Sixteen Otago swimmers are set to compete at the national short course championships in Auckland starting on Tuesday.
The group features experienced swimmers Matthew Glassford, Kate Godfrey, Andrew Trembath and Jeremy Tasker, and a bunch of up-and-comers, including Courtland Ellis, Kou Kitahara, Caitlin Deans and Cecilia Crooks.
The five-day championships, which will be held at the recently completed Sir Owen Glenn National Aquatic Centre, will provide an opportunity for Otago's younger swimmers to be selected to represent New Zealand in Australia next month.
Swimming New Zealand will pick a team to attend the Australian state team age championships in Canberra based on performances in Auckland for females aged 13-16 and males aged 14-17.
Andrew Trembath (18), one of Otago's most promising swimmers, is too old to compete in Australia, but will go into the championships in Auckland with realistic medal hopes.
He won three gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the national age-group swimming championships in Wellington in May, including gold in his favoured 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke events.
Caitlin Deans also had a confidence-boosting outing in the last major event in Wellington - winning one gold, two silver and a bronze in the under-15 section - and could push for a spot in the team to compete in Australia.
The same goes for Courtland Ellis, who won a gold, two silver and a bronze in the boys under-15 section in Wellington.
The Neptune club in Dunedin has the most Otago representatives (11) competing next week, while Oamaru (three), Kiwi (one) and Cromwell (one) are also represented.
In total, about 650 swimmers from 89 clubs across the country have entered 3705 events.
Racing starts each day at 9am, with final sessions starting from 6pm each night.
NZ short course
Otago swimmers
Jack Harrison, Jessica Scott, Ben Carr, Cecilia Crooks, Caitlin Deans, Courtland Ellis, Matthew Glassford, Kate Godfrey, Olivia Gold, Kou Kitahara, Jeremy Tasker, Andrew Trembath, Gabrielle Trotter, Tandia Gooch, Micah Hayes, Emma Petrie.
