The Estevan Mermaids set a club record on Sunday, with eight athletes qualifying for Synchro Saskatchewan's high performance program.
The synchronized swimming club had never sent more than two swimmers to the high performance program in a given year before.
The program, funded by Sask. Sport, is designed to develop elite athletes over a four-year period, sending the best to the Canada Games in year four.
The trials were comprised of 46 athletes province-wide, with 37 of them making the standard for the program. The Mermaids sent 12 swimmers.
"We are incredibly excited about the high number of athletes that qualified this year. it is a testament to the hard work of our athletes and coaches this year," said Mermaids head coach Brenda Lyons.
The athletes who made the program will receive extra coaching time at two camps this year, where they will have access to elite coaching from across the country.
Although no members of the Mermaids were among the group of eight that exceeded the standard of 70 points to qualify for excellence, Mackenzie Dahl was the next-best performer, leading a group of seven that surpassed 65 points to automatically qualify for development.
Seven other Mermaids qualified for the program with marks exceeding the standard for their age group: Nyla Dyck, Tracy Irwin, Hannah Mantei, Danika Poirier, Kelsey Potoma, Eden Palmer and Hannah Whitman.
Meanwhile, the southeast district synchro team that will compete in the 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games will be announced later this week.
