Kate Godfrey has a busy five days ahead of her.
The 22-year-old Neptune swimmer will compete in at least 11 events at the Otago 13 and over championships, which start at Moana Pool at 8.30am today.
Godfrey is coming off a two-week training camp in Timaru, and said the championships were more about building for bigger events, such as the national open championships, which double as an Olympic qualifier, in Auckland in March.
"Most of us are doing lots of events. The mentality is that the camp doesn't finish until after the Otago championships,'' she said.
"Some people will try and make qualifying times, but mostly it's just testing everybody to see how they swim under the horrible condition of being so tired.
"That's more the point of it for us older ones, because it's not really a pinnacle event.''
The Otago championships consist of timed regional finals in the morning sessions, in which medals will be determined.
Evening sessions will include open finals, with the top eight swimmers from any age-group or region - Canterbury and West Coast swimmers are also competing - making the final.
Prize money - $25 for first, $15 for second and $10 for third - will be awarded in the open finals but medals will not be given out.
Age-group finals for 13-14 and 15-16-year-olds from any region will also be held during the evening sessions.
Godfrey, who has six open Otago short-course records and three open Otago long-course records to her name, said the 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley were her two main events.
She has aspirations to make the big time in the sport.
The Neptune swimmer has competed on the world stage three times in the past.
She went to the Youth Commonwealth Games on the Isle of Man as a year 13 pupil at Otago Girls' High School, and the World University Games in Russia in 2013 and South Korea last year.
"I'm at the point where I need to decide what I'm going to do,'' she said.
"I'm still at university and focusing on my studies as well as this. As long as I can do them both, I'm not too worried about it.''
Godfrey is aiming to perform well at the national championships in March and gain selection for the Oceania Championships in Fiji in June.
"I would like to make those games and then maybe aim for the [2018] Commonwealth Games in the long term, if I can stick with the training.''
Godfrey lives close to Moana Pool, which helps with her busy training schedule. Coached by Gennadiy Labaral, she can do up to 10 pool sessions and a few gym sessions a week.
That requires plenty of 4.30am starts, something she has been doing since she was 14.
"It's especially tough when you have got assignments or labs,'' Godfrey said.
"During exam periods, my training always drops off. Just like right before a big meet, my study drops off.''
The championships will wrap up about noon on Sunday.
