Transtasman event seen as being special

The transtasman meet at the Genesis Recreation Centre pool on July 9-10 will be something special, Swim Wairarapa says.
It will feature two Australian teams and one from New Zealand, each of which will consist of 10 males and 10 females, all of whom will be in the 13-17 years age group, and it will be the third in a three-test series, the first two of which will be held at Mount Maunganui and Taupo.
Swim Wairarapa general secretary Maryann Corrigan said plans were already being put in place to make the transtasman competition memorable in and out of the water.
''It's a huge coup for the whole Wairarapa to host a sporting event of this importance and we want to ensure the entire province has the chance to benefit from it,'' Corrigan said. ''Yes, it's being held in Masterton, but it's much bigger than that.''
Corrigan said Swim Wairarapa officials were well aware their hosting the transtasman meet was on the line when they staged the opening meet in the recent tri-series tour involving New Zealand's top junior swimmers.
''We knew we were on trial but, quite frankly, we were always confident we had the skills to come up trumps,'' she said.
''Right now, we are fortunate with the calibre of officials available to us. They do an exceptional job.''
And that was very much the message yesterday from Swimming New Zealand spokeswoman Lisa Conroy who said Wairarapa had come through its examination with flying colours.
The make-up of the Australian teams contesting what will be the first transtasman series of this kind held in New Zealand probably won't be known for another couple of months. However, there is a good chance they will include youngsters well in the reckoning for places in their country's line-up for the Commonwealth Games in India later in the year. That might also be the case for the New Zealand team, which will be selected after trials are held in Auckland in April.
Meanwhile, Corrigan was asked to comment yesterday on a report from Sport Wellington-Wairarapa tabled at this week's meeting of the Masterton District Council's audit committee.
A memorandum of understanding with Swim Wairarapa, which had run for 18 months, expired in November and it was noted that while Swim Wairarapa had performed creditably over that period, longstanding, deep-rooted politics continued to limit the association's effectiveness, something of which Swimming New Zealand had been kept fully informed.
Corrigan conceded she had been somewhat taken aback at negativity surrounding Swim Wairarapa when she took over the position of general secretary about 18 months ago but, with the help of Sport Wellington-Wairarapa, it had come a long way in a short time.
Pressed to provide reasons for the negativity, Corrigan said it probably stemmed ''back then'' by a move to have Wairarapa amalgamate with the Wellington centre which, when put to the vote at a special meeting, was supported only by the Masterton club.
The other four clubs were all in favour of Wairarapa retaining its identity and they had worked hard, and successfully, to ensure the centre became strong, operationally and financially.
Corrigan said the reaching of Swim Wairarapa's 50th anniversary as an independent centre this year had been a major achievement for Swim Wairarapa and being given hosting rights for the tri-series and now for the transtasman competition was another feather in its cap.
''It would be nice to have all the clubs