A large contingent of 90 Australian swimmers will descend upon the Gold Coast for the annual National Event Camp from February 5th through February 11th.
Four training venues will be involved, including the Gold Coast Aquatic Center, Miami Aquatic Center, Griffith University and Bond University, to lay the groundwork for the journey to Paris 2024.
A targeted group of athletes will also attend a two-day relay camp on the coast ahead of National Event Camp, as the Dolphins continue to work on maintaining their status as the premier relay nation in international swimming.
Swimming Australia Head Coach Rohan Taylor says of the camps, “Our athletes relish the opportunity to come together at the beginning of every year and reset, driving themselves, and each other, to the level of performance that continues to place us at the very top of international swimming.
“We surround them with the country’s best coaches and support staff, including physios, strength and conditioning, physiologists and performance analysts to ensure they draw as much information as they can from this week to take home to the daily performance environment and target team selection.
“It’s not just about what happens in the water though, the work we do on culture and education is just as important as we continue to contribute to the rich legacy of this Dolphins team.”
Although not specified in Swimming Australia’s news release, past camps have been broken out in the following fashion:
- Distance
- Butterfly
- Backstroke
- Medley
- Men’s 100
- Men’s 200
- Women’s 100
- Men’s 200
The Australian National Event Camps saw a re-boot in 2021 after a year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. That year’s facilities included the Gold Coast Aquatic Center, Bond University and the Palm Beach Aquatic Center
The Gold Coast Aquatic Center in particular has already had a busy 2023 just one month into the new year. The national team camps follow on the heels of the Flippers camp which just concluded last month at the facility. The 41-person camp was aimed at preparing and nurturing younger athletes to help successfully transition to the senior team and represent Australia at international events within the next 4-6 years.
Additionally, a sizeable British squad has been engaged in a training camp of their own at the Center, with the likes of Adam Peaty, Freya Anderson and Anna Hopkin spending 6 weeks down under. The squad is competing at the Southport Olympic Preparation Meet this weekend.