The Swimming Australia association announced last week that Adelaide, not Sydney, will be hosting the 2012 Australian Swimming Championships, where swimmers will be selected for the 2012 London Olympic games.
Held at the newly opened SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, the 2012 Swimming Championships consist of 8 days of heats and finals. Swimmers will compete from March 15 til March 22.
CEO of Swimming Australia Kevin Neil says that the announcement confirms that Adelaide has a swimming pool which rivals Sydney’s Ian Thorpe Aquatic Center, which has hosted the Australian Swimming Championships for the last 10 years.
“The state of South Australia has invested heavily in the development of a fantastic facility and has shown great foresight and commitment to the development of the sport,” said Neil.“The recent Australian Age Championships, with more than 1500 competitors, showed that the venue is capable of hosting major events and the feedback from the athletes, coaches and swimming community was very positive.”
South Australian Premier Mike Rann agreed, saying that “Hosting the country’s top swimmers at our new swim centre as they battle for Olympic selection will be fantastic for South Australia and for swimming. I’m sure our elite swimmers will love competing in our state-of-the-art centre.”
It seems that South Australia is finally getting the recognition it deserves for devoting so much time and attention to swimming as a sport. Swim fans can all agree that Adelaide has become a hub for swimming activity in Australia and with it’s beautiful, state-of-the-art facilities it’s easy to see why.