The new display board, in use for the first time, wasn't the only bright spot as the Duncan Stingrays held their Winter Time Trial meet at the Cowichan Aquatic Centre last month.
The board is one of only three of its kind on Vancouver Island, and the club used the minor competition to test it prior to the Vancouver Island Regional Short Course Championships this weekend.
"We'll be able to hold higher-level meets and provincial championships," Stingrays head coach Leanne Sirup commented. "It will raise the profile of our team greatly."
The December meet also saw two new regional championship qualifiers: Mathias Bell in the senior male 100m breaststroke, and Mya Smith in the 10 and under female 50m freestyle. A new club record was also set as Oliver Castle swam the 11/12 male 100m individual medley in 1:14.34, beating Brian Hill's time that had stood since 1995.
The Stingrays had 56 competitors in the meet, including 19 first-time racers, several of whom came up through the I Can Swim program. New competitors included Camryn Beck, Hallie Bryant, James Bryant, Karis Jonat, Tembi Jonat, Clara Kodweiss, Calem Lander, Rahma Lossing, Ziad Lossing, Brendan Lucas, Eamon Manley, Spencer McKay Fisher, Hannah Richards, Katelyn Seery, Chong Teng, Jacob Thomas, and Taylor Walters.