FOUR Gunnedah swimmers recently competed at the recent New England North West Area Short Course Championships in Armidale. Maddie Coombs registered pleasing results in the 15 years division, with a 1.45 second improvement to secure a gold medal in backstroke, backed up by another gold in the 50m freestyle. The promising teenager went on to grab first place in the 200m individual medley and eclipsed her entry time by 4.5 seconds. She also finished second in the 100m backstroke and freestyle. Jacob Tindall contested the nine years events with a huge improvement of 9.2 seconds for third place in the 100m breaststroke. Jacob picked up a silver in the 50m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m backstroke with an improvement of 1.63 seconds. Little sister Liette swam well in the eight years butterfly for second place and sliced 1.43 seconds from her best in backstroke for a second silver. Teammate Brodie Coombs, 11, improved his entry time by 3.5 seconds in backstroke and 1.7 seconds in breaststroke. His best overall result was in the 100m breaststroke, where he finished sixth in a strong field. Meanwhile, children in the club’s beginners program enjoyed a Taddie’s Tournament at the pool last week with older swimmers in the water to help them if needed.