The wait is almost for over for the highly talented contingent of NSW Pool Rescue competitors who have made the trek to Adelaide for the National Championships.
From tomorrow, the athletes will be chasing medals and glory as they seek to add their names to the record books at the architecturally beautiful South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
The NSW Championships held a little over two weeks ago on the state’s Central Coast was an exciting preview of what to expect from the NSW competitors over the coming days, and it’s fair to say that the young guns are certainly hitting form at the right time.
In the U14 Boys two of the swimmers to keep an eye out for will be Joel Piper (Newport SLSC) who was in fantastic form at the State Championships and is marked as the one to beat in the 200 Metres Obstacles Race, while Tom Rodman (Terrigal) is the early favourite for the 50 Metre Manikin Carry.
There are high hopes for medals in the Female Races with Charlise Wheeler (Terrigal) coming off 8 gold medals at the NSW Championships, and Kayla Holmes (Umina) backing up from an incredible 14 medal haul.
As always at The Aussies there will be an extra focus on team events with many athletes saying that these races are often career highlights.
Expect the teams from Terrigal, Umina, and Newport to feature heavily in the finals as they look to take on the historically strong Queensland clubs.
The three-day competition is also the last chance for Australia’s New South Wales representative contingent Rachel Wood and Jemma Smith (Umina), and Youth Australian member Keeley Booth to get experience at the venue that will stage the World Championships later this year, and the trio will be out to make the most of the opportunity.
From the youngsters to the veterans, Terrigal’s evergreen Paul Lemmon is the leading NSW Masters competitor and will be out to chase gold in a sport he has dominated for so many years.
The NSW Interstate team will also be in action in the coming days before they hit the pool for their clubs, and after coming second at the same venue in 2017, the 22-strong Blues team are keen to get one over their Queensland rivals.
“I think it’s shaping up to be a wonderful weekend of competition,” said NSW Surf Sports Manager Rob Pidgeon.
“The selectors have chosen an extremely talented NSW Representative side with the right mix of youth and experience to really challenge for the title, and we’re looking forward to see how our local clubs go against the best Australia has to offer.
“I’d like to wish all competitors, officials and supports the very best of luck, and hope to hear some positive results from our very skilled NSW based athletes as they look to be crowned national champion,” he concluded.
Racing kicks off tomorrow Friday 3 August and will continue through to Sunday at the South Australian Aquatic and Leisure Centre
Thursday 2 August 2018