Championships of the Bermuda Amateur Swimming Association were held on the weekend.

The three-day meet featured 140 local swimmers and 10 swimmers from the United States and Canada.

David Valdes of the Brevard Club (US) shaved three seconds off his previous record for the men's 400 metres individual medley all-comers record when he set a new time of four minutes, 38.93 seconds to kick off the Friday night programme.

Bermuda's Stephen Fahy, of the Harbour Club, set a new record in the 400 metres individual medley for boys 15 and 16 years old with a time of five minutes, 2.81 seconds. He shattered the previous record held by Trevor Ferguson with a time of five minutes, 12.14 seconds.

Brevard Club's Chris Plaisted was the third record-maker when he swam the men's 1,500 metres freestyle in a glistening time of 16 minutes, 8.62 seconds.

The time was over 34 seconds faster than the previous mark of 16 minutes, 42.93 seconds which was set by Carl Ellefson in 1991.

On Saturday, Todd Pace of the US grabbed the gold medal in the 50 metres butterfly, edging Bermudians Ian Raynor (second place) and Mike Cash by only a fraction of a second. Erik Schlichenmier finished third in the event while Cash had to settle for fourth spot.

Pace swam for gold in the men's 100 metres freestyle, while US Olympian Joell Thomas won the silver and Raynor the bronze. Fahy took fourth spot.

Harbour Club's Trevor Ferguson achieved two Triple A times in the 400 metres freestyle for 15 and 16 year old boys when he swam a time of four minutes, 20.62 seconds. Then in the 100 metres freestyle he finished in 55.97 seconds to qualify for the Central Caribbean and Central American National championships (CCAN) in Cuba next month.

Olympian Jenny Smatt swam a Triple A time of one minute, 17.08 seconds in the 100 metres breaststroke for 17 and 18 year old girls, also opening the door for an invitation to Cuba.

Three more records fell by the wayside on Saturday when Plaisted set a new all comers record in the men's 400 metres freestyle with a time of four minutes, 9.36 seconds, four seconds faster than the previous mark set by David Valdes in 1991.

In the finals, Plaisted whittled away a few more seconds off that to set a new mark again, this time four minutes, 8.30 seconds.

Not to be outdone, Valdes established a new all comers record in the men's 200 metres butterfly with a time of two minutes, 8.82 seconds, two seconds faster than the old record set by Gary Hope in 1988.

Five records fell on Sunday when Valdes set a new all comers record in the men's 200 metres individual medley in a time of two minutes, 12.36 seconds, smashing the old record he set in 1991.

Schlichenmier washed away a pair of all comers marks, one in the men's 50 metres backstroke with a time of 28.51 seconds, a half-second faster than the previous record and then another in the men's 100 metres backstroke in one minutes, 0.68 seconds, set by Stanley Harris in 1991.

Matthew Hammond of Harbour Club got into the record-breaking scheme of things by shattering the record for 11 and 12 year old boys in the 100 metres backstroke with a new time of one minute, 15.02 seconds.

The meet ended with an explosive showdown which saw Pace, Thomas, Raynor and Cash swim for the gold in the 50 metres freestyle. Pace took the gold in a record time of 22.79 seconds while Thomas won the silver and Raynor the bronze.

Also on Sunday, Ferguson swam a Triple A time of 25.81 seconds in the 50 metres freestyle for 15 and 16 year old boys to qualify for Cuba. William Massey from Sharks Club, swam his first Triple A time of the season, 27.08 seconds in the 50 metres freestyle for 13 and 14 year old boys, also enabling him to qualify for Cuba.

Two others qualified for the CCAN games when Stanley Harris swam a Triple A time of 1:01.22 in the men's 100 metres backstroke and Smatt, who swam a Triple A time of :28.59 in the 50 metres freestyle for 17 and 18 year old girls.

MIGHTY MATTHEW -- Matthew Hammond got into the record-breaking action when he set the new mark in the 100 metres backstroke.