Reading Swimming Club's Alex Macarthur will miss this summer's national youth championships in Sheffield for an unusual reason - he will be on a school expedition to Mongolia.
Macarthur, however, compensated in the best possible way at the Wycombe Classic meet by achieving a qualifying time for the overall British long-course championships in late March.
Macarthur missed the mark of 25.94 in the 50 freestyle by just a hundredth of a second last time out in Swansea, but despite being pipped to gold by Bradley Moorhouse of Kent club Black Lion made no mistake with a blistering 25.83.
Macarthur medalled in all his four swims, winning the 200 free in 2.05.85, placing second in the 100 fly and third in the 100 free.
The meet was a major success for head coach Graeme Thomas's charges. Other top performances included Chris Boyce placing second boy overall across all age groups, Callum Willcox winning all three breaststroke distances in his year and some great sprinting from Zoe Hester and Kristina Paige.
Boyce swam 13 events across the weekend in some of the meet's largest fields in the 13 years age group, and scored points in all. He won five golds - the highlight probably his 200 IM in 2.31.52 - placed second twice, third once, fourth twice and fifth once.
One of the silvers was behind Willcox, whose 36.70 took the 50 breast by exactly two seconds in the first leg of his treble.
Willcox placed second to Boyce in the 200 IM and saved his best performance for one of the meet's last heats as he romped home in the 200 breast by over nine seconds 2.49.38.
Hester and Paige featured in fingertip finishes in possibly the most exciting heats of the meet in the 50 and 100 freestyle, with Paige winning both events in the 15s age group and Hester, swimming time trials, twice just pipping her training partner.
The 50 finished 28.28 to 28.31, and unbelievably the 100 was even closer. Paige's great finishing technique got her within 0.02 as again both girls secured prized national times in 1.01.19 and 1.01.21.
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Reading were in the medals from event one, where sisters Georgie and Frankie Wilkins collected 400 IM silvers and Rachael Mills and Holly Tanner bronze.
Barnaby Kempster was first Reading boy to score points with a 400 free silver in the 11s' age group. David Mills PBd in the 12s' group before Boyce picked up the first gold for the Evening Post-sponsored squad, topping a field of thirteen 13-year-olds by over eight seconds in 4.42.75.
Reading girls aren't particularly strong in breaststroke events at the moment, but Georgie Wilkins and Issy Keenan missed medals by just one place in the 100. Keenan made no mistake in the 50 later in the meet, winning her 12s age group by well over two seconds in 40.66
Next up for the boys was the 100 backstroke, where Markus Orgill was well inside his entry time in placing second 15-year-old, Kempster took bronze and Boyce placed fourth. Orgill was second in a field of two in the 200 back, but the main aim is to beat your entry time, as he did in five of six swims - the other just 0.04 outside.
The 50 back included a win for Boyce and a bronze for Kempster.
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Sunday opened with the girls' 400 free, and a shock for Holly Tanner as a re-seeding error left her with the choice of either taking an empty lane in a slow heat at seconds' notice or missing out. A gutsy 4.39 in borrowed goggles took the heat by a length and was still good for third in the top age group.
Rachael Mills was top 13-year-old by almost 10 seconds in 4.48.79, then put in an outstanding 200 in 2.16.45 in a field of 15, suggesting a national time might be on the cards later in the season.
Mills just missed a freestyle hat-trick, pipped in the 100 by Georgina Parkins of Maxwell SC but in a PB time.
Eleanor Cawthorne, swimming on Sunday only, was third out of 12 in the 100 back in the same year and fourth over 50 metres.
The stroke was also fertile ground for 15-year-old Naomi Herring, who placed second over 100 metres and third over 200, and in the boys' programme for Kempster and Boyce, first and second over 200 metres in their age groups.
The girls' programme ended with a very tough event in the 200 fly. Mills could afford to be well outside her best and still place second, as could Louisa Downs, third in the top age group.
Tanner won the top age group with a powerful 2.26.57, one of her best ever times, and was pushed all the way by the strong-finishing Paige whose 2.28.70 was also close to a national youth qualifying time and won the 15s' group.
Willcox closed a highly satisfactory meet for coach Thomas and his team, his 200 breast winning swim also faster than all the entrants in the next age group up.
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Reading's top senior breaststroker, York Peter Kloeppel, was meanwhile back in Germany, winning medals at the international youth meet in Bonn.
The meet featured over 500 swimmers from 37 clubs in seven countries. The 16-year-old from the European School in Culham did Reading proud by winning his year in the 200 breaststroke (2.31.86) and placing second in the 50 (31.01). He went on to place sixth in the open finals in both, and for good measure swam PBs in both the 50 fly and 100 IM.