Rep swimmers all set for racing

The Wanganui Swimming Club members who will contest tomorrow's NZ Short Course championships. Photo / SUPPLIED

Dive in, go hard and touch the wall before the other guys.

That's the goal for the nine-strong contingent from the Wanganui Swimming Club attending the start of the NZ Short Course Championships in Wellington tomorrow.

The Wanganui club is now part of the Wellington swimming region, and three of the team will be at their first national age-group championships.

Shannon Schimanski is the youngest at 13, while Stefan Hannan, 15, and Eleishah Hodson, 16, are the others on debut.

In addition, 15-year-olds Laura O'Keeffe and Jacob Smith will have a long week because after five days of the short course events, they will represent Lower North Island at the inaugural Zonal Championships, a four-way New Zealand team event on Friday.

The Wanganui team is coached by Jane Lowe.

Their names and events are:

Shannon Schimanski 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, 50m backstroke, 100m and 200m medley; Elena Forlong 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m and 200m butterfly and 800m freestyle; Fergus Smith 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 50m freestyle and 100m medley; Stefan Hannan 200m and 400m freestyle and 200m backstroke; Sophie Couper and Jaimee Schimanski 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke; Jacob Smith 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, 200m and 400m medley and 200m butterfly; Laura O'Keeffe 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m freestyle, 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke, 100m butterfly and 400m medley; Eleishah Hodson 50m and 100m backstroke.

Wanganui will also field a girls' 15-and-under freestyle and medley relay team.