By JARROD POTTER
FOUR Haileybury Waterlions were set to trade their yellow caps for the blue and white of Victoria on the back of their successive State Short Course Championships on the weekend.
Jesse Collins, Declan Forster, Kiera Bates and Benjamin Hewitt were selected in the state teams championships held over the weekend in Canberra.
Forster’s stellar results earned his place in the Victoria short course swim team and he hoped to post some strong times for the state team before aiming for long course Age nationals later this year.
“Getting into the Victorian team makes me feel proud – I’m happy to be involved in it – I was part of it last year and I’m happy to be there,” Forster said before the event.
Overcoming injuries that plagued her last summer – preventing her from taking part in last season’s State Teams Short Course Championships – Bates was thrilled to get to the championships.
“It will be my first one going, mainly just for experience and to see what it is like,” Bates said.
“But I also want to do some good times up there.”
Haileybury Waterlions swimming coach Wayne Lawes said the hard work his charges put in training would come back many fold over in the championships.
“They’re all going to represent themselves very well,” Lawes said before the event.
“All our guys are in very good shape – I think particularly Declan is going to be pretty amazing and will do a good job up there.
“They’re great athletes and have a big future, but with that they’ve still got to work and there are no shortcuts in anything you want to be successful in.”
The Team Age Short Course Championships ran from Friday to Sunday at the Australian Institute of Sport.
