SSC WJISC 2026: PBs, a bronze and one lesson learnt
Evan and Sarah raced at the first SSC Wahoos Junior Invitational Swimming Championships on 7 and 8 November 2026. It was our first meet at Singapore Swimming Club and another chance for them to find their way around a different pool, race against new swimmers and see what all those hours of training had done to their times.
It turned out to be a very good weekend for both of them. Evan dropped time in five of his five individual events and came home with a bronze in the 100 m backstroke. Sarah recorded improvements in four events, although her 100 m backstroke ended in a DQ. The results gave us plenty to be happy about and, in Sarah’s case, one lesson that she has hopefully learnt now.
Five drops and a bronze for Evan
Evan had six events across the weekend, including the 200 m medley relay. His biggest drop came in the 100 m backstroke, where he took 24.40 seconds off his previous time to finish third in 1:30.48. That earned him the bronze, or second runner-up medal as the label on it says, which he was very pleased to show me afterwards.
His 100 m breaststroke was another large improvement. He finished in 1:42.88, a drop of 22.88 seconds. He also lowered his 100 m freestyle to 1:21.94, his 200 m individual medley to 3:17.70 and his 100 m butterfly to 1:34.73. The medley relay team finished fourth in 2:52.58.
| Event | Time | Place | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m individual medley | 3:17.70 | 6th | 9.24 s |
| 100 m breaststroke | 1:42.88 | 6th | 22.88 s |
| 100 m butterfly | 1:34.73 | 5th | 7.79 s |
| 200 m medley relay | 2:52.58 | 4th | — |
| 100 m backstroke | 1:30.48 | 3rd | 24.40 s |
| 100 m freestyle | 1:21.94 | 8th | 13.11 s |
I have been tracking Evan’s times against the SNAG 2026 Junior Minimum Time Standards as well. He has met nearly all the standards for his age on the progression sheet and has already reached three of the 12-year-old reference times: 50 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly and 100 m backstroke. Several more are only around one to three seconds away. The gaps are getting small enough to make the next few meets interesting without pretending that every swim must end with another massive drop.
Sarah’s four improvements and a DQ
Sarah had five events, including the medley relay. Her biggest individual drop came in the 100 m freestyle. She finished sixth in 1:37.66, taking 11.53 seconds off her previous time. She also brought her 50 m freestyle down to 40.85 and her 50 m backstroke to 54.01. The 200 m medley relay team finished fifth in 3:29.14, almost 14 seconds quicker than their previous time.
| Event | Time | Place | Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle | 40.85 | 10th | 2.53 s |
| 50 m backstroke | 54.01 | 6th | 1.96 s |
| 200 m medley relay | 3:29.14 | 5th | 13.96 s |
| 100 m backstroke | DQ | — | — |
| 100 m freestyle | 1:37.66 | 6th | 11.53 s |
Then there was the 100 m backstroke. Sarah completed the race before finding out that she had been disqualified. Swimming has a rather strange penalty system when you think about it: in many sports, a whistle stops the action immediately, while a swimmer gets to finish the whole race before learning that it will not count. It was disappointing, but DQs are part of competitive swimming and she knows there is something to take away from this one. Hopefully the lesson sticks.
Sarah is still getting used to the SNAG 2026 Junior 10-year-old standards. Her new 50 m freestyle PB has met that target, while the other events show her where the next gaps are. She only started competitive training in March, so I am happy to see the progression sheet filling up with new times rather than expecting every box to turn green immediately.
The bits between the races
The timing sheets are the easiest part of a meet to summarise, but most of the weekend was spent outside those few minutes in the water. The parents had a great time catching up and chatting between events as usual, while the children spent more time with their teammates and seemed to bond even more over the weekend.
I was also glad they went for the gala dinner. After two days organised around warm-ups, reporting times and races, the children had a chance to sit down together and enjoy themselves. They had a blast, and the photographs from dinner probably say that better than another table of timings could.
Thank you to Coach Rachelle and Coach Chiharu for guiding the children throughout the meet. The PBs show that the training is paying off, but I also appreciate the work that goes into getting them ready to race in an unfamiliar environment and helping them handle the parts that do not go to plan.
That was one meet down with two more to go. Evan and Sarah were back at training the following day, which did not leave much time to admire the results, the medal or even the DQ for too long. I will keep their latest PBs and qualifying progress updated on Evan’s and Sarah’s swimmer pages as the next races come along.