Swimming New Zealand Tri-Series set for North Island next week
Swimming New Zealand wants to help expand and improve its talent base with the introduction of a national Tri-Series throughout the North Island starting next week.
The three-city, six-session series is aimed to expand the age group talent and provides a stepping stone towards selection for the international tri-series against two Australian teams across the Tasman later in the year.
Seventy of the country’s leading swimmers in the 13-15 years age group will meet in Palmerston North on Tuesday to be split into three teams with separate coaching and management teams. The three teams will compete against each other in the inaugural New Zealand Tri-Series in a six-round short course competition in Hastings, Taupo and Hawera.
Swimming New Zealand’s age group programmes manager Trevor Nicholls said the New Zealand competition is an important development competition.
“The competition is an opportunity to expand the base of our age group talent, provide some strong race competition and give the developing age group swimmers the chance to improve standards before tackling the Aussies in July,” Nicholls said.
“It is also a great chance for young swimmers to be in a multi-club team with other swimmers and it’s a great opportunity for us to show off our swimming stars of the future to Hastings, Taupo and Hawera.
“We will see some of these swimmers in our New Zealand open teams of the future, perhaps as early as the 2010 Commonwealth Games.”
Competition starts at the Flaxmere Pool in Hastings on Thursday 24 January with sessions from 9.30am and 5pm, moving to Taupo on Saturday 26 January at the AC Baths at 9.30am and 4.30pm with the final sessions at the Hawera Pool on Monday 28 January at 9.30am and 4.30pm.
The selected swimmers are:
Jared Solomon (Ace, Waikato); Alexandra Laidlaw (Aquagym, Canterbury); Elizabeth Brown (Ashburton); Matthew Wilson, Gareth Kean
Samantha Lee, Ellen Quirke, Stephanie Bennington, Ryan Cox (Capital, Wellington); Thomas McEwan (Central City, Auckland); Mitchell Donaldson (Coast Swimming, Whangaparaoa); Chris Dawson (Enterprise, Gisborne); Ryan Ennor (Greendale, Hawkes Bay); Troy Balvert, Bianca Bradley (Hamilton); Emma Lowther, Alex Hancock, Stefan Talbot, Peter Yates, Ewan Jackson, Brianna Green, Renee Stothard, Jeffrey Arona-Tuifana'e (Howick Pakuranga, Counties Manukau); Joshua McHugh (Icebreaker Aquatics, Manawatu); Caitlyn Moratti (Inglewood, Taranaki); Sam Wright (Jasi, Canterbury); Kelly Briden (Kaiapoi, Canterbury); Samantha Lucie-Smith (Karori, Wellington); Jenna Buchanan, Leandri Van der Spuy, Evon Storey, Angus Brenkley (Kiwi West, Manawatu); Crimson Whakatihi (Levin); Grant Davis (Metro, Auckland); Zandra Danvers Napier, Benjamin Gillies, Lydia Diver, Julian Layton (Aquahawks, Hawkes Bay); Brydie Whitehead (New Plymouth); Taryn MacIntosh, Samuel Robinson, Chloe Francis, Elliot Crene (North Shore); Zachary Aitken (Oamaru); Shaquile Vaotu'ua (Onehunga, Auckland); Brock Wilson, Rebecca Heemi (Opunake, Taranaki); Natalie Peat (Otumoetai, Bay of Plenty); Helena Gasson (Pukekohe); Jacob Allen (Raumati, Wellington); Rebecca Smith (Spirit of Southland); Ashley Rupapera (Stratford, Taranaki); Clair Benson (Sundevils, Hawkes Bay); Emily McGill (Swim City, Wellington); Mitchell Nairn (Taupo); Thomas McCarthy (Tawa, Wellington); Benjamin McFetridge, Agnes Cheung, Ali Clarebut, Thomas Cutler (TSW, Wellington); Adam Simpson, Phoebe Williams, Blair McGregor, Jordyn Fogarty (Waves, Otago); Sam White (West Auckland Aquatics); Rene Kapa (Whakatane); Aaryn Gandy, Michelle Keighley, Matthew Hutchins (Wharenui, Canterbury).
Competition Directors: Trevor Nicholls, Kim Perrin
Head coaches: Dan Feisst (North Shore), Clive Wheeler (Stratford), Gary Hollywood (Howick Pakuranga)
Assistant Coaches: Luke Clark (Levin), Oscar van Stekelenborg (Spirit of Southland), Huia Mikara (Templeton, Canterbury), Noel Hardgrave-Booth (Greendale, Hawkes Bay), Peter McCallum (Taupo), Andrew Nicholls (Kiwi West, Manawatu)
Managers: Kay Alexander (Otago), Melana Bradley (Waikato), Carol Corcoran (Canterbury West Coast). Official: Yvonne Voss (Waikato).
Full results and updates on www.swimmingnz.org.nz