The Country Pennants competition has now become the pinnacle of swimming in WA's country regions. Clubs fundraise, train, plan, save and compete in this meet in a different location each year and enjoy the community spirit, competition and, most of all, the camaraderie which the meet engenders each year. As many of the stalwarts of Country Swimming are not getting any younger, it has become necessary to write these guidelines for the ongoing preservation of this very important weekend on the swimming calendar in the WA regions.

The event attracts competitors and spectators from all over the State, with an estimated average of two and a half thousand people attending. This gives a fantastic boost to the local economy of a country town over one weekend.

From humble beginnings, when seven teams came together in Northam in 1959, the meet has continued to grow over the ensuing forty-two years to the stage where we now have more than 30 teams vying for the five pennants. A program of 492 events over the two days, and around two thousand competitors swimming over forty-one thousand metres, makes for one of the most exciting regional events in Australia. The meet has the capacity for up to forty country clubs/teams to participate in the five divisions.