Six members of the Whitehorse Glacier Bears Swim Club combined efforts to take home 11 medals at the B.C. Provincial "AA" Swim Championships in Chilliwack last weekend.

Leading the way in the distance events was 11-year–old Isabel Parkkari, who dominated her age group by placing first in the 800, 400 and 200-m freestyle events.

She also had top four finishes in the 50-m freestyle and 200-m backstroke. Parkkari achieved the tough AAA qualifying times for her age group.

Attending her first meet at this level, Haley Braga, also 11, had very impressive results, placing second in the 800-m free, second in the 200-m free and third in the 50-m free.

Taylor Campbell, 12, competing in a very tough division, finished second in the 800-m free and third in the 400-m free.

Campbell, Braga and Parkkari not only achieved AA times in many events in their respective age groups, but also managed AA times in the next age group.

In the very competitive 14-year age group, Kate McArthur took silver in the 200-m individual medley and placed fourth in the 100-m back with a great swim. She also finished fifth in the 100-m free and the tough 200-m back.

To the loud cheers of the revved up crowd, Becky Leslie and Julia Fedoriak teamed up with McArthur and Campbell to place second in the 200-m freestyle relay event.

Becky Leslie swam a hard and fast 200-m freestyle to achieve a personal best and finish with an impressive fourth place. Julia Fedoriak placed fourth in the 50-m freestyle, an event that she has been training hard for all season.

She also swam her best 400-m freestyle race of the year with strong technique and a lot of grit and determination.

Coach Kathy Zrum was very impressed with the support the swimmers gave each other, along with their impressive swims and determination to do well. This meet wrapped up the season for most of these swimmers.

With her AAA qualifier, Parkkari will accompany 12 other swimmers to compete in the B.C. AAA Long Course Championships to be held in Richmond, B.C. on July 3-7.

She will also compete in the 1.5-km open water swim at that meet, while Tanner Cassidy and Hayley Bielz will both swim in the 5000-m swim at a local lake close to the Abbotsford airport.

There are a number of upcoming events for several swimmers. Information for these meets is available at www.swimming.ca They include: B.C. AAA Long Course Championships July 3-6, Richmond B.C. Approximately 13 to 14 Glacier Bears as well as coaches Kathy Zrum and Jim Thompson will attend this meet.

Another upcoming meet is the the second FINA World Youth Championships, which is being held in Monterey, Mexico July 8 to 13, 2008. Alexandra Gabor and coach Marek Poplawski are attending.

The Senior Nationals will be held on July 17-20 in Winnipeg, but no Glacier Bears swimmers have been announced to attend yet. Bronwyn Pasloski, Alexandra Gabor and coach Marek Poplawski are attending the 2008 Tri-Nations Cup.

This is a meet featuring Canada, France and Great Britain. It will be held August 1 to 2 in Quebec City.

Story submitted by Kathy Zrum and Alice Purser.