Chong Teng had an impressive debut with the Duncan Stingrays at the Comox Valley Aquatic Club January Jamboree earlier this month.
Swimming in his first competition with the club, Teng qualified for the Vancouver Island Regional Championships, his time of 30.52 seconds nudging past the standard of 30.55 for the 14-year-old male 50m freestyle.
His teammate, Heather Mackay, narrowly missed giving the team another qualifier. Mackay's time of 1:25.63 in the 12-year-old female 100m backstroke was just shy of the 1:25.50 standard.
Teng was one of two new competitors for the Duncan team, as Sofie Bloss also made her debut in a Stingrays cap.
Of the 10 veteran swimmers, Mackay, Cate Cochrane, Lily Cochrane, Kayla Laberge, Cody Shewchuk, Olin Dahlstrom and Ty Dahlstrom all had 100 per cent personal bests. Sophie Paridaen van Veen had three personal bests, and Randi Robertson had two.
Half of the Duncan contingent - Bloss, Mackay, Paridaen van Veen, Teng, Lily Cochrane and Ty Dahlstrom - challenged themselves to new races in Comox.