Over 170 athletes from across Otago and neighbouring regions, and even Australia, joined us at Moana Pool for the 2025 Otago Short Course Championships, our region’s premier short course competition. The new four-session format delivered fast, exciting racing, with many athletes posting personal bests and qualification times for the upcoming South Island and New Zealand Short Course Championships.

Six Otago Records fell over the weekend, congratulations to each of you!

Hannah Ker-Fox (Neptune) broke two Female 12 Years records, slashing almost one and a half seconds off Hana Carnie’s 200m Backstroke record in a time of 2:20.96, and lowering Erika Fairweather’s 200m Individual Medley record to 2:27.88.

Luisa Palmer (Wanaka) set a new Female 15 Years 50m Backstroke record in 29.84, eclipsing Kate Godfrey’s mark set 16 years ago.

Neo Salomonsson (Kiwi) broke two Male 16 Years records, going under 25 seconds for the first time in the 50m Butterfly, posting 24.94 and lowering the mark set in 2016 in the 100m Freestyle to reset the record in a time of 52.17.

Esme Paterson (Neptune) opened the new season in style, lowering her own Open 50m Butterfly record to 27.60.

In a competition filled with standout performances, two athletes made a significant impact in the Breaststroke and Butterfly events. Sophia McClintock (Wanaka) continued her strong form from the recent NZ Secondary School Championships, claiming all three regional titles in the Female 13-year age group in the Butterfly strokes, as well as five additional titles across various disciplines. James Tagg (Neptune), competing at his first-ever regional championships, secured three breaststroke titles in the Male 12-year age group. These are impressive results – congratulations to you both!

Click here to view the full results from this competition

Outside the pool, four trainees successfully passed their IOT assessments. Congratulations to Dean Gerling (Cromwell), Gill Hopkins (Queenstown), Kaori Watanabe (Wanaka), and Mark Olsen-Vetland (South Otago Sharks)! Your contribution to our swimming community will greatly help ensure that our future competitions meet Swimming NZ approval standards. We appreciate your commitment.

Technical officials are a crucial element of our sport, and we are always seeking more volunteers to join us. If you are interested in becoming a technical official, flick us an email at admin@swimotago.org, and we can get you started on your journey

We also wish to thank everyone who played a part in making these championships a success. We are grateful for the organisation by Kerren, our Swimming Otago Events and Development Coordinator, the excellent teamwork of Steve, Chris, and Susan handling AOD and recording responsibilities, our fantastic group of technical officials led by Alan Hale, our bridge installation and dismantling teams led by Neville, and all the volunteers who served as timekeepers. Your contributions are invaluable, and events like this wouldn't be possible without your help!

Congratulations to all who took part in this competition; we hope to see you all poolside again soon!

 Looking for your next racing opportunity? Don't miss out on the South Island Short Course Championships from 22-24 August! Entries close on Monday, 18 August, at 11:59pm. Get your entries in now!

Article added: Wednesday 13 August 2025