At the elite level it's about winning, in swimming terms think appearances at nationals, the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics, and for the one per cent push that further and look to medals as the zenith.

But what about for humble, little schools like Spring Hill, Cumnock and Clergate, all of which have burgeoning stars landing at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) for this week's NSW Primary School Sports Association Swimming Championships?

Of course it would be remiss to suggest they're not interested in winning, after all having an individual or team stand on the podium at the state level is an obvious, triumphant indicator of success, the former school knows that from experience.

But it's about so much more than that.

Ask Spring Hill principal Ann Marie McAnulty - known affectionately as Mrs Mac to those at the school - and she'll enthusiastically tell you it's about the entire experience, the fact they have the opportunity to soak it all in is success enough for her.

Anything else, results wise, is just "icing on the cake".

"It's just fantastic we have representation from our small schools at the state level," she enthused.

"You know, some of our kids have never even been the Sydney much less to [SOPAC] and it is really exciting for all of them, and for me. I've been taking kids to this for 32 years and I still get a buzz out of it every year.

"We don't have a school bus and we don't have a pool, but every Friday in terms one and four all our kids jump on the bus and head [into Orange] to swim. Swimming is definitely a life skill but another big incentive for our kids learning to swim well is to have the chance to represent the school at this kind of event.

"This is something these kids may never have the chance to do again so we want to make it as memorable as we can, we try and make these trips a real experience and a big celebration of all their hard work.

"I overheard one of the kids say yesterday 'the best part is the hotel', which made me laugh. We take them out for a team dinner together and it's a real buzz to see how they react to knowing they're swimming in the same pool as the [Olympians in 2000]."

The looks of wonder on the faces of the kids when they set their eyes on the outlandish, size 17, flipper-like feet of Australian's greatest Olympic swimmer in Ian Thorpe - or a bronze cast of them, at least - is something that always puts a smile on McAnulty's face too.

"They can never believe the size of his feet," McAnulty laughed.

This week Spring Hill and Cumnock both have teams vying  for the 4x50 metre, Peter Dobson Schools Relay gong - fo the state's small schools, with 26-54 students - along with a handful of individual swimmers in Western's team, which Clergate also has.

It's Spring Hill's 13^th consecutive year contesting the teams event too which McAnulty labelled "amazing", she said the same of their gold medal in 2017.

Time will tell whether they go on to make the finals or claim medals, but in terms of performance McAnulty said improvement is the main focus.

"Cumnock came first at [the regional carnival] and took six seconds off their time from our carnival, we came second and took eight seconds off ours," she explained.

"So hopefully both teams can shave a few more seconds off their personal bests, that's certainly our goal, if we manage to make the final or get a medal that's just a bonus."

The NSW Primary School Sports Association Swimming Championships begins on Thursday and continues on Friday.