COVID-19 may have forced the young squad to sit on the sidelines for a big chunk of the year, but Marlins Club President Lyndel says it's not slowing the eager swimmers in the slightest now everything has started opening up again.

"The Marlins are training well, the squads are growing in numbers and they are very committed to achieving their personal goals," she said.

"COVID has provided quite a few hiccups, but the swimmers are proving resilient and making the most of the situation when they can.

"Our squad had great success in 2021 with many qualifying for their school zone, regional and state championships.

"We also had swimmers qualify for NSW Country Championships, NSW Junior and Senior State Age Championships, NSW State Opens, Unisport Games, Australian Age and Australian Open Championships and the Australian Swimming Trials."

Not content to rest on their laurels, the Marlins are preparing for a busy competition season; several among the squad have already qualified for NSW Country, State and National Championships.

Hard work and dedication are obviously contributing factors to the club's success, but Head Coach Renee Pickvance says the newly installed heating in the 50 metre pool at Macksville has also made an enormous difference.

"Our team has been able to start earlier in the season and benefit from training in the warmer water," Renee said.

"2022 is shaping up to be a great year for our Marlins; we are already meeting goals much earlier than previous years, the more agreeable water temperature has made a massive difference to how the swimmers are training.

"The improvements in the squad have been very noticeable at competitions, with many swimmers achieving massive personal best times in their events."

Only a few weeks ago, Marlins Jaxon White, Tazmyn White, Karsen White and Kimberly Graham attended the NSW Country Regional Championships at Gunnedah, achieving massive improvements on their personal best times, and earning a few medals as well.

"Our older swimmers are putting in the hard work and chipping away at their already National level times, aiming to peak in April at the Australian Swimming Championships," Lyndel said.

"We have a great group of kids, who support each other and aim to do their best during training and when they don their Macksville Marlins cap at local, State and National meets.

"Our coaches Renee Pickvance and Tony Kokegei are the best; we are so lucky to have such expertise, caring coaches and fantastic role models for our kids."

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