Waikato Winter Short Course swimming series to come to Te Awamutu

Olympian Helena Gasson in action at the New Zealand Open Swimming Championships in 2015 prior to her selection for the Rio Olympics. Photo / Simon Watts, www.bwmedia.co.nz

More than 400 swimmers are expected to rock up to Livingston Aquatics Centre on July 25-26 for the Waikato Winter Short Course operated by Swimming Waikato.

The event was originally scheduled to take place at Waterworld in Hamilton but had to be moved due to the closure of the facility for maintenance.

Swimmers will descend into Te Awamutu from all over country with a large contingent journeying from Auckland. This includes several of New Zealand's AquaBlack team.

The event is one of Swimming Waikato's first meets back post lockdown and is part of the Swimming New Zealand Short Course Series.

Competitors train and compete with their clubs but ultimately they swim for themselves as there are no team points.

Swimmers will be able to gain qualification times at this meet which will help them to qualify for the AON 2020 New Zealand Short Course Championships in Auckland which runs from October 6-10.

The Waikato Winter Short Course is one of 13 events in the Swimming New Zealand series throughout the country.

"This is the first edition of the series and I believe the concept came about from Swimming New Zealand during lockdown. It was a way in which we could utilise local and regional competitions to be part of a bigger national competition framework," says director of Swimming Waikato Darren Ward.

"It was a concept that we at Swimming Waikato really liked and were happy to be involved with."

Swimmers aged 13 years and over will compete in the morning and evening sessions while the afternoon sessions will be for ages 12 and under.

Darren says that with the meet being full there won't be much, if any, room for spectators. They will run plenty of social media updates over the weekend.

"We are looking forward to supporting Swimming Waikato host this event at Livingston Aquatics Centre 25 and 26 July. It is an exciting opportunity to see top swimmers from around the country performing in our facility," says Swim Waipā director of swimming Gaylene Eyre.

"With people coming from around the country it will also mean an injection into the local economy which is an added bonus for our community."