The 2020 Vorgee Northern Territory Open and Age Championships will be held this weekend in Darwin. With six sessions over four days, 235 competitors get a chance to mix it with the best from all over the Territory, as well as visiting NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia teams.
Alice Springs Swimming Club is sending up 15 swimmers to take on the challenge, led by seasoned campaigners Harrison Knott, Hannah Markham, JJ Siah, Ben Bloomer and Tom Stockwell.
Harrison had a sensational meet last year winning nine medals and has added three extra events to his program this year, including the 800m freestyle after swimming a tidy 10:35.61 in his last Club meet.
Breaststroke whizzes Hannah and Ben have been powering along at training, with both adding new events to their program and are hitting form at the right time.
JJ is a determined swimmer and will have a good showing in breaststroke and backstroke events where she continues to improve her technique.
Recently returning to swimming, Tom’s main strength lies in freestyle where his times continue to drop and will see him swimming 28 seconds in the 50m freestyle.
Big improvers over the last year, Anthony Knott and Thomas Markham get a chance to shine after competing in the Encouragement Meet last year as they hadn’t turned ten.
Having trained hard over the summer, Aaron Graves, Megan Graves, Annalise Jones, Mikayla Jones, Bahzi Nicholas, Daniel Rando, Paddy van der Geest-Hester and Malachai Waterford are diving into their first Championships in Darwin knowing this experience will set them up for future competitions.
It is also a good chance to impress selectors for swimmers wishing to be considered for the Northern Territory team to compete in the School Sport Australia Championships which will be held in Brisbane in August.