The two provinces are holding their championships together for the fourth straight year since the February 22, 2011, Christchurch earthquake destroyed the QEII pool, leaving the city without a 50m long-course pool.
Swimming Canterbury received a $27,000 grant from the New Zealand Community Trust to cover its swimmers' accommodation in Dunedin for the five-day event.
An additional $5000 was raised to meet the accommodation costs for about 30 Canterbury officials.
In each of the five morning sessions, swimmers from both provinces, as well as a bunch of Southlanders, will compete in timed finals together, but their results are segregated.
Regardless of age or province, the fastest eight swimmers from each of the morning session's disciplines will compete in an open final in the afternoon session.
A final for 15 and 16-year-olds will also be held, plus A and B finals for 13 and 14-year-olds.
''The whole concept is a new format we are trying,'' Swim Otago president Peter Deans said.
''It's about getting swimmers to know that they have got to swim faster in the morning and they have got to swim even faster in the afternoon.
''For younger swimmers, actually making the open final is more of a pinnacle than making their own age-group final,'' he said.
Running the two provinces' own championships at the same time was a challenge, but one that had benefits, Deans said.
''Like a lot of national sports, the South Island is really a poor cousin, so it's really important that Canterbury, Otago and Southland work together and create as much competition for the swimmers as we can.
''The more competition, the faster they will swim and the more chances they have of getting into national teams,'' he said.
Oamaru's Isobel Ryan (18), who is off to the University of Wyoming in the USA on a four-month swimming scholarship in July, had a strong morning session yesterday.
She won the women's 17 years and over 50m freestyle in 27.73sec, pipping a string of Canterbury swimmers and Neptune's Kate Godfrey (21), who finished second in Otago in 29sec.
Godfrey won the women's 200m individual medley in 2min 24.13sec, beating out 17 Cantabrians in the timed final.
Among other Otago swimmers to impress on the opening day's morning session were: Cecilia Crooks (14, Neptune), Devon Familton (15, Neptune) Gabrielle Trotter (14, Neptune), Caitlin Deans (15, Neptune), Matthew Glassford (24, Neptune), Tame Govaerts (15, Zenith), Sophie Fairbairn (15, Wanaka), Ella Rose Lawrence (13, Clutha) Kou Kitahara (13, Neptune), Cameron James (20, Neptune), Mila Jojic (13, Queenstown) and Noel Bisson (16, Wanaka).
The championships finish on Sunday afternoon.
by Robert van Royen
