After a few short weeks off from competition, members of the Whitehorse Glacier Bears swim club were back at it this past weekend, as they wound up the short-course season with the annual Yukon Invitational championship swim meet.

Held at the Whitehorse Lions Aquatic Centre, swimmers from Special Olympics Yukon, along with the Haines Alaska Dolphins, joined the local Whitehorse Glacier Bears swim club, as they all aimed for personal bests.

Young phenoms Bronwyn Pasloski and Alexandra Gabor posted some impressive performances in their home pool once again, but the weekend really belonged to some of the up-and-comers in the Glacier Bears swim club, particularly the male competitors.

Another 20 club records were broken bringing the total to 84 records broken this season.

The majority of the records broken on the weekend were by male swimmers Craig Berube, Josh Kelly, Brendan Zrum and Tanner Cassidy, along with Gabor and Pasloski.

'I think it went pretty good,' said Kelly, who earned praise from head coach Marek Poplawski for his performance at the invitational meet. 'It was pretty tough, because we swam a lot and it was a fast pace.'

The 12-year-old athlete was able to post AAA times in a few of his races as well as break a couple of club records, exceeding his goals going into the weekend.

'It's pretty important. I wanted to get some club records and leave a legacy.'

Kelly said his best race was probably the 100-metre free.

'I probably swam the fastest in that. It was my last race of the meet, so I was able to swim as fast as I could without worrying about saving energy for the next race.'

Kelly ended up first overall in the 11-12 year old boys' category when all of the races were complete and the results compiled. It was a great end to what he felt was a great short-course swim season.

'I'd give it a nine out of 10. I've improved a lot since last year ... just more training and competing in more swim meets. My strokes and pacing have improved.'

The Ryan Downing Memorial award for Most Improved 200 IM swimmer was also given out at the meet this past weekend.

This award is presented annually and is based on the male and female swimmer who had the greatest improvement in swim time in the 200-metre Individual Medley, from the previous Yukon Invitational to this Yukon Invitational.

The male award went to Felix Bouchard while the female award went to Julia Fedoriak.

Also of note is the fact Isabel Parkkari, at just 10 years old, swam the 1,500-metre free, which is a tough feat.

Poplawski said it was good meet overall for the Glacier Bears. While it was a chance to post AAA and Western Canada Summer Games qualifying times, the Yukon Invitational also served as a training meet for the older athletes.

The short-course season may have come to a close, but the long-course season is just beginning.

Next up for the club is an age group meet in Kamloops in May, followed by a AA meet in June and another trip to Kamloops in July for the AAA championships. Pasloski and Gabor will also be attending the Bell Grand Prix Zajac International meet in Vancouver in June.

The age group nationals are in Montreal in July, and so far the Bears have four swimmers qualified Pasloski, Gabor, Cassidy and Zrum. Poplawski said it's possible a few more could qualify in the next couple of months.

Then it's on to the Western Canada Summer Games in August. It's not known yet how many local swimmers will be competing in the Games, which are being held in Strathcona County, Alberta. Swimmers have until the July AAA's to achieve one of these standards.

The aggregate winners for the different age groups at the Yukon Invitational this past weekend were as follows:

8-and-under Girls

1st Alexandra Chapin, Haines

Dolphin Swim Club

2nd Jessica Harach, Whitehorse Glacier Bears

3rd Megan Wirachowsky, WGB

8-and-under Boys

1st Esteban Engasser, WGB

2nd Jasper Posey, Haines

3rd Josh Kearney, WGB

9-10 Girls

1st Isabel Parkkari, WGB

2nd Erin McArthur, WGB

3rd Haley Braga, WGB

9-10 boys

1st Kai Sato-Franks, Haines

2nd Craig berube, WGB

3rd Keegan Sundberg, Haines

11-12 Girls

1st Kirsten Berube, WGB

2nd Kate McArthur, WGB

3rd Erin Oliver-Beebe, WGB

11-12 Boys

1st Josh Kelly, WGB

2nd Chris Olsen, Haines

3rd Edouard Bourcier, WGB

13-14 Girls

1st Alexandra Gabor, WGB

2nd Bronwyn Pasloski, WGB

3rd Molly Purser, WGB

3rd Cascade Galasso, Haines

13-14 Boys

1st Jason Zrum, WGB

2nd Thomas Chretien, WGB

3rd Felix Bouchard, WGB

15-and-over Girls

1st Ariana Edelman, WGB

2nd Hayley Bielz, WGB

3rd Kim Holmes, WGB

15-and-over Boys

1st Tanner Cassidy, WGB

1st Brendan Zrum, WGB

3rd Brice Harding, WGB