swimmers from across the country.
"With both of them, placing in the top 20 is what they're looking at doing," said the club's secretary Lori Leclair.
 "Last year when they went (to the Age Group Nationals in Montreal), they were both top 20 in the country, so they're heading for that again this year."
Justin will be involved in the 100-m and 200-m backstroke, while Blechta will be in the 100-m and 200-m breaststroke.
Before that though, both of them will compete at the Junior
Short Course Provincials in London at the end of February. They
won't be alone, though, as fellow club members
fourteen-year-old Colin and fifteen-year-old Spencer Hirschfeld
will also be competing. Most of them qualified for the event in
late 2007.
 
"The boys have been working extremely hard," explained the
secretary. "They're training six days a week right now, so
they've got high expectations and basically, all four of
them want to hit the podium. That's what they're
fighting for."
Both Blechta and Leclair have managed to do that in the past, so she's hoping they'll do this same this time around. The event is expected to draw between 700 and 1,000 of the quickest and most talented young swimmers in the province.
