Record numbers at the New Zealand Swim Champs

28 September 2005

Record numbers at the New Zealand Swim Champs

The Surf Life Saving New Zealand Swim Champs are now the largest national swimming competition held in New Zealand.

This year's champs, to be held this weekend at Kilbirnie Pool in Wellington, are only the third time the Swim Champs have been held since the inaugural event in 2002. With over 400 competitors, the champs were nearly three times the size of the equivalent Australian competition.

"The Swim Champs are an opportunity for our athletes to gauge where they are at in their preparation for this season, it also gives the New Zealand selectors a chance to see who's performing well in the pool for the world's squad," says Geoff Barry, Chief Executive of Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

At the conclusion of the event on Sunday, SLSNZ will announce the first eight of twelve members to be selected for the New Zealand team to travel to the 2006 World Lifesaving Champs in Melbourne.

An invitation Australian team will go head to head with the current New Zealand pool squad on Friday night. Several key events and relays will be held on the Friday as a prelude to the weekend's competition.

ENDS

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