Adelaide To Host 2020 Australian Olympic, Paralympic Trials

Swimming Australia has announced the hosts for a slew of upcoming national meets, including the 2020 Australian Olympic and Paralympic Trials, which will return to Adelaide.

The meet will take place at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Center. Adelaide also hosted Australia’s Olympic Trials in 2012 and 2016. 2020 will also mark the first year that Australia will push its Olympic Trials back from the spring to just five weeks before the Olympic Games.

That’s the timeline that the United States has followed for years. The old Swimming Australia system had Trials in March or April, which doesn’t require athletes to potentially taper twice within a short period of time to first make the Olympic team and then swim well at the Olympics. But a string of relatively lackluster Olympic performances (with the notable exception of Kyle Chalmers‘ 100 free in Rio) has Australia shuffling its timeline to try the U.S. method for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Adelaide also nabbed hosting duties for several other key events in the coming Quad: the 2018 Australian Open Water Championships, the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Trials and the 2019 Age Championships and 2019 Australian Club Championships.

You can see the full Swimming Australia press release below:

Swimming Australia announce exciting event schedule across Australia

Elite swimming will soon be more accessible than ever following the announcement of the 2018 to 2020 event schedule and with successful bids coming from all over Australia more people will get the chance to see the stars of the Australian Dolphins Swim Team and the next generation of swimmers LIVE in their hometowns.

Swimming fans and sport fans alike will reap the benefits with South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland all bringing the sport of swimming to life over the next three years.

Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson said the opportunity to bring swimming to life across the nation was a great sign of the interest and passion for swimming in all States.

“The next three years will see coverage across a large number of States, providing a great opportunity for swimmers and fans alike to experience elite swimming in great locations around Australia,” Anderson said.

“These events could not be possible without support from our sponsors and I would like to take this opportunity to express our thanks and appreciation to Events South Australia, Tourism Western Australia, Sport and Recreation Victoria and all of the swimming venues involved in each of the States.”

With a total of five events from 2018 to 2020, South Australian’s can rejoice in the fact they will get the chance to see their hometown hero and Olympic Gold medallist Kyle Chalmers swim live and take on the best swimmers from across Australia right in their backyard.

Over the three years Adelaide will play host to the 2018 Open Water Championships, 2018 Hancock Prospecting Pan Pacific Swimming Championship Trials, 2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships and the 2019 Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships.

Plus, those in Adelaide will have even more reason to celebrate as the Olympic and Paralympic Trials will return to the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre once again in 2020.

Following on from the success of the London trials in 2012 and Rio in 2016 those in Adelaide will again get the chance to witness history as swimmers’ Olympic and Paralympic dreams come true at the 2020 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials.

The beachside town of Brighton will be inundated with open water swimmers come January 26 next year, while the world class SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre will take on the hosting duties for the remainder of the South Australian events.

The Minister Assisting the Minister for Sport Katrine Hildyard said that we are absolutely thrilled to have secured these five events to enable continued development of swimming in South Australia.

“Events inject millions into our growing $6.3 billion visitor economy and to secure five national swimming events is a major coup. We have invested $70 million in additional tourism funding in the past two years to market South Australia nationally and internationally and attract major events,” Hildyard said.

“This is in addition to the State Government’s mega sport investment, which pumped $40 million into grassroots sports and facility upgrades across the state.”

In exciting news for Victorians, swimming will return to the sporting capital of Australia in 2018, 2019 and 2020 when the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) hosts the Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Championships for the next three years.

It has been over a decade since the last major swimming meet was held in Melbourne with names like Matt Welsh, Libby Trickett (nee Lenton) and Eamon Sullivan synonymous with swimming then.

Now, Melbournians will get the chance to watch the present-day swimming heroes like Cate and Bronte Campbell, Cameron McEvoy and of course Melbourne’s own Mack Horton swim live at home.

CEO of the State Sport Centres Trust, Phil Meggs, said, “In conjunction with the Victorian Government and Swimming Victoria, we are delighted to be bringing the Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Swimming Championships to Melbourne over the next three years.”

“As the state’s premier multi-sport facility, MSAC has a rich heritage in hosting world-class events and athletes. We’re tremendously excited about using all that our venue has to offer, to deliver an event which will entertain and thrill swimmers, fans, officials and volunteers,” Meggs said.

Olympic gold medallist and Melbourne local Horton said, “It’s going to be a huge 2018 for swimming, a home Commonwealth Games and then the opportunity to race in my home pool in Melbourne in front of a big crowd for Short Course, I can’t wait.”

The other big event winner will be Western Australia, with Perth locked in to host two events in the Olympic and Paralympic year; with the Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships and the Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships both coming to the West Coast in 2020.

The Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Swimming Championships and a new event, the Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships, will be both held at HBF Stadium in April 2020, attracting some of the best young swimmers from around the country.

The Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Swimming Championships is the national event for Australians aged between 13 and 18, and the Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships is for swimmers aged between 17 and 21. This is a chance for more swimmers in the West to gain more exposure to quality competition and racing and a chance for them to do so in their home state.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said it was a coup for Western Australia to secure the Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Swimming Championships and the Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships in 2020.

“Both of these events present a boost for tourism in WA – expected to attract more than 6,000 visitors to Perth and contribute around $7 million to the economy,” Mr Papalia said.

“Perth has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years, and the championships provide a perfect opportunity to showcase our extraordinary city to interstate visitors.”

New South Wales and Queensland swimmers and fans alike will also benefit, with Sydney Olympic Park set to host the 2018 Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships and the Brisbane Aquatic Centre to be the home of the 2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials.

The journey to Tokyo is just beginning and as we approach the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Swimming Australia’s event schedule for the next three years will see the swimming industry unite and give fans across Australia the chance to be a part of history.

To read about the competition framework that will take us through to 2020, plus a little more information about each event, click here: https://www.swimming.org.au/NewsCentral/New-Competition-Framework-to-take-us-to-Tokyo.aspx

State by State breakdown:

SA events –

2018 Australian Open Water Championships
Where: Brighton Beach Adelaide
What: National open and age group champions crowned + the first step in selection for the Pan Pacific Championships (Pan Pacs) in Tokyo

2018 Hancock Prospecting Australian Pan Pacific Swimming Championship Trials
Where: SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Adelaide
What: Selection trials for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, August 9-13

2019 Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships + 2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships
Where: SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre
What: Swimmers are crowned national open or age group champions in their respective events

2020 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Olympic and Paralympic Trials
Where: SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre
What: Selection meet to determine the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic teams

VIC events –

2018, 2019 and 2020 Hancock Prospecting Australian Short Course Championships
Where: Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC)
What: 25m format, every second year will be a selection for the World Short Course Championships

WA events –

2020 Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships + 2020 Hancock Prospecting Australian Club Championships 
Where: HBF Stadium
What: Swimmers are crowned national open or age group champions in their respective events

QLD events –

2019 Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Trials
Where: Brisbane Aquatic Centre
What: Selection event for the 2019 World Swimming Championships

NSW events –

2018 Georgina Hope Foundation Australian Age Championships

Where: Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
What: Swimmers are crowned national age group medallists in their respective events